LIQUORWORLD - Cromwell, Connecticut

Here's a basic definition: A single malt Scotch whisky is the product of an individual distillery in Scotland. Every distillery that bottles a single malt produces a whisky which is unique and individual in aroma and taste. Barley is the only grain used, giving the malt its grassy-sweet, nutty and malty characteristics. Single malt Scotch is made from a sugary liquid extract of 100% malted barley which is fermented by yeast and double distilled in small batches in copper pot stills. The new spirit then matures in oak casks before bottling.

Often these whiskies are sold based on the age, such as 10 year old, however some distilleries, such as Glenfiddich, blend their years, but since they are from a single malt and from the same distillery they can be considered single malts. Many distilleries make their whisky available for inclusion in blends.

Blends, which make up about 95% of the market, are a combination of a number of scotch malt and Scotch grain whiskies of different ages and consistencies. Since they are produced in a commercial volume, they lack the quality and distinctiveness of single malts.

By law, Scotch whisky has to have been matured for at least three years. Most blends tend to be matured for only three years, while Single Malts have been matured for longer periods, usually 10 years, but often longer. The same law also specifies that Scotch whisky must have a minimum alcoholic strength of 40% by volume.

The region is loosely based around the glens or narrow valleys surrounding the River Spey, of which the Rivers Fiddich, Livet and Avon are tributaries.

Speyside is the heart of whisky distilling in Scotland, located in a roughly triangular region between Elgin, Banff and Dufftown. More than forty distilleries are in this region, including Cardhu, Glenfiddich, Glenlivet, Longmorn and Tamdhu.

The Highlands refers to the area surrounding the Speyside region, and includes the distilleries around Inverness, Aberdeen, Perth and Oban. The area produces around thirty malts, including Ben Nevis, Dalwhinnie, Glenmorangie and Oban.

The Lowlands refers to the areas around Glasgow and to its south, including Edinburgh.

Historically the lowlands produced a coarser whisky than the highlands. Of the lowland distilleries Glenkinchie is probably the best known.

Islay is one of the islands in the Hebrides, with a ready source of barley, peat and water.

To dry the 'bare' (barley) and prevent mold, peat is used as fuel, and the barley retains much of the odor of the peat, giving a strong peat / smokey taste to the barley and the whisky distilled from it.

Malts from this region include Lagavulin and Laphroaig, Bowmore, Bunnahabhain and Caol Ila.

Ireland is the original home of whisky (that's how it's spelled in Ireland), and it was from the coastline of County Antrim that the secret of distilling went east to Scotland in the fifteenth century.

Irish whisky is distilled from a mash containing malted and unmalted barley, and is distilled three times, as opposed to twice as with Scotch, giving a lower proportion of fusel oil and other constituents which make Scotch malt somewhat more complex in character.