Scottish Blog

Every country in the world has a national drink, and in Scotland it’s Scotch whisky. Otherwise known as “Scotch”, this drink has a strong following worldwide, and considering it has only been around for 600 years, which is an impressive achievement. In fact the first official Scotch whisky distillery was established in 1690 by Duncan Forbes and was called the Ferintosh distillery.

At Scottish Heirloom Company we appreciate everything about Scottish culture, history and cuisine. And we must add to that, an occasional glass of Scotch whisky, and this we’re proud to say, because Scotch Whisky is truly a Scottish icon.

There are many whiskeys out there, but they should never be mistaken for real Scotch whisky, which not only differs in the taste and quality, but also in the spelling, in fact only real Scotch Whisky can be spelt like this, and any other way indicates a fake.

Actually, Scots are so proud of their Scotch whisky that international laws exist dictating what can be called Scotch whisky

To qualify as a Scotch whisky, the Whisky must be:

- Must be distilled in Scotland, using only water and malted barley, whole can be added and only yeast can be used to ferment it;

- Maturing has to take place in Scotland, inside oak casks;

- With the only additives being water or caramel coloring.

These "Scotch whisky" rules may seem extreme at first until you taste the difference between a true Scotch whisky and a cheap “Whiskey” substitute.

To suit everyone’s tastes, and budgets, there are many different Scotch whisky types, these can be confusing at first but follow a logical and quite understandable set of rules and procedures, which I will explain to you to.

Firstly, there are two main types of Scotch whisky, malt and grain. Malt Scotch whisky is can only be made of malted barley, while grain doesn’t have to be malted or even barley, and can be made out of a wide array of grains. The next point to take into account is whether the Scotch whisky is single or double, this means whether the product is made from Scotch whisky from one distillery or two. So it is understandable that an aged Single Malt Scotch Whisky will be better than a Blended Malt Grain.

Now you have the basic skills to appreciate and pick a Scotch whisky, and the only thing left to do, is to find the brand, and the only way to do that, is experiment.

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Also read our previous publication about Scotch Whisky >>