What whisky means to Scotland...

There is a certain art in understanding a label of a Scotch Whisky bottle, this is a small guide to it.

The most important thing to inspect when looking at any bottle of Scotch Whisky is whether it contains the word “Scotch Whisky”. While it may seem obvious at first, if a label does not have the word Scotch in it, than it is not a real Scotch Whisky. Similarly, the term “whiskey” or “Scottish” as opposed to Scotch, will most likely be a indication of a counterfeit bottle. This is a product of laws governing what can and cannot be called Scotch Whisky, only that which passes all requirements is able to carry the label “Scotch Whisky”.

The terms “pure malt” or “blended malt” are normally indicators that this is a mixture of single malt Scotch Whisky. Although, older bottling that are described as “pure malt” can be in actual fact single malt.

Scotch Labels are the best indicators of the age of the Scotch Whisky. If a certain amount of years is stated on the bottle, than it is the age of the maturation. For instance, “12 year single malt” would indicate a single malt that was matured for 12 years. Otherwise if a year is given, this is the year the Scotch Whisky was distilled. A second year is the year that the Scotch Whisky was bottled. As Scotch Whisky stops ageing when bottled, the difference between the two shows the length of ageing.

Scotch Whisky Maturation is the last stage of Scotch Whisky production before bottling.

Scotch Whisky maturation is the process in which the Scotch Whisky is left to rest in a wooden cask. The purpose of this process is to mature the flavor and add extra colors textures or flavors to the Scotch Whisky.

Scotch Whisky maturation normally takes place in bourbon barrels due to the regulation demanding the use of a fresh barrel for each bourbon production run. While this may be the most common option, it is far from the only one port, Cognac, Madeira, calvados, beer, and Bordeaux wine barrels have been used. Sherry barrels are also a popular type in traditional Scotch Whisky maturation. By regulation, to be legally considered Scotch Whisky, it must be aged for at least three years in a barrel. In those years, there is evaporation of liquid from the cask, resulting in a loss of roughly 0.5% to 2.0 %. This has come to colloquially be called “the Angel’s Share”.

The type of wood used in Scotch Whisky Maturation is betrayed in the color of the final liquid. Typically a Scotch Whisky maturation in sherry barrels yields a amber colored drink, while bourbon barrels will result in a golden or yellow color. Although in recent years there have been trends towards transferring a matured whisky to a different type of barrel to change its color, making it difficult to judge the final product. At this point the color can also be affected by the addition of “spirit caramel”.

Kilchoman Distillery is Scotland’s newest distillery.

Kilchoman Distillery is located in the Inner Hebrides, on an island called Islay. Specifically, it is located just out of a town called Kilchoman. The location gives Kilchoman Distillery the title of the most westerly distillery in Scotland. It is also the first Scotch Whisky Distillery to be built on Islay in 124 years.

Kilchoman Distillery is so new that at this point it has not begun selling its whiskies. Their first sets of casks were filled on the 15th of December, 2005. The first set of Kilchoman Distillery Scotch Whisky is scheduled to be bottled and released in 2011, and be sold as a five year aged Scotch Whisky. At this point, an eight, ten and twelve year age is scheduled. There is also consideration of making separate release of Scotch Whisky for various malts.

The Kilchoman Distillery is equipped with one wash still and one spirit still. These combine to give the Kilchoman Distillery an operational capacity of 90,000 Liters. The current batch of ageing Scotch Whisky in the Kilchoman Distillery are held in bourbon barrels, but there are plans to implement sherry barrels in the future.