When it comes to processing and mashing grains for whiskey, the distiller has a menu of options that can help add flavorful spins and touches to the final spirit’s character.
Whether it’s a mash of pure malted barley or a mixed grain bill of corn, wheat, rye, and the kitchen sink, adjusting that mashing process allows you to coax out different characters from the grains—plus, getting it right will set you up for success for all the processes that follow.
Here, we deal primarily with mashes composed of 100 percent malted barley—but much of this applies to mixed-grain mashes as well. First, however, we should sketch out how the process works, so that we can better identify where we can make meaningful adjustments.