Does corn need to be malted to make whiskey?

Without enzymes, none of the starch will be converted into sugar and fermentation will fail. So, it is critically important to use malted barley, and not regular flaked barley, for this recipe.

Does bourbon use malted corn?

All bourbon is predominantly made from corn (at least 51%). Aficionados of this style tend to prefer it for its sweeter, robust flavors of vanilla and maple syrup. It can give way to a pleasant, leathery finish with further aging. Whiskeys labeled as “corn whiskey” are either unaged, or aged in used barrels.

What is malted corn used for?

Why do we Malt Corn? Malted corn develops the enzymes (such as Amylase) needed to convert the corn’s starches into sugars including disaccharides such as maltose or sucrose, and monosaccharides such as fructose or glucose for fermenting.

What does corn do to whiskey?

Corn is often credited for providing bourbon with the sweet flavors, but no grain actually provides sugar content in whiskey because sugar doesn’t go through distillation. Corn typically doesn’t provide strong flavors, which is why it’s often combined with other grains that do provide flavor.

What is the best corn for making whiskey?

Whiskey is primarily made with yellow dent field corn (typically yellow dent No. 1 or No. 2, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s quality grade), grown commercially in huge quantities to feed cattle and make ethanol and plastic products.

Is there a 100% corn whiskey?

Before we dive in, there’s a difference between “corn whiskey” and “100 percent corn bourbon.” Corn whiskey only has to be 80 percent corn-based, but certainly can have a 100 percent corn-fueled mash bill. 100 percent Corn bourbon is different in that it also has to follow bourbon’s other rules.

What corn is used for moonshine?

Sweet Corn could be used to make bourbon but it’s typically the type that you’d buy at a grocery store to eat as corn on the cob, frozen corn or canned corn. It comes in white, yellow and coloured varieties but regardless of type is usually just labelled as “corn” in grocery stores.

What is the best grain to make whiskey?

Corn is the primary grain used to make most American whiskeys, particularly bourbon, which by law has to be made up of at least 51% corn. Moonshine is unaged white whiskey typically made entirely of corn (or corn and sugar).

What kind of corn is used for whiskey?

Bourbon uses “dent corn,” so called because each kernel has a little dent in it. Dent corn is matured longer, until it turns hard and dry, just like a grain.