Single malt, single grain, blended scotch… Where to start? Learning about whiskey can be an odyssey, taking into account all the concepts, which, let’s face it, are a bit (quite) confusing.
I think it is best to start by knowing what differences exist between the different categories and from there, start the journey that leads us to master the secrets of whiskey, such as what is the influence of terroir on whiskey or what is peat.
But let’s start at the beginning. In the following image I have created a diagram that I think may be a good approach to start in this world
Let’s go, then, by styles:
SINGLE MALT:
Single malt whiskey is produced using only barley that is malted and subsequently distilled to obtain whiskey. It comes from a single distillery, but not necessarily from a single distillation batch
Classical copper stills or «pot still» are used to perform the distillation and then they must be matured for a minimum of 3 years . Once the required time has passed, it must be packed at 40% vol. alc. so it can be called Single Malt whiskey
SINGLE GRAIN:
It is the whiskey that is made with malted barley and at least one different type of cereal such as wheat, corn or rye. Most distilleries in Scotland use wheat while in the USA, corn is used. In both cases, 10% malted barley is added for the enzymes to help with fermentation.
As in the case of single malt, it is made in a single distillery (hence both are «single») and differs in the process in that a continuous or column still is used (Coffey still or Patent Still) to make the distillation. This type of alembics can achieve higher alcoholic volume, so they will be more neutral, although they cannot in any case exceed 94.8% vol. alc. in Europe or 84% vol. alc. in USA
Before the invention of single grain, all whiskeys were single malt or blended malt.
BLENDED SCOTCH:
It is the most popular style, even with the growing interest in single malts. It is a mix of one or more single malt with one or more single grain
The style became popular in the middle of the s. XIX due to the increasing presence of peat in single malts, a fact that, is not to everyone’s liking. By having a more neutral whiskey such as single grain available, they began to mix it to lower the smoky notes of the peat and make it more accessible to the consumer.
BLENDED MALT:
It is a single malt blend from two or more distilleries and, before the advent of blended scotches, it was a way to get new whiskey profiles to satisfy consumers.
BLENDED GRAIN:
It is a single grain mix from two or more distilleries . It is the rarest category of the 5 and the most difficult to find.
Did you know all the categories? Which is your favorite? Let me know in the comments!