Scotland’s blended whisky Cutty Sark will now be packaged in India. Master blender of the company takes Shrabasti Mallik through the process of making the bottle
It was surely a spirited evening with just the right amount of glamour, glitz and interesting conversation. The clinking of glasses made for the background score while master blender Kristeen Campbell gave an insight into the making of Scotland’s famous ‘smooth’ blend whisky. On the occasion, Cutty Sark, one of the world’s top 10 blended whisky companies, announced that it will be for the first time that their whisky will be packaged in India by Edrington Kyndal India Pvt ltd.
The company’s master blender, Campbell, shared that a bottle of Cutty Sark is a mix of malt and grain whisky. Malt and grain are individually processed into spirits in distilleries and are stored in wooden casks or barrels to mature for a minimum of three years “before it can be called a whisky.” The company receives regular supplies from a few distilleries like The Macallan, Highland Park and The Glenrothes among others.
Interestingly only oak wood is used in the making of the casks and barrels in which the spirits mature. Oak is selected for its toughness and is also easy to work with. It has tight grain that prevents leaking, is porous and allows oxygen in and out of the cask. Campbell added, “It’s the transformation that happens to the oak as a result of the seasoning and heating treatments during the process.” Oak also adds to the taste and aroma of the spirit by providing desirable elements from the cask like vanillin, oak lactone (coconut, bourbon character), toastiness, wood sugar and colour.
The job of a master blender begins after the maturing of the spirit. Campbell is responsible for assessing the content of each barrel individually, by smelling and then bringing both the malt and the grain whisky together. The job is similar to that of a chef, she said. “like chefs who are responsible to bring in different ingredients, we, too, have the responsibility to create that perfect balance between the two spirits and maintain the same taste and consistency in every bottle that is packed,” added Campbell who has been with the company for the last five years.
There are many ways to describe whisky — full bodied, boisterous, sherry sweet and many more. But Cutty Sark is known for its smoothness, it is not harsh. It is an easy to drink whisky — rich with a subtle sweet vanilla flavour to it. “Cutty Sark is a whisky for everyone. The best thing about this whisky is that one does not need to drink it neat, one can feel free to mix it with water, soda, any carbonated drinks, ginger ale — it is very versatile,” ended Campbell.