Are You Out There — Essay
The Different Types of Scotch Whisky
At a bar that specializes in a range of Scotch Whisky you will no doubt see many different shapes, sizes, labels with different names, ages (where there are ages stated), and locations. It’s impossible to talk about the different types of Scotch Whisky without veering into the production, as therein lies the crux of their differences, However, I will keep it condensed in order to provide a nice, and hopefully, comprehensible, article.
Since each word in the following terms refers to a specific thing, I will address each one, in turn, starting with the most commonly heard.
Single Malt Scotch Whisky
This one almost everyone has heard of, but few likely know what it means word-for-word.
Single — produced at one distillery
Malt — made with 100% malted barley
Scotch — distilled and matured in Scotland
Whisky — matured for at least 3 years*
(*There are other legal requirements for it to be called this specifically.)
Sometimes a region will precede the term, to indicate the location. Locations are dictated by the SWA for Scotch Whisky:
Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Lowland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Campbeltown Single Malt Scotch Whisky
This emphasizes its whereabouts, and since certain locations are synonymous with certain styles of whisky, it helps give buyers an indication as to what the product will likely be.
Islay whisky is known for being smoky, tar-like, and medicinal. Speyside whisky is known for being rich, sherried, and robust. Campbeltown whisky is known for being peppery and spicy. Lowland whisky is known for being light, honeyed, and floral.
Of course, not every bottling from these regions will follow this. Some distilleries will negate this term to avoid the buyer assuming it follows the style, especially if the product is much different from it. Lowland distilleries could easily do peated whiskies just as much as Islay could do un-peated, heavily sherried ones. With mass experimentation across the range, these terms could now be taken with a pinch of grain.
Sometimes there are brands which stand in and of their own. Smokehead and Port Askaig are two well known ones from Islay. Smokehead is not a distillery and neither is Port Askaig. So why? The benefit of this is it allows brands to go all-out with different branding and styles. The latter, for example, pays homage to those of the island. To quote:
Port Askaig is a range of Islay single malt whiskies that embodies the unique spirit of Islay and its people. Its character brings together the robust smokiness and soft fruitiness found in this beguiling island.
These can therefore then be produced and bottled just the same as distillery portfolio products are, i.e. cask strengths, sherry, aged-statement, etc.
Single Grain Scotch Whisky
Term-for-term, this title means the following:
Single — produced at one distillery
Grain — made with a mix of grains (e.g. corn, wheat, barley, oats, millet)
Scotch — distilled and matured in Scotland
Whisky — matured for at least 3 years (and passes the other legal requirements)
You see this one on the market less often. Why? Because most of this goes into blends. It’s cheaper than Single Malt to produce and provides a different character to the end product, particularly when combined with stock from different distilleries. These marry together to form wholly new styles of their own which maintain the demand that’s seen their existence continue these past decades.
The most famous branded Single Grain is probably Haig, which honours John Haig, the founder of Cameronbridge distillery, and created in partnership with David Beckham.
To use a real-life practice, industry giant Diageo has a wide range of Scotch brands under their portfolio: Bells, Glenkinchie, Cragganmore, Mortlach, Talisker, Dalwhinnie, Lagavulin & Oban, to name a few. They will take stock from certain distilleries and carefully blend them to achieve a certain signature style. For example, their Johnnie Walker Black Label uses peated blended Scotch from Caol Isla, whereas their Gold Label doesn’t.
With the rise of experimentalism, however, more Single Grain whiskey is now appearing, especially through independent bottlings. These provide an interesting array of characters; mixed-grain-distillate react differently with wood and develop chemicals and styles that are seldom replicated with purely malted barley spirit.
Single Grain Scotch Whisky (unpeated) also tends to have a sweeter, thicker body with caramel and vanilla notes, making them ideal for Bourbon drinkers looking to get into Scotch Whisky.
