TITLE: A Ceithir Duil
NAME: Francois Dispot
COUNTRY: France
EMAIL: wozzeck@club-internet.fr
WEBPAGE: www.geocities.com/vienna/7709
TOPIC: Elements
COPYRIGHT: I SUBMIT TO THE STANDARD RAYTRACING COMPETITION COPYRIGHT.
JPGFILE: fdislay.jpg
ZIPFILE: fdislay.zip
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.

