Whiskies of the 60s

Why are 1960s Scotches so celebrated?

You might have heard this before; that whiskies from the 1960s (and prior) were better. I’m not fortunate enough to have tried any whiskies from this era, but there must be something to it, right?

From what I can gather, they would’ve been different. Better? Well, that’s subjective. Certainly, different though. What would’ve contributed to such a difference in style? This is likely to boil down to a number of factors.

Barley Variety

Advances in barley breading has led to much better performing varieties today. So, the malt used today is agronomically better (and therefor costs less) and it yields better in the distillery. Fantastic news! But at what cost?

In the 1960s, the dominant varieties used were Maris Otter and Golden Promise. These were phased out by the 1980s for better performing varieties. Interestingly, brewers are now seeing the value in these varieties again. Despite the increased cost, there is a return on investment through greater flavour.

Floor Malting

This slower and more manual method of malting was abundant in the 1960s. It’s easy to understand why it was phased out, given the economic downside. But as above, at what cost?

Malting on the floor results in a light blanket of CO2 covering the malt. This slows the process of germination and creates a more flavoursome and aromatic malt.

In the 1960s, at the end of germination, the malt would’ve been piled up prior to kilning. During this time, the final loads of malt may have gone through a pre-caramelisation process, and seen further modification, enriching the malt with even more flavour.

A number of distilleries still use floor malt to this day. Springbank, Balvenie, Bowmore, Laphroaig, Kilchoman, Highland Park to name a few.

Direct Fire Stills

Due to inefficiency and safety concerns, direct fire stills have largely been replaced. One of the challenges of these stills was the occurrence of hotspots.

Hotspots that can reach 500 C. A rummager is used along the base of the still to reduce sticking and burning. However, at those temperatures, caramelisation and burning reactions do occur. And this creates additional flavours through distillation.

Fermentation

Not my area of expertise, but research suggests that later in the 1960s there was a move from brewers’ yeast to distillers’ yeast. Brewers’ yeast was often “knackered”, inefficient, and at risk of spoilage, so distillers were more than happy to move to a better performing yeast.

It’s also thought that fermentation times were longer during this period, resulting in fruitier characters being produced.

Casks

A contentious subject I feel. Were the casks better or not back in the 60s?

There would’ve been a higher proportion of Sherry casks being used. Also, these casks would’ve been transportation casks, rather than traditional casks or the modern seasoned casks. That is, casks used purely for the transportation of bulk Sherry, as opposed to casks used for Sherry maturation or new oak barrels seasoned with Sherry.

Critically, the Sherry casks back in the 60s would have been filled with new make and used for full whisky maturation. These days, Sherry casks are used for finishing. The difference between a Sherry cask finish and full maturation in a Sherry cask is significant.

Refill casks were also the norm. And, paxerette wasn’t banned until 1990. So, it’s likely that a number of whiskies from the 1960s would’ve have benefited from the addition of this sweet flavoursome addition to the refill casks.

Other Factor

I don’t feel these were as significant as the aforementioned factors. However, they are worth mentioning.

·       There would have been a higher use of peat in areas such as Speyside and Highland, adding complexity to the spirit.

·       Wooden washback, and their colonies of bugs, would’ve been in greater use.

·       There was a less centralised approach to maturation.

·       The water used would have been different to the water used today.

Can we go back to the 1960s?

There are several things distillers can consider, if you’d like to produce a retro dram. Here are just a few to consider.

·       Heritage varieties like Maris Otter are still available. This variety, through Crisp Malt and Beer Co, is also exclusively floor malted. We will be bring out our own floor malted base malts in due course.

·       Adding a percentage of light and/or medium crystal malts to your mash bill will add additional sweet, malty, caramel flavours. Try adding 5% to 10%. A small amount of peated malt and/or roasted malt would be worth considering too.

·       Aim for a longer fermentation time and consider a change in yeast. Chat with your yeast supplier

·       Cask seasoning has come a long way, and you can season almost any cask with any liquid. Seasoning one of your decanted barrels with a syrupy sherry would be worth considering. Chat with the team at Master Cask.

Is there a flavour trade-off as you chase yield and efficiency? Or are you just trading in nostalgia and romance? There will be many opinions on this topic, and it opens up a larger discussion around efficiency versus flavour.