Whisky

Buy whisky online in our online store

Hardly any other spirit is as well-known and popular worldwide as whisky. Most people probably wouldn't even argue with you if you claimed that whisky is the spirit par excellence. Of course, this is an injustice to many other spirits such as rum, tequila and mezcal, but whisky has fans all over the world. Even in most films, the cool people drink scotch from impressive glasses. If the hype surrounding gin continues, it will be interesting to see whether gin and tonic becomes the drink of choice for action stars more and more often.

Whisky is not only incredibly complex and varied in taste. Whisky is also brimming with history and culture and was once modestly referred to as the "water of life" or "water of life". The regular topic of conversation as to whether it should be spelled whisky or whiskey is almost cult. And then there is the argument about who should be credited with the spirit and whether Scotch whisky or Irish whisky is better.

Whether the Scots or the Irish "invented" whisky is something we have not yet been able to find out ourselves, but we are happy to admit that we are also big whisky fans. We are therefore proud of our whisky online store with rare bottlings and specialties. You can buy the best whisky from us and be sure that you won't find these bottles in every store or store.

What exactly is whisky?

Whisky is a spirit made from grain that is matured in wooden barrels. It almost hurts to define whisky as cool as an internal combustion engine. But in fact, whisky is nothing more than that:

- Spirits means that the drink is distilled
- Grain is a tough criterion. Single malt whisky, i.e. whisky made from malted barley, is particularly well known
- Maturation in wooden barrels is what makes whisky so special and gives it most of its aromas, complexity and overall character

In most countries, the law even stipulates when a spirit can be called whisky or whiskey. For example, in addition to the grain criterion and a minimum alcohol content of 40% vol., the European Union regulation stipulates that the distillate must mature for at least three years in wooden barrels of 700 liters or less. The grain mash must also be distilled to an alcohol content of less than 94.8% vol.

As you can see, there are no compromises. What you can and should remember: Whisky must be matured in casks for at least three years. You can certainly brag about this knowledge somewhere. Otherwise, whisky would just be a spirit that has been aged in casks. Of course, you can not only buy whisky online from us, but also order cask-aged brandies and cask-aged gins.

What is whisky made from?

Whisky is made from water, grain and various yeasts. Water is not only important for malting and mashing the grain. It is also used to lower the alcohol content of the whisky and bring it to the so-called drinking strength. If the distillate is not reduced with water, it is referred to as being bottled at cask strength.

During malting, the grain is made to germinate so that enzymes are formed which can later convert the starch into sugar. At the end of the malting process, the grain that has germinated in water is kilned - i.e. dried using fire. Malt has now been produced from grain. During mashing, the ground malt is then mixed with warm water to turn the starch it contains into sugar. The result is the so-called wort, which is extremely sweet and is soon fed with yeast - or vice versa.

Logically, this is just as important as the type of grain and the quality of the grain. The most commonly used type of grain in the well-known whisky nations of Scotland and Ireland is barley. In addition to barley, however, corn, wheat, oats and rye are also used in whisky. Bourbon whisky, for example, is mainly distilled from corn. Bourbon is a specialty of the USA. But the USA and Canada are also known for rye whiskey. Very tasty and different from Scotch whisky - be sure to try it!

We wouldn't get very far without the yeast. The yeast ensures that the sugar in the wort is broken down into alcohol and carbon dioxide. As soon as this soup, which later becomes whisky, has alcohol, it can be distilled to become a spirit.

If you want to discover the diversity of whisky and compare different ones, you can try a single malt from Spain with a Scotch whisky or German whisky, for example. You can buy both and more whisky in our store.

How do you drink whisky?

You've probably asked yourself this question, right? The answer is actually quite simple: you drink whisky the way you like it best. But the way you should always drink whisky is at room temperature without ice cubes. Of course, there are many whiskies that taste great with ice cubes. For example, some bourbons or rye whiskies taste great on ice. However, most whiskies should not be tried directly on ice cubes. For one thing, we no longer perceive some aromas at cooler temperatures. More importantly, however, the whisky becomes watered down - uncontrollably.

You can add a few drops of clear water to the whisky. Some whiskies develop better this way or are simply too strong without a little water. It is therefore not reprehensible, but also very common among whisky professionals, to add a few drops of water to the whisky with a pipette.

Scotch and Irish whisky in particular should be drunk neat without ice. This way, you have the drop in the glass exactly as it was intended by the master distiller. Once you have tasted it, you can of course do all sorts of things with the whisky - because the most important thing is that you like it.

How do you write whisky?

You always read both spellings: Whisky and whiskey. So with an "e" or without an "e". The answer to this is easier than you might think: it depends on the country. Just as there are different spellings of words in German-speaking countries, whisk(e)y is also spelled differently in some countries than in others.

In Scotland, whisky is spelled without the "e". We have also largely adopted this spelling in Germany. In Ireland, on the other hand, it is spelled with an "e" - i.e. whiskey (so much confusion on top of the argument about where the water of life really comes from and whether Irish whisky or Scotch whisky is better).

In the USA, it is also spelled whiskey. It is very likely that the many Irish emigrants have ingrained this spelling of American whiskey in the Americans. In Canada, where many Britons emigrated to, whisky is spelled again without the "e".

If you feel like being clever, you can also throw it into the discussion that it's actually uisge beatha. Uisge or uisce beatha is the Gaelic word for aqua vitae. In other words, "water of life" or "water of life". It is assumed that this in turn came to Ireland through the Romans or Normans.

What is the history of whisky?

Christian monks refined the art of distillation, which has developed over thousands of years. Various distillation methods were used in India and China over 5000 years ago to extract aromas and fragrances from plants.

However, the method of distillation that we use and enjoy today is attributed to the Persians. The Arabs also contributed to its further development in the 1st millennium BC. As always, it is not easy or even impossible to attribute a widely used technology to a specific person or country. However, it is also clear that the art of distillation was used on a large scale in ancient Egypt. You may know the best example of this from the essential oils typical of the Egyptians.

Which whiskies should you have?

Single grain, single malt whisky, bourbon whisky, Scotch, Irish, rye or new make whisky - the choice is of course huge. As with other drinks and spirits, the only thing that matters is that you like it. In our whisky store, you can buy various whiskies online and try out the different varieties.

One thing you should definitely have at home is a single malt whisky. There are now fantastic German whiskies available, for example from Marder or Hinricus Noyte. mettermalt® Whisky classic is also an affordable single grain whisky. Single grain means that the whisky comes from one distillery and that different types of grain may be used in its production.

In addition to whisky, you can also buy other spirits online from us. We always have almost 500 different products on offer for you.