Minutes generic - Norwegian Scotch Malt Whisky Society

MINUTES from meeting #19
The 19th meeting of the Norwegian Scotish Malt Whisky Society was held at the abode of Mr. Marc Berntsen on 26 May 2000.

F.A. Haldorsen introduced jacket-badges especially made for NSMWS members.

Mr. Berntsen started the night with a short repetition of the whisky-making process. He went on to reveal for the members present the story behind The Whisky O'the Night - The Singleton ( for additional facts -see Mr. Berntssen's speech below).

Three other Whiskies were tested:
1. Glenmorangie ( Single Highland Malt Whisky, Madeira Wood Finish, 12 Y old. 43%)
2. Ardbeg ( "The Ultimate" Single Islay Malt Scotch Whisky, guaranteed 17 Y old.)
3. "Tullibardine" ( Single Highland Malt Whisky, 7 Jahre alt aus Düsseldorf.

All members revealed a built in need for debate, and amongst the issues discussed were

• Knifes – What are they good for and why are they shaped the way they are ?
• Morgan Kane, who was hailed as one of history's Greats by PAB and Bjarne "The Ferryman" Augestad. The latter of the two scholars scared some members by reading from a Norwegian newspaper the discovery of Malts causing cancer.
• Cartoons and super heroes (Franquin)
• The royal family
• Religion
• The death penalty

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Speech by Mr. M.H.G. Berntssen, for NSMWS on May 26
Process of fermentation,

Malting; Barley is soaked in water so the seed will germinate, this we call malt. Afterwards the malt is dried over a peat fire. The germination process causes enzymes in the seeds to breakdown starch in more soluble forms

Mashing; Minced malt is blended in a barrel with warm water. Through small holes in the bottom of the barrel a fluid (wort) is collected. This process lasts for 5 hours and is repeated 3 times. Now the soluble starch is broken down into sugars which can be fermented into alcohol.

Fermentation; The sugars are broken down into alcohol which is distilled

Whisky of the evening is Singelton.
It's a Speyside whisky from the distillery of Auchroisk, Mulben, Banffshire, Scotland. The ancient Gaelic translation for the word Auchroisk is "the ford across the red stream".

The underlying taste is pure and very mellow, reflecting the quality and clarity of the water from Dorie`s well (with an average temperature of 7.6 degrees Celsius the coldest well in Scotland).

The malt has a velvety, nutty character and a fullness and smoothness which comes from ageing in cherry oak casts. It is unique among the single malt whiskies from Scotland.

As said, the mellowness is derived from the pure water from Dorie's well. Remember that whisky of 43% contains 57% water.

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Synopsis writen by Mr. Paal Bjaarstad