Scotland Single – What is the difference between scotch whisky and regular whisky?

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I drink Tenn. whisky all the time but I just got a bottle of 12 year old scotch whisky and I wanted to know what is done different to make scotch

Bourbon is America's version of whisky…Scotch is Scotland's. Scotch Whisky's distinction is a smokey peat flavor.

Scotch Whisky : The distinctive national whisky of Scotland. Single Malt Scotches are made entirely from malted barley and are the product of a single distillery. Blended scotch whiskies are a mixture of several different malt whiskies, plus grain alcohol. (examples: Johnnie Walker, Cutty Sark, Glenlivet, Glenfiddich, Macallan)

American Blended Whiskey : A blend of which at least 20% is 100-proof straight whiskey. The rest of the blend may include other whiskies and/or neutral grain spirits. (examples: Seagram's 7, Kessler, Beam's 8 Star)

ยท Bourbon Whiskey : A distinctive product of the U.S. made from a fermented mash containing at least 51% corn. It must be produced at no more than 160 proof and aged in new, charred oak barrels for at least 2 years. (examples: Maker's Mark, Jim Beam, Old Grandad)

Not surprisingly, it's whisky made in Scotland.

Scotch whiskey is made in Scotland. They reckon the water is why it is so good.

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 four distinct categories: single malt, vatted malt (also called "pure malt"), blended and single grain.

To be called Scotch whisky the spirit must conform to the standards of the Scotch Whisky Order of 1990 (UK),[1] which clarified the Scotch Whisky Act of 1988,[2] and mandates that the spirit:

Must be distilled at a Scottish distillery from water and malted barley, to which only other whole grains may be added, have been processed at that distillery into a mash, converted to a fermentable substrate only by endogenous enzyme systems, and fermented only by the addition of yeast,
Must be distilled to an alcoholic strength of less than 94.8% by volume so that it retains the flavour of the raw materials used in its production,
Must be matured in Scotland in oak casks for no less than three years,
Must not contain any added substance other than water and caramel colouring, and
May not be bottled at less than 40% alcohol by volume

whisky
Whisky (Scottish Gaelic: uisge-beatha), or whiskey (Irish: uisce beatha or fuisce), refers to a broad category of alcoholic beverages that are distilled from fermented grain mash and aged in wooden casks (generally oak).

Different grains are used for different varieties, including: barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and maize (corn). Whisky derives from the Gaelic word for "water" (uisce or uisge), and is called in full uisge-beatha (in Scotland) or uisce beatha (Ireland), meaning "Water of Life". It is related to the Latin aqua vitae, also meaning "water of life".[1] It is always Scotch whisky, and Irish whiskey.

The first written record of whisky comes from 1405 in Ireland,[2] where it was distilled by monks.[1] It is also mentioned in Scotland in 1496.[3] However it is thought that whisky had already been around for at least several hundred years prior. When or where whisky was first distilled is unknown and the local, undocumented beverage production during the period makes identification of the drink's origin difficult. Additionally, it is possible that different groups discovered processes of distillation completely independently of one another.

Some scholars believe distilled spirits were first produced between the 8th century AD and 9th century AD in the Middle East[4] with the art of distillation being brought to Ireland and Britain by Christian monks. A popular legend is that St. Patrick introduced distillation to Ireland and Britain; however, it is likely he lived around the 5th century AD.[citation needed] It is also possible that the distillation process was discovered in Ireland and possibly Britain (either independently or in precursor to Arabian distillation) by farmers as a way of making use of excess grain after harvest.

The original way to make whisky is to turn barley into malt, infuse it in water, ferment it into a form of beer (or "wine"), then distil it by the batch in a copper vessel shaped like a kettle or cooking pot. Malt whisky is still produced only in this way. In the mid-1800s, the blends of malt whiskies began to be leavened with a lighter style – made less expensively, from a variety of grains (not all malted) in a continuous process, using a column-shaped "patent" still. These unspecified grains may include unmalted barley, wheat or maize.

The Birth of the Blends
The Scots, with their mountainous country and long coastline, are a maritime nation of explorers, traders and engineers. Their pioneering travels have made blended Scotches, produced from both malt and "grain" whiskies, the most international of spirits. Although some of the sites are surely earlier, the oldest of today's Scottish distilleries date from the 1700s. Many date from illegal stills, and others from farms. In the 1700s and early 1800s, production was small and irregular, and the notion of "brands" or trademarks was unknown in any industry. Whisky was sold by the cask to country grocers and wine merchants. Johnnie Walker was such a shopkeeper; George Ballantine another; the Chivas brothers were partners in a shop. These merchants dealt with lack of consistency or volume by creating their own house vattings, and these became brands. John Dewar, who went into the business in 1806, was the first person to sell branded whisky in bottles.

The Recovery of Single Malts
Scotland is still the world's biggest exporter of spirit drinks, but the success of blends, owned by a handful of large corporations, made the few independent distillers of malt whisky nervous. In the post-war period, Glenfiddich began to export its whisky as a single malt, first to England, and then, in the late 1960s and 70s, to the rest of the world. What seemed like a lone gamble became an inspiration to others. Blended Scotch is still dominant in volume, but single malts like Glenfiddich, The Glenlivet, Glenmorangie, The Macallan and Laphroaig have established themselves internationally.

Single Malt: The Appellation
The term SINGLE has a very precise meaning. It indicates that all of the whisky in the bottle was made in the same distillery. It is the product of a single distillery and has not been blended with whisky from any other distillery. The term MALT indicates the raw material. The whisky is made exclusively from malted barley and no other grain, sugar or fermentable material. It is infused with water, fermented with yeast and distilled in a pot-still.

There are 100-odd malt distilleries in Scotland. Their products are the only Malts that may be called SCOTCH. A whisky must be distilled and matured for at least three years in Scotland in order to bear that appellation. The term "Scotch" cannot be applied – but the term "Single-Malt Whisky" can be applied to examples made in Ireland, somewhat experimentally in North America, and in New Zealand and Japan. These countries, however, have only a handful of distilleries among them.

While most bottles of single malt contain a vatting of several production runs, some are filled from a single batch. Such a whisky is sometimes identified as a "Single/Single" Scotches. This means that it is a single malt from a single barrel. A single barrel might fill fewer than 250 bottles.

The Glenfiddich is a true single malt, but also uses on its label the term "Pure Malt," as if to wear both belt and braces. This is perhaps foolish, as the singularity sounds to be diminished by the term "Pure."

On the labels of some other products, the term "Pure" indicates that, while the content is all pure malt whisky, it may come from several distilleries. This is true of several minor brands, especially in export markets. Any importer, distributor, or store-chain can create its own brand – let us say Glentammy, and fill its bottles with whichever malt whiskies are available and attractively priced. The contents of its bottles may vary from one year to the next. For that reason, these products are not reviewed in this reference, though some are very acceptable and excellent in value. Some countries with no malt distilleries buy whiskies from Scotland and vat them under a national label.

Slainte!
The Members of ScotchHunter.com

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