Blended Malt Scotch Whisky
This one involves marrying stock from distilleries and maturing them in different casks, so term-for-term:
Blended — produced at more than one distillery
Malt — contains stock all made from malted barley
Scotch — distilled and matured in Scotland
Whisky — matured for at least 3 years (and passes the other legal requirements)
Since blended malts are made of multiple distillery stock, they are often branded with a term created by the parent company to symbolise it, e.g. Black Bull. It’s often a guessing game, and the origins are kept quite tight-lipped, however some offer a little transparency, and with enough tastings, one could ascertain, albeit for a bit of fun at least, what distilleries have contributed to the end dram.
As mentioned above, many distilleries will combine stock from certain distilleries in their portfolio to create a range of different ones. Diageo’s Johnnie Walker range being probably the most famous one, as well as Ballantine’s, which focuses on particular distillery products used, such as Glenburgie, Miltonduff & Glentauchers, and subsequently pad it out with other stock.
More expensive brands will often incorporate stock from closed distilleries. Diageo famously do this with the Ghost & Rare series, as part of their Limited Editions range, which takes spirits from silent distilleries and buffers them with products from their open distilleries. The Brora bottling, for example, included spirit from Cambus, Pittyvaich and the aforementioned distillery*.
Such closed distillery bottlings, as you can imagine, have extremely high market value, particularly the Port Ellen range. As with any product, when supply halts, the value of existing ones skyrocket. Even when a distillery re-opens, the valuations of those still remain high, particularly if new products are finished in different casks, irrespective of whether they are the same age, e.g. an 8 Year old prior to re-opening compared to an 8 Year old bottled 8–10 years after re-opening.
The Lost Distillery Company pays homage to many closed distilleries by bottling stock from them and packaging them under their own branding. Each one has its own fascinating story, and the company goes to great lengths to unearth their history and honour the product that, for their period, provided them with financial lifeblood. As a fine example, there’s one on the ex-Islay distillery Lossit.
(*NB. As of 2021, Brora, commonly known as Clynelish, has re-opened.)
So that’s the types in a nutshell. There’s a whole more one could discuss with blended malts and their history, but that’s a conversation for another time.
Need any further clarification on the above? Feel free to drop them in the comments and I’ll be happy to address them. Below I will address some common questions I’ve heard regarding this topic.
Common Questions
So what is whisky called before it’s been matured for 3 years?
It’s referred to as ‘new make’ or simply ‘spirit.’ In the States, it’s often referred to as ‘white dog’ and is reminiscent of Moonshine. Many ‘white dog’ products, therefore, are flavored with a host of different ingredients.
Many up-and-coming distilleries whose distillate (spirit) is too young to be bottled as whiskey often sell their spirit to gain a foothold in the spirits industry and raise public anticipation. Some will also siphon off the spirit aging in the casks (soon to become whisky) and bottle these as ‘aged spirit.’ Why? It helps purveyors know what to expect from the eventual whiskey, as the spirit itself can often be a very good indication of this (casks alone won’t provide the wide variation of whisky characters we currently have on the market) and also boosts revenues by diversifying their portfolio early on.
Is Single Malt better than Blended?
Not in the slightest bit. I’ve talked about this in another article, but to summarise: there are great Single Malts and not so great Single Malts, just like there are great Blends and not so great Blends.
Where a whiskey comes from generally bears little relevance to how ‘good’ it is. Embrace each and every one with open arms. Don’t shut off one you could like before you’ve given yourself the chance to try it.
If a blended whisky states it’s ‘x’ years old, does that mean the entire stock has been blended and matured in casks for that length of time?
Not exactly. While it’s easy to assume so, according to the rules, only a fraction of the stock mix need be a specific age for it to be then labelled as such. This can be anything from a hogshead-full to just a pipette, and distilleries won’t often state this. The master blenders decide what is appropriate proportion-wise.
I frequently write reviews about whiskey on my personal website, which you can visit here.
The writer is not affiliated with any of the brands mentioned in this article and bears no responsibility for the content of third-party links. Remember to drink responsibly and follow the rules and regulations in the state or country you reside in. And as the Scots say, “Sláinte.”
