If you bring up the idea of terroir in the whisk(e)y circle these days you’re bound to get a full spectrum of responses ranging from excitement, thoughtful conversation to flat out rejection of the idea. Who’s right? There is an answer and I will outline that here.
The first thing to understand is the definition of terroir. What is it and where does the idea arise from? In truth, the concept of terroir is not daunting at all because for thousands of years it was specifically defined thanks to the wine industry. Simply put, terroir is the impact that microclimate – soil composition, weather, topography – and farming practices have on the final flavour of consumable commodities and the products made from them such as wine, cider, some vegetable goods and the like.
The important message to weigh in is terroir is not something you casually say because you understand that ultimately any plant based commodity is impacted by its microclimate. The historical context of terroir is far more in depth than this common knowledge.
Terroir is understood only after considerable study is conducted to determine what effect a particular microclimate has on a specific crop. Without adequate study of the microclimate of an individual field combined with an understanding of the farming practices used in said field it is impossible to know the terroir of the plant.
For example, you would never say “Scotland’s terroir is ‘X’” Rather, you would say, “the terroir of field ‘X’ in location ‘Y’ imparts ‘A, B & C’ scents and flavours in this whisk(e)y resulting from the barley field’s location on the distillery’s southern facing slope located ## miles from SuchandSuch coastline where predominant weather patterns lend themselves to regular rainfall that washes SuchandSuch minerals from the surrounding rolling hills into the water supply that feeds the clay fields, which are infused with the following concentrations of compounds: ‘W’ lb/acre nitrogen, ‘X’ lb/acre phosphate, ‘Y’ lb/acre potassium and ‘Z’ lb/acre sulphur.”
Does that sound anything like this statement: “this whisky has great terroir. You can really smell the soil.”
No. No, it does not.
Henceforth, if defining terroir is such a remarkably specific and well defined process then why is there so much back and forth about terroir in the whisky industry to the point that some flat out deny its existence? There are a few reasons for this. First, a genuine misunderstanding of what terroir is and how it is defined at the scientific level. Second, an acknowledgement that the industry has yet to formally publicize the terroir for any of the fields, which source the distilleries. We all understand that every field in every part of the world has a terroir resulting from its microclimate and farming practices, but when it comes to formally defining the influence terroir has on our dram there is considerable room for growth. Short of taking on the robust project to define the terroir of every field that sources the global whisk(e)y industry, which ultimately is what needs to happen, at this point when we talk about the terroir of a dram usually we are simply stating a generalization – the grain that was used to create this dram has terroir. Great. We know that – without due consideration for the set of specificities that give a particular dram its distinctly unique characteristics. We might as well say that water is wet or the sky is blue. Of course, every dram is influenced by its terroir but the only way to use the term correctly is to specifically define what exactly the field’s terroir is from which said dram is derived and carefully outline the extent to which that field’s terroir has influenced the individual dram in your hand. Terroir is not a general term, but rather an extremely specific one and it is intended to be so.
What many in the industry are unintentionally overlooking at the moment is that the vernacular of terroir is at present indoctrinated into whisk(e)y culture. Any individual with a piqued interest in terroir can state “one of the reasons I am drawn to whisk(e)y ‘X’ is because of the delightful seaside salty notes, which arise due to the distillery’s location five miles inland from the beaches of ‘location Y.’ The distillery’s water source runs down from the mountains 10 miles to the east drawing from stream ‘Z’ where the known mineral sources in the water are ‘A, B, and C,’ which impart the following set of characteristics on this whisk(e)y…” This my friends is terroir.
At present, if the whisk(e)y industry is determined to proceed with discussing the terroir of any given dram then it must heavily invest in conscientiously defining the terroir of every field from where its grains are sourced. It isn’t enough to simply say every stock of wheat or barley has a terroir. We know that. The microclimate and farming practices of all fields from where each and every stock of grain is grown must be accurately defined before the whisk(e)y industry can credibly begin to discuss terroir and the impact this has on the dram in our fingertips. The concept is simple. What makes this venture complex for the whisk(e)y industry is the sheer volume of work required to accurately define the terroir of each and every field where mashbill grain is grown. Should it be done? The simple response is absolutely yes if we are going to have a knowledgeable and credible conversation regarding the impact terroir levies on our drams.
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Women's Whisky World 