
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
Sort & Filter
Price Range (£1,000 to £150,000)
Bottling Status (1 selected)
Region
Distillery/Brand
Type
Age
Vintage
Cask Type
Bottler
Series
Strength
Size
Single Cask
Limited Edition
Flavour Profile
Colouring
Hillside 197025 Year Old Rare Malts
£1,000
(£1,333.33 per litre)
Glenmorangie 196323 Year Old Sherry Cask
£2,250
(£3,000 per litre)
Laphroaig 199821 Year Old The Whisky Exchange
£1,250
(£1,785.71 per litre)
Macallan RubyThe 1824 Series
£1,500
(£2,000 per litre)
Glen Grant 195360 Year Old Sherry Cask Gordon & MacPhail
£3,000
(£4,285.71 per litre)
Glenlochy 197932 Year Old Rare Old Gordon & MacPhail
£1,000
(£1,428.57 per litre)
Aberlour 196630 Year Old Sherry Cask
£2,000
(£2,857.14 per litre)
Bruichladdich 198423 Year Old Golder Still
£1,100
(£1,571.43 per litre)
Bruichladdich 198422 Year Old Redder Still
£1,100
(£1,571.43 per litre)
Talisker 8 Year OldBot.1980s
£1,200
(£1,600 per litre)
Dalmore 30 Year OldShepherd Neame Sherry Cask
£5,000
(£7,142.86 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)
Bowmore 1974The Costumes Moon Import
£6,500
(£8,666.67 per litre)
Lagavulin 12 Year OldBot.1980s
£3,000
(£4,000 per litre)
Ardbeg 196732 Year Old Old Malt Cask
£5,500
(£7,857.14 per litre)
Port Ellen 198325 Year Old Provenance Cask #4717
£1,200
(£1,714.29 per litre)
Glenfarclas 25 Year OldBot.1970s
£1,000
(£1,321 per litre)
Glenlivet 197127 Year Old Old Malt Cask
£1,100
(£1,571.43 per litre)
Springbank 25 Year OldBot.1990s
£3,500
(£5,000 per litre)