The Lowdown On Single Malt Scotch Whisky

By Author: Bonny Kominek
Total Articles: 20
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Single Malt Scotch Whisky is produced exclusively in one distillery ? one ''single'' distillery. ''Malt'' indicates that the whisky has been made from malted barley. Only malted barley and water go into a Single Malt Scotch Whisky ? no other grain is used (in contrast to blended whiskies).

To qualify as scotch whisky, distillation must have been in Scotland ? followed by maturation in oak casks of no shorter than three years and one day. Single Malt Scotch Whisky is usually matured a lot longer.

The maturation process finishes when the Single Malt Scotch Whisky leaves the cask ? unlike wine, the whisky does not mature in the bottle. Thus, the age of the whisky is always given as the length of time spent in the cask, not the bottle.

Brand new oak casks would impart too strong a flavour on delicate Single Malt Scotch Whisky, and so casks previously seasoned are required. These days, most of these used casks come from American whiskey production; Bourbon and Tennessee whiskey must be aged in fresh oak casks by law. This works out well for the producers of Single Malt Scotch Whisky.

Sherry casks ...
... were previously used to mature Single Malt Scotch Whisky, as once the sherry has been transported from Spain to Britain, it was too expensive to transport the empty casks back to Spain; the practice still continues, but only around seven percent of Single Malt Scotch Whisky is now matured in Sherry casks.

There are six Single Malt Scotch Whisky producing regions in Scotland: the Highlands; Islands (a sub set of the Highlands); Speyside; Islay, Lowland and Campbeltown.

Speyside has the highest concentration of malt whisky distilleries in all of Scotland.

The Single Malt Scotch Whisky produced in each of the six main regions has its own distinctive character and flavour.

Master of Malts, among others. Bonny Kominek is a long standing fan of single malt scotch whisky. Bonny Kominek recommends checking out Master of Malts online when searching for quality single malt scotch whisky.