Scotch Whisky
Whisky made in Scotland, referred to as Scotch, is one of the most popular types of whisky in the world. By law, it must be distilled to no more than 189.6 proof and produced from a mixture of water, cereal grains, and malt, with the only allowed additives being water and caramel coloring. Scotch must be aged in oak casks in Scotland at a licensed warehouse for a minimum of three years, but, unlike bourbon or rye, those casks can, and almost always are, used barrels instead of new ones. Scotch is separated into five categories, one of which is required to be displayed on the label: Single Malt (100% malt barley from a single distillery), Single Grain (all grain spirit from a single distillery), Blended Grain (grain whiskies from multiple distilleries), Blended Malt (a blend of single malts), and Blended Scotch (a blend of malt and grain whiskies). The malt used to make Scotch can be dried by fire from with compacted vegetation called peat, which imparts a unique flavor on the final product. (This type of Scotch is most common on island regions, particularly Islay.) There are five whisky-producing regions in Scotland, each with its own style and character: Lowlands, Highlands, Speyside, Islay, and Campbeltown.
Top Scotch Whisky Posts:
A Tour of Scotland: Understanding Scotch Whiskies
Touring Scotch Whisky Distilleries in Speyside, Scotland
Drinking Scotch with The Dalmore’s Richard Paterson
Whiskies of Glen Grant with Master Distiller Dennis Malcolm
We’re on to edition three of the ImpEx Collection — which comprises six Scotch whiskies and, for the first time, four agave-based spirits, specifically mezcal. Today we run through the Scotch. Stay tuned for the mezcal in another dispatch. Away we go! The ImpEx Collection Benrinnes 2008 16 Years Old Cask #800218 – Aged in…
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Last fall, we got our first taste of the single malts of Ardnamurchan, a new distillery from Adelphi, a longtime independent bottler who decided to finally get fully into the Scotch whisky game. The distillery makes both peated and unpeated spirit aged in a mix of ex-bourbon, ex-sherry, and European oak, and it’s located so…
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While we’re starting to see more and more Scotch distillers dabble with virgin oak, Deanston in the Scottish Highlands has had a non-age-stated Virgin Oak offering as a core expression for years now. That bottle clocks in at a respectable 46.3%, but last fall, they decided to turn up the volume on this one with…
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Distilleries all over the world are finally starting to go green, but it feels like there’s been a particular focus on sustainability in the whisky space over the last year or so. Distilling is a notoriously energy intensive process, and for a lot of large-scale heritage brands, it’s going to take a while for their…
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Oran is a new line of blended Scotch whisky that comes to us from an unexpected place: The Perfect Fifth, an independent Scotch bottler based in the U.S., in partnership with Jim Murray, the infamous whisky critic and writer. Murray personally created the two blends — his first ever — from 11 total casks of…
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Does Talisker ever plan to stop releasing successively older whiskies? Here’s to hoping the answer is no, because the stuff coming out of the Isle of Skye continues to blow us away every time a sample arrives. Talisker Glacial Edge 45 Years Old is the final release in the Xpedition Series (we didn’t know it…
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It was another tough year for the whisky nerds among us – which is, well, all of us – as we tried to pare down the hundreds of options we reviewed throughout 2023 and come up with a list of the ten that excited us the most. Yes, we heard your cries from last year:…
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As a rule of thumb when I see independent bottlings of Mortlach, I pick them up. While this Signatory Vintage release, from the long-running “Un-Chillfiltered Collection,” is matured only in bourbon hogsheads, the 15 year age statement — and reasonable price — spurred me to lie down my Visa card. This is a classic…
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Diageo’s annually released Special Releases are always treasures, but they don’t always shake up expectations, often relying on slight twists to some well-worn formulas in the world of Scotch — some added age, virgin oak, higher proof, and so on. With 2023, that’s all changing. With this “Spirited Xchange” collection, Diageo is leaning on its…
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Glenfiddich’s duty free/travel retail lineup is designated its “Perpetual Collection,” as all of the whiskies in the lineup (four to date) are aged in solera vats. How many solera vats — which are constantly refilled, leaving some percentage of older stock behind — does Glenfiddich have? I’ve only seen the one — which is used…
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