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
Ardbeg’s latest Committee Release is Scorch, a bottling made by aging the whiskey in ultra-charred “alligator” casks (all ex-bourbon barrels). No age statement, which is typical. Reviewed here is the cask strength Committee Edition of ...
It should come as zero surprise to anyone reading this site with regularity (and thank you for that) that as a collective, we are big fans of nearly everything emanating from Islay. It doesn’t really ...
There is never a shortage of finished single malts on the market these days, a process that can disguise otherwise underperforming whisky as something serviceable. But there’s also an art to finishing, and when done ...
The Glenmorangie train keeps rolling right through this summer, with this our final destination: the latest addition to Glenmorangie’s core lineup — X by Glenmorangie. It was created in partnership with barkeeps, and is a ...
Recently, we enjoyed a survey of the Glenmorangie core range while chatting about giraffes. With this in mind, the time felt appropriate to clean off the shelves, empty some bottles, and engage in a quick ...
Berry Brothers & Rudd is another venerable independent bottler which curates a wide variety of spirits beyond single malts (wine, gin, Cognac, etc). This timely review takes us back to a 2018 release and Speyside’s ...
Balnellan is another in a long line of private label bottlings for big-box American chain store Total Wine, this time supplied by independent bottler Angus Dundee. There have been a few offerings in the Balnellan ...
Previously on “Everybody Hates Drinkhacker”: we reviewed an 11-year old Dailuaine from independent bottler WM Cadenhead. It was pleasant and serviceable enough to rate as a “B” on our grading scale, a respectable enough showing. ...
GlenAllachie’s relaunch hit the U.S. in earnest a few years ago. Now fans of the whisky can dig deeper into its archives with this single cask bottling, which spends 14 years in Port pipes. Just ...
Chivas Regal’s flagship 12 year old bottling was probably the first Scotch I ever tried (alongside perhaps a sip of Cutty Sark), and as far as I can remember I haven’t had it again ever ...
