However, you can find single malt bottles that are single cask, single batch, or single barrel. These will be clearly marked on the bottle and are usually a little more expensive since they highlight a particularly tasty barrel! The common misconception stems from the word “single.” Many confuse this to mean a single barrel, a single bottle, or a single grain. By the legal definition of single malt scotch, “single” simply means one distillery. (But since you know the definition of scotch, you know that single malts are also made from a single grain, barley, by default. This does not make them “single grain,” which is a different designation we can see below.) On the other hand, double malt is made from a blend of single malts from two distilleries. It has a nice finish and amazing flavors.

Palate: Rich and full-bodied with notes of coffee fudge, ground almonds, chocolate, gingerbread, and tangy oak that make way for fruit: a medley of dried, dark, and tropical. Why? Well, blending whisky is no mean feat, requiring serious distilling pedigree and patience. But the rewards are irrefutable: an exceptionally smooth spirit that offers the best of grain (creamy, caramel, herbal) and single malt (rich, floral, fruity) whisky in every dram. What is blended Scotch whisky?Gold in Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible (2014), and Gold at the International Wine & Spirit Competition (2020)

More than four decades of French ownership have given Aberlour a strong following in France, but trade issues in that country cost the brand a chunk of its expected sales last year, dropping it down the top 10. The concept of blended whisky inevitably leads to confusion. Simply put, a blended Scotch whisky is a combination of single malt Scotch whisky and single grain Scotch whisky. Masters of their craft, these blends often take years to perfect, but create entirely unique drams offering complex flavour profiles. How we test blended Scotch whisky The very special whisky spent over half a decade aging in European oak barrels, before being treated to a final maturation in a single Pedro Ximénez-seasoned cask. The Singleton Of Dufftown 54 Year Old is an ultra-rare whisky limited to only 235 bottles, the ultimate collectors’ bottle.

Single

Buchanan’s has been making a name for itself in the whisky world for the past 130 years and is widely recognized as another favorite across the planet. It’s affordable with round and complex offerings that’ll leave a strong first impression on your tastebuds. The Blue Label is the brand’s most prestigious blended whisky, coming in with a higher price point that’s more than worthy of the flavors to follow. Blended whisky means a blend of both malt and grain whisky. They often have a poor or cheaper reputation and hardly ever have the age listed on the bottle. But that doesn’t mean they are all low-quality. Johnnie Walker and Famous Grouse are among the most popular blends. Blended Grain

Germinating the Barley: The harvested barley is then soaked in the distillery’s local water. (Each distillery has a unique water source that helps define their style and flavor.) The barley soaks until it is just beginning to germinate. It is then removed from the water and dried over hot fires or other heat. (This is another area where distilleries impart flavor to their whisky via peat, wood, or heather.) This dried, germinated barley is called malt. Peaty scotch can be a very divisive issue for whisky drinkers. Some people love the earthy, smoky rush that envelops them from nose to finish, while others think it tastes like an acrid tire fire. There are different levels of peat, of course. Laphroaig, from the Islay region of Scotland known for its smoky scotch, falls around 45 ppm, which makes this a decidedly peat-forward whisky. The 10-year-old is a staple you can find at most bars and liquor stores, and it’s a solid choice, full of seaweed, vanilla, and grill smoke flavors. If you’re looking for something quite a bit stronger, try Batch 15 of the cask-strength version of this classic, which you can proof down as you like. If you have the money to spend, the extra-aged expressions are where the whisky really starts to take on new dimensions. When it reaches a quarter century of maturation, Laphroaig still brings smoke to the party, but a host of other elements come into play that aren’t immediately evident in some of the younger expressions. The Ian Hunter Story is a newer series of whiskies highlighting the life and contributions of the former Laphroaig owner. Book 4, the most recent release, was aged for 34 years initially in ex-bourbon barrels and finished in sherry casks (it will be released in the coming months). For something a bit more accessible, try the 10-Year-Old Sherry Oak, which gives a sherry finish to the core expression with fantastic results. First Distillation: The wash moves to a copper pot still that heats the wash until the alcohol converts to gas and rises through the pipes to another chamber. These pot stills are generally small and create small batches of low-wine with intense flavor. That is not to say you shouldn’t enjoy a clearly labeled Vatted or a Blended scotch. Some of these are really quite excellent and full of delicious flavors you won’t get in a single malt. Vatted and Blended selections are often much more consistent in flavor across the years as well. Blended scotch whisky is a great chance to have some fun and experiment with different styles of whisky. So don’t be a single malt snob, give blended malt scotch a try too! More recently, however, the company has stopped communicating this element of provenance, freeing it up to use other malts (specifically Ailsa Bay, located within its Girvan grain complex) when needed.There’s all kinds of casks maturing at The Glasgow Distillery The Glasgow Distillery cask programme