What Makes a Whisky a Whisky (Chemistry)

What Makes a Whisky a Whisky (Chemistry)

Whisky education from Whisk(e)y Advent 2025 (2025-12-18). Summary below; full write-up with sources and images: calendar/2025-12-18.qmd.

Whiskey is ~40% alcohol and ~60% water, yet flavor comes from trace compounds. A chromatogram of Kavalan single malt shows the defining character lives in a tiny fraction of esters, aldehydes, phenols and lactones drawn from grain, fermentation and - especially - the barrel.