Whisky and Vinegar

There is a lot of crossover between the world of whisky and that of vinegar. Whisky is made by mixing malted barley with hot water to create a mash, extracting the sugars. Yeast is added to ferment this to about 6% ABV, and the resulting wash is then distilled in a big copper still to get the pure alcohol. This alcohol (new make) is aged in wooden oak barrels for a minimum of 3 years and that’s what makes whisky.

A real scrap paper analysis of what is a complex and highly artisanal process. From these three ingredients – water, barley and yeast – there are thousands of completely different whiskies with unique flavour profiles.

Variables include what kind of booze was in the cask before the whisky was aged in it (sherry? bourbon? rum?)

What kind of barley was used? A modern variety with high yield and high sugar? Or a more heritage one which has slower growth, less yield but more complex fatty acid chains?

How was the barley malted? Was the heat generated by electricity or peat?

Where did the yeast come from? The local organic brewery, or was it cultured in a lab, dehydrated and packaged in neat little foil packs, sold all over the world?

All of these questions and answers make each distillery and every cask unique. And this attention to detail in the tiny variables is what makes Dornoch Craft Vinegar so very special.

I share a passion for details and fermentation with Phil and Simon Thompson of the Dornoch Distillery, and together we have cultured this idea of making artisanal vinegar.

Phil and Simon started their journey making their own old style seasonal whisky in 2017 when they crowdfunded their own very tiny distillery. Producing only 11,000 litres a year, Dornoch’s single malt is difficult to get hold of and highly sought after.

With the care and experience they have, the brothers know what to look for in a good dram, so they started an independent bottlers. Buying casks from unique distilleries with shared values, they started a cult following for under-the-radar whisky with exceptional flavour.

The casks the whiskies come from can sometimes be reused, but sometimes it’s the end of the road for them and these are sold locally or chopped up for firewood.

This is where Dornoch Craft Vinegar steps in.

These casks are perfect for ageing vinegar.

And vinegar shares a lot of the same process as whisky.

And Phil, Simon and I have the same values when it comes to flavour driven production.

So we shook hands.

They would let me use their distillery on their off days to make a mash of barley – same barley as used for their exceptional Dornoch single malt. I would take the mash and ferment it to around 6% ABV, then convert this into vinegar and age it in their excess whisky casks.

The product would be a truly artisanal malt vinegar that takes on the flavour of exceptional whisky.

The flavour profile would marry with the cask it was aged in and celebrate the ethos of both businesses.

Supporting our small town with long term employment that doesn’t rely on the seasonal tourist trade, while also putting it on the map nationally and internationally.

It’s been a year so far of research and experimentation. I didn’t know how to make vinegar and it’s not as easy as it seems!

Phil and Simon just ran a kickstarter to fund a full scale distillery and they are busy with that.

(By the way they raised over £2.3 million. Pretty awesome for two dudes with a dream.)

I work full time as a waitress so I had to use my tips to fund any equipment at the start.

But through determination and passion the Dornoch Craft Vinegar Test Kitchen is built and up and running, with the first ever batch of wort fermenting in front of me as a type.

2026 is going to be a fantastic year.