EMAIL: wozzeck@club-internet.fr
NAME: Francois Dispot
TOPIC: Elements
COPYRIGHT: I SUBMIT TO THE STANDARD RAYTRACING COMPETITION COPYRIGHT.
TITLE: A Ceithir Duil
COUNTRY: France
WEBPAGE: www.geocities.com/vienna/7709
RENDERER USED: Povray 3.1b5
TOOLS USED: spilin 1.2, Corel Draw!
RENDER TIME: about 30h
HARDWARE USED: P200 w/ 64Mb Ram

IMAGE DESCRIPTION:

An imaginary whisky commercial.

The brand name means "the four elements", even if our modern occidental conception of "elements" has no real equivalent in Celtic culture (thanks to Jerry Anning for some very interesting points regarding this).

Why whisky?
It seems to me that, if the "elements" concept is not related to whisky, whisky itself is strongly connected to the four usual occidental elements. At least, a good whisky is, and the value of a whisky depends on the following points. By the way, this description assumes that "whisky" means "single malt scotch whisky", and might contain some lacks and inaccuracies.

In the beginning is barley. It is so unimportant that most distilleries buy it without really thinking about it. So you could nearly forget about it. People at Glennlivet distillery would tell you that theirs arrives already malted! If it is not the case, add a bit of water and wait until it malts.

Then the first important part arrives: the malt is dried. This process is usually achieved burning peat under the malt. At this moment where FIRE meets EARTH, the place where the peat is taken from is very important, because the whisky will take a good part of the taste of the peat. This is one of the reasons for the distinctiveness of island whiskies: peat used by some distilleries close to the sea contains a lot of sea weed, giving its smoke a different smell, and giving a salty taste to the spirit. Other examples can include heather and other plants, sometime giving a "medicinal" taste.

Then, malt is mixed with pure WATER before being distilled. Again, a part of the taste of the water goes to the spirit. This is also very important, as you can see by observing the concentration of distilleries along the Spey river in the Highlands. The distilling process itself needs few comments except for the fact tha most whiskies ate distilled two times, while a very few are distilled three times (Auchentoshan is an example).

Then, whisky is put into casks and wait for "a certain time". Casks themselves have an importance, though it is not connected with elements. The wood used is important, and even more, the fact that the cask was or not previously used for maturing another spirit (rum for some Springbank, port for Glenmorangie, sherry for Macallan). But the last and important connection to our topic is the atmosphere of the maturating place. Of course, atmosphere is very damp in a closed place, and a specific flora can appear. But, and this is the other reason why island malts differ, proximity to the sea brings a salty AIR and provides a salted taste.

After this "certain time" (usually 7 to... 30 years or more) has elapsed, you get a nice, clear, strong (usually around 60 degrees) liquid. Most of the times this will live some additional processes, including colorating, adding pure water to reach the usual 45 degrees and an important point which has to be noted and which is "chill filtering". This process consists in chilling the spirit to make some unlikely particles precipitate and be removed. This is why, except in the rare case of non-filtered whiskies, a whisky should NEVER be served chilled or "on the rocks". Doing so makes some of this particles reappear and enhances their taste. You'll be warned!

Those interested should absolutely get Michael Jackson's (no, he's another one ;-) Malt Whisky Companion. He rates most usual whiskies in a 1-100 (more 55-95) range, but after some experiments you will know his preferences and adapt his comments, more relying on his taste and smell description.

DESCRIPTION OF HOW THIS IMAGE WAS CREATED:

There's nothing really extraordinary to tell about this (quite unfinished) picture. Just CSG and a bit of lathe modelling using spilin. The bottle and labelling are based on the real shape used for Lagavulin, Talisker and Oban; the glass and spirit color are closer to the "cask strength" whiskies like those marvelous things sold by Cadenhead's.

I mostly considered this picture as an exercise about lighting, which didn't prevent from the use of POVRay 3.1 macros and media.

The picture at the window was taken by my wife in the scottish island of Skye, which produces one of the most interesting affordable and easy to find single malts, named Talisker.