Scottish Blog

Scotch Whisky is a iconic drink of Scotland.

Any drink or food that has a history as rich as Scotch Whisky can be intimidating to those unfamiliar to the terms used to describe it. Scotch Whisky is susceptible to this problem, with a number possibly confusing labels applied to it.

Similar to wine, Scotch Whisky differs greatly in quality and taste based on where it was produced and by which distiller. Similarly, whether the Scotch Whisky is blended or single malt will make a very large difference to its taste.

In the simplest terms, Scotch Whisky can be divided into two distinct categories, Single and Blended. Single Scotch Whisky is produced in a single distillery, while bended is produced in more than one and then blended. Further, these two groups can be divided further, for greater detail. Roughly speaking the groups are as follows: Single Malt Whisky, Single Grain Whisky, Blended Malt Whisky, Blended Grain Whisky and Blended Scotch Whisky.

Generally speaking, Scotch Whisky that is Single Malt or Single grain is thought to be the best. Single Malt Whisky contains nothing but a whisky made from one type of malted barley and produced at one distillery. Single Grain Whisky is produced at a single distillery but can be made with more than one type grain. Although the majority of grain whisky produced in Scotland is used in the production of blended grain whisky.

Scotch Whisky that is produced in Scotland is predominantly of the blended variety, in fact it is estimated that 90% of the whisky sold is blended. The classifications for Blended Scotch Whisky are relatively straight forward. Blended Grain Whisky is whisky produced by blending various types of Single Grin Whisky. Similarly, Blended Malt Whisky is produced from a number of Single Malt Whisky types. Lastly, Blended Scotch Whisky consists of a mixture of Single Malt Whisky and Single Grain Whisky, from multiple distilleries.