Read more
The master distiller Rob Arnold reveals how innovative whiskey producers are recapturing a sense of place to create distinctive, nuanced flavors. He takes readers on a world tour of whiskey and the science of flavor, stopping along the way at distilleries in Kentucky, New York, Texas, Ireland, and Scotland.
List of contents
Introduction
Part I: Fashioning Flavor, Tasting Terroir
1. A Farm in Texas
2. The Production and Perception of Flavor
3. The Chemistry of Flavor
4. The Wine Terroir Tasting
5. Wine Country
6. The Evolutionary Role of Terroir
7. The Rise of Commodities
Part II: A Roadmap to Terroir
8. A Texas Tic-Tac-Toe
9. The Chemistry of Terroir
10. The Roadmap
11. Overlaying the Maps
Part III: Following the Map
12. Whiskey in the Big Apple
13. The Trilogy of Farming
14. My Old Kentucky Home
15. Corn, Wheat, and Rye Among the Bluegrass
16. Across the Pond and Through the Hills
17. TĒIREOIR
18. Cultivating Flavor on the Farms of Éire
19. At Last, a Sip
20. The Church of Scotch Whisky
Conclusion
Appendix 1: Whiskey Terroir Tasting Guide
Appendix 2: Key to the Roadmap: Sources for Chapter 10
Appendix 3: Key to the Roadmap: Sources for Chapter 11
Appendix 4: Key to the Roadmap: Sources for Chapter 17
Notes
Index
About the author
Rob Arnold is president and cofounder of Advanced Spirits, a venture firm partner for whiskey brands and distilleries, and was previously master distiller at TX Whiskey. He is a third-generation member of the whiskey industry and holds a PhD in plant breeding and genetics from Texas A&M University.
Summary
Look at the back label of a bottle of wine and you may well see a reference to its terroir, the total local environment of the vineyard that grew the grapes, from its soil to the climate. Winemakers universally accept that where a grape is grown influences its chemistry, which in turn changes the flavor of the wine. A detailed system has codified the idea that place matters to wine. So why don’t we feel the same way about whiskey?
In this book, the master distiller Rob Arnold reveals how innovative whiskey producers are recapturing a sense of place to create distinctive, nuanced flavors. He takes readers on a world tour of whiskey and the science of flavor, stopping along the way at distilleries in Kentucky, New York, Texas, Ireland, and Scotland. Arnold puts the spotlight on a new generation of distillers, plant breeders, and local farmers who are bringing back long-forgotten grain flavors and creating new ones in pursuit of terroir. In the twentieth century, we inadvertently bred distinctive tastes out of grains in favor of high yields—but today’s artisans have teamed up to remove themselves from the commodity grain system, resurrect heirloom cereals, bring new varieties to life, and recapture the flavors of specific local ingredients. The Terroir of Whiskey makes the scientific and cultural cases that terroir is as important in whiskey as it is in wine.
Additional text
With standout information that’s both broad and deep, The Terroir of Whiskey considers bourbon, rye, and other popular whiskeys from all angles.
