| Bushmills at http://www.bushmills.com | |
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Sweetness 7 Peatiness 0 |
| Famous Grouse at http://www.grouse.com | |
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Sweetness ? Peatiness ? |
| Laphroaig at http://www.laphroaig.com | |
 
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Sweetness 1-2 Peatiness 10 Quite a range of different styles in use here ! |
| Glenfiddich at http://www.glenfiddich.co.uk | |
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Sweetness 8 Peatiness 3-5 |
| Glenmorangie at http://www.glenmorangie.com | |
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Size : 17ft tall Sweetness 3-4 Peatiness 3-4 |
| the Macallan at http://www.themacallan-themalt.com | |
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Sweetness 7 Peatiness 4 Comments from their site: The size and shape of the stills are crucially important. The more contact the wash and low wines have with copper the better, since it acts as a catalyst, removing sulphury impurities (in the wash still) and promoting the creation of esters (in the spirit still) - effectively cleaning and lightening the spirit. Small stills with a broad 'head' (the middle part of the still), such as those at Macallan, are best of all: a narrow head tends to increase the velocity of the ascending vapours and to reduce their contact with the copper walls. Finally, while we are on the question of still design, there is the important matter of the length and angle of the 'lyne arm' - the pipe which connects the top of the still, known as the 'swan neck' to the condenser. Macallan's lyne arms are of average length, but they are acutely angled in a downwards direction. This means that once vapours reach the neck of the still they are more likely to go over and be condensed than to fall back as reflux and be re-distilled. Again, the Macallan is unusual in this: most distillers set out to increase reflux. But then, they may well not achieve such copper contact (with its spirit-enhancing properties) as do Macallan's small stills. |
| Glengoyne at http://www.glenmorangie.com | |
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Sweetness 5-6 Peatiness 0 |