
Single MaltScotch Whisky
Malt whisky is the ‘original’ whisky of Scotland. Although other grains were used, barley was grown specifically for making beer and whisky. However, with the success of blended whisky in the late 19th century, little was drunk as single malt outside the Highlands until the 1980s, when ‘the vintages of the North’ were rediscovered by an enthusiastic public and began to be made available by distillery owners.
Single malt whisky must be made with 100% barley
Currently there are around 90 operating malt whisky distilleries in Scotland – it is difficult to be precise, since sometimes distilleries go out of production for periods, in order to balance stock levels. Single malts from a further 30-odd now closed distilleries may still be found.
Although made from very simple materials – malted barley, water and yeast – the make of each distillery has an individual character, owing to a variety of factors, such as the length of fermentation time, the style and size of the stills, and how they are operated, the type of condensers used and amount of spirit saved (called ‘the cut’).
By law, Scotch (both malt and grain whiskies) must be matured in oak casks in Scotland, and the casks themselves can make a huge contribution to the flavour of the finished product, according to a) how long the whisky has been left to mature, b) how often the individual cask has been used to mature Scotch and c) whether the cask is made from European oak or American oak. This makes it difficult to identify the mature products of individual distilleries.
Since at least the 1880s, blenders have identified different styles of whisky coming from different parts of Scotland. The original division, dating from the 1780s, was between ‘Lowland’ whisky and ‘Highland’ whisky. Then the whiskies made in Campbeltown and Islay were discerned to be different, and the whiskies of Speyside were added to the list.
With the dramatic growth of interest in single malt whiskies since the 1980s, the ‘Highland’ region has been sub-divided into Northern, Western, Eastern, Southern and Islands.
In truth, regional differences in the style and flavour of malt whiskies has more to do with tradition (how a malt is made in one place or another) than terroir, and although it is not possible to make a malt with identical character to another in a different distillery, it is possible to imitate a regional style out-with the region in question.
Did you know?
- more than one billion bottles of Scotch are exported every year, with France the biggest market
- the first reference to Scotch whisky was in 1495
- the first single malt to be marketed outside Scotland was by Glenfiddich in 1963
Typical Character and Style of Single Malt
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Malt
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Vanilla
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Oak
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Nutmeg
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Dried Fruit
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Smoke
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Single Cask
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Lagavulin 200812 Year Old Special Releases 2021
£128
(£182.86 per litre)
Port Askaig 16 Year OldBot.2015
£135
(£192.86 per litre)
Highland Park 1991Bot.2007 Sherry Cask Mackillop's
£250
(£357.14 per litre)
Laphroaig 199820 Year Old Peaty Artist #9 SIG for LMDW
£850
(£1,214.29 per litre)
Laphroaig 199821 Year Old The Whisky Exchange
£1,250
(£1,785.71 per litre)
Benriach 28 Years OldWhisky Show 2018
£350
(£500 per litre)
Lp8 - Elements of IslayMadeira Cask
£299
(£598 per litre)
Oc3 - Elements of Islay
£150
(£300 per litre)
Glen Grant 195360 Year Old Sherry Cask Gordon & MacPhail
£3,000
(£4,285.71 per litre)
Bunnahabhain 16 Year Old for Salt Bar
£125
(£178.57 per litre)
Springbank 199518 Year Old Sherry Cask Renegade
£750
(£1,071.43 per litre)
Br5 - Elements of Islay
£99.95
(£199.90 per litre)
Glenlochy 197932 Year Old Rare Old Gordon & MacPhail
£1,000
(£1,428.57 per litre)
Glenlochy 198032 Year Old Signatory
£750
(£1,071.43 per litre)
Balblair 1973Centenary Reserve Gordon & MacPhail
£600
(£857.14 per litre)
North Port Brechin 197415 Year Old Sestante
£750
(£1,000 per litre)
Dunglas 1967
£699
(£998.57 per litre)
Brora 197726 Year Old Old & Rare Platinum
£3,500
(£5,000 per litre)
Brora 1972Bot.1993 Connoisseurs Choice
£3,000
(£4,285.71 per litre)
Glenlivet 196836 Year Old Cask #7600 Duncan Taylor
£1,350
(£1,928.57 per litre)
Port Ellen 1976Bot.1996 Cask #4763-66 Dun Eideann
£1,000
(£1,428.57 per litre)
Ardbeg 1976Bot.1999 Connoisseurs Choice
£1,250
(£1,785.71 per litre)
Longmorn-Glenlivet 1970Sherry Cask Scott's Selection
£4,000
(£5,333.33 per litre)
Caol Ila 1978Bot.1991 Gordon & MacPhail
£800
(£1,142.86 per litre)