GRAIN DISTILLATION BECOMING MORE POPULAR IN SCOTCH WHISKY INDUSTRY

06 August 2007 With a recent revival in the Scotch whisky industry, companies involved in its production have enjoyed a buoyant time.

Sales hit an all time high in 2006, with exports rising 4% from the previous year to £2.5 billion, according to The Scotch Whisky Association. The industry continues to thrive after recovering from a slump in the late 1990s, brought about by the impact of Asia’s financial crisis on sales.

The resurgence has been great news for everyone involved in the industry and the forecast for coming years is also bright.

Moray-based Forsyths which manufactures all types of distillation equipment, is one of the companies to enjoy the growing popularity of Scotch whisky.

While the firm is recognised as the biggest pot still maker in the world, managing director, Richard Forsyth, says there has been a marked increase in the grain distillation side of the business.

Pot distilling is used to produce malt whisky, while the majority of grain spirit made in column stills, is used to create blended whiskies.

Mr Forsyth said: “Blended whiskies still make up the largest part of Scotch whisky sales worldwide so grain spirit is therefore a very important product for the industry on a global basis.

“Grain to malt ratio in a blend can vary from as much as 50% to 50% in a deluxe to 80% to 20% in a standard blend. Large volumes of grain spirit are therefore required.

“While we cannot profess to be a world leader in the continuous grain distillation sector - which we are with pot still manufacture - this is an area we are becoming more and more involved in.”

Grain whisky is made in a continuous process by cooking wheat or maize, fermenting this with yeast and distilling the product in column stills. Malt whisky, on the other hand, is made from malted barley, which is then mashed, fermented and distilled in a traditional copper pot still as a batch process.

Mr Forsyth says grain distillation now makes up around 8% of the Forsyths business, which also includes manufacturing equipment for the oil and gas, petrochemical and paper making sectors. He sees this as an area that the firm will become increasingly involved in over the next few years.

Mr Forsyth added: “We have been involved in a number of replacement parts for grain distillery projects for several Scottish and Irish distillers, and also completed the re-build of part of William Grants’ sizeable grain unit in Ayrshire, so it certainly is a growing sector in Scotland.

“Column stills are also used in bourbon production in the USA and Canada, although the majority of these are produced in their own countries at the moment.

“However, grain distillation will grow proportionately along with malt whisky production, which is still very buoyant in Scotland.

“As it continues to become more popular, we will become more and more involved with this side of the industry.”

Forsyths designs and manufactures products for blue chip, distillation, petrochemical, brewing and offshore oil and gas clients across the globe.

As well as its Rothes headquarters, the firm has two manufacturing facilities at Buckie. Grants (Dufftown) Ltd and Forblast Ltd are also both part of the Forsyth group of companies.

For more information on Forsyths and its products and services call (01340) 831787 or visit www.forsyths.com