NYT article on non-Scotch single malts

One thing I don't like is so many people insisting that terroir matters when seemingly they don't seem to understand the influence of fermentation and distillation. When you are saying that terrior matters, yet the barley or rye is imported from Scotland or Belgium anyway.... so what terroir? Not that distilleries aren't doing more of this embracing of, say, Scottish Barley and labelling it...but you really need to know what you are talking about in regards to distillation and fermentation before you start talking about terroir...I find many of these magazine/newspaper writers are more about the hype than about respecting terminology often.

@JasonHambrey ,

"Everything you read in newspapers is absolutely true, except for that rare story of which you happen to have first-hand knowledge." ~Erwin Knoll

@jasonhambrey I read an interesting article that says that variety of barley does not affect taste. It was saying that the quality of the grain matter and, sa you were saying, fermentation and distillation. For me terroir, s more about the peat and the process and knowledge that you will found in a specific area.

Here is the link for the article I read: scotchwhisky.com/magazine/features/…

That was:"that you will find" and sorry for all the spelling mistakes.

@Robert99 Thanks for that interesting article--on a subject I'd never actually thought about before (to me, barley is barley...). I agree, it would seem the process, peat (if used), and other factors such as water (which Kentucky bourbon makers insist is important) is more important. And of course, maturation--look at the laws regarding bourbon casks in the US, and the row between the SWA and Compass Box for trying to improve their casks.

Oh, and I forgot to note, the difference between the in-depth article in the specialist magazine, written by someone who actually works in the field, and the article I posted, written by a career journalist for a generalist news outlet.

@Robert99 Thanks for the article. Yes, peat is an influence of terroir. Agreed, completely - that is a clear exception, if they are saying where they source their peat. However, "terroir" refers to land, so if it is the process of fermentation, yeast selection, type of stills, etc. - yes, it is unique, and special to that distillery - but not dependent on "terrior" most of the time it is labeled as such. Distillers also seem to make a big deal out of water - to me, if I think about flavours, it seems it is more significant (as in Kentucky) in being helpful for fermentation rather than giving flavor at all, unless we are talking about a lightest touch of minerality that many don't even taste.

Aging, however, is interesting, and climate does influence that. So I'm not saying that location is not important, it is simply that, as a lover of wine, whisky seems to abuse the term "terrior" in its typical usage, and seems to be used by marketers rather than true enthusiasts. I suppose I already said that in my previous post...