Flavor differences in whiskey can be discerned based solely on the environment in which the barley used to make the whiskey is grown, a new study found.

This is first scientific study that found the environmental conditions, or terroir, of where the barley is grown impacts the flavor of whiskey, said Dustin Herb, an author of the study and a courtesy faculty member in the Department of Crop and Soil Science at Oregon State University.

«Terroir is increasingly being used to differentiate and market agricultural products, most commonly wine, as consumers grow more interested in the origins of their food,» Herb said. «Understanding terroir is something that involves a lot of research, a lot of time and a lot of dedication. Our research shows that environmental conditions in which the barley is grown have a significant impact.»

Herb, who is originally from Lebanon, Oregon, and earned his undergraduate and doctoral degrees from Oregon State, is the only American author of the study, which was published in the journal Foods. The other authors are all from Ireland, where the study was conducted.

Herb’s doctoral research at Oregon State with Pat Hayes, a barley breeder in the College of Agricultural Sciences, focused on the contributions of barley to beer flavor. Their research found notable differences in the taste of beers malted from barley varieties reputed to have flavor qualities.

That research caught the attention of Waterford Distillery. The Irish distillery reached out to Herb, flew him to Ireland and asked him if he could design a study that would attempt to answer the question of whether terroir exists in whiskey. They dubbed it The Whisky Terroir Project. (Whiskey can be spelled with and without an «e.»)

Herb designed a study that involved planting two common commercial varieties of barley in Ireland — Olympus and Laureate — in two distinct environments: Athy, Co. Kildare and Buncloudy, Co. Wexford in 2017 and 2018. Athy is an inland site and Buncloudy is a coastal site. They were selected in part because they have different soil types and different temperature ranges and rainfall levels during the barley growing season.

Story Source:
Materials provided by Oregon State University. Original written by Sean Nealon. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.