Scotch whisky

Scotch whisky is whisky made in Scotland. In Britain, the term whisky is usually taken to mean Scotch unless otherwise specified. In other English-speaking countries, it is often referred to as "Scotch".

Scotch whisky is divided into five distinct categories: Single malt Scotch whisky, blended malt (formerly called "vatted malt" or "pure malt"), blended Scotch whisky, blended grain Scotch whisky, and single grain Scotch whisky.The first written mention of Scotch whisky is in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland, 1495. A Friar named John Cor was the distiller.Traditionally the majority of the grain used to make Scotch whisky is sourced from East Anglia in England.

Types of Scotch whisky

There are two major categories, single and blended. Single means that all of the product is from a single distillery, while Blended means that the product is composed of whiskies from two or more distilleries. Traditional practices define five types:

• Single malt whisky is a 100% malted barley whisky from one distillery, distilled in batches in pot stills
• Single grain whisky is distilled at a single distillery from water and malted barley, with or without whole grains of other cereals; it must not meet the requirements of a single malt whisky
• Vatted malt whisky that is a blend of single malt whiskies, from more than one distillery
• Blended grain whisky is a whisky created by mixing grain whiskies from more than one distillery
• Blended Scotch whisky is a mixture of single malt whisky and grain whisky, distilled at more than one distillery

Single grain

The majority of grain whisky produced in Scotland goes to make blended Scotch whisky. The average blended whisky is 60%–85% grain whisky. Some higher quality grain whisky from a single distillery is bottled as single grain whisky. As of 2006, there are only seven grain whisky distilleries in Scotland.

Vatted / Blended malt

Vatted malt whisky—also called pure malt—is one of the less common types of Scotch: a blend of single malts from more than one distillery and with differing ages. Vatted malts contain only malt whiskies—no grain whiskies—and are usually distinguished from other types of whisky by the absence of the word ‘single’ before ‘malt’ on the bottle, and the absence of a distillery name. To qualify as a Vatted Malt, the mixed single malt whiskies are matured in the barrel for 1 year, after which the age of the vat is that of the youngest of the original ingredients. A vatted malt marked “8 years old” will include older whiskies, the youngest constituent was 8 years old before vatting. Johnnie Walker Green is an example of a vatted malt.

Blended

Blended Scotch whisky constitutes over 90% of the whisky produced in Scotland. Blended Scotch whiskies contain both malt whisky and grain whisky. They were initially created as an alternative to single malt whiskies which were considered by some to be too harsh . Master blenders combine the various malts and grain whiskies to produce a consistent "brand style". Notable blended Scotch whisky brands include Bells, Dewar's, Johnnie Walker, Whyte and Mackay, Cutty Sark, J&B, The Famous Grouse and Chivas Regal.