Drink Matron

Tag: Scotland

  • The Whisky Regions of Scotland

    Single malt Scotches are made all over Scotland and are grouped together by region.  Traditionally, there were four regions: The Highlands, Lowland, Islay, and Campbeltown.  Speyside is a newly established region, splitting away from The Highlands and sporting over half the distilleries in Scotland.  Campbeltown lost its status as an official Scotch region a few years ago, but has been reinstated recently.

    Each region has it’s own distinct style and flavor, which mainly comes from the ingredients used.  It’s a subtle difference, but that’s why you drink single malt scotch: for the nuanced and subtle flavors.

    Lowland

    Scotches distilled in the Lowland region tend to have a maltier, less peaty flavor which makes for a more subdued whisky.  Traditionally, distillers in the Lowland region also triple distill their whisky, which further mellows the flavor.  As geographically large as the Lowland region is, there are relatively few distilleries here.  Notwithstanding, Lowland Scotches are some of the more demanded and pricier Scotches around the world.

    Speyside

    With the increased number of distilleries in the Speyside sub-region, they were given full region status by the Scotch Whisky Association.  More than likely, the single malt at your neighborhood bar (if they even have one) is from this region. Speyside Scotch is the most famous of the Scotches: Cragganmore, Glenfiddich, The Glenlivet, Glen Moray, The Macallan are all from Speyside.  This whisky tends to be sweeter than the other regions, likely because of the practice of aging the whisky in sherry barrels.  If there is any peaty character to any of these Scotches, it is only a hint.

    Highland

    A significantly large portion of Scotland, the Highland region produces robust, full-bodied Scotch.  They commonly have a floral, spicy flavor that can be attributed to the regional peat soil used in the malting process.

    Campbeltown

    Campbeltown is a tiny peninsula that used to support over 30 distilleries and was lauded as the Whisky Capital of the World.  There are only 3 Campbeltown distilleries left: Glen Scotia, Springbank, and newcomer Glengyle.  Campbeltown whiskys have a mix of sweet and salty flavors, and tend to be smokier than other Scotches.

    Islay

    The most distinct of the single malts, Islay Scotches are each as distinct from each other as the regional Scotches are.  Islay whisky tends to have a strong smoky, peaty flavor with a definite briny undertone.  Some are less peaty, some less smoky, some sweeter, some more savory.  Islay Scotches are in a class of their own.  A little tip from experience: If you pick up a bottle of Islay Scotch that is too smoky for you, hold onto it for a few year (or try buying an older bottle).  The smoky flavor is the first thing to mellow and it mellows significantly over time.

  • Blended Scotch vs Single Malt Scotch

    In the Scotch world, single malt drinkers tend to look down their noses at blended Scotch drinkers.  Is it warranted?

    Production

    All malt whisky is created the same (and grain whisky with a few minor alterations).

    Soak your grains in water until they start to sprout.
    Toast grains over the span of several days to halt the conversion of starch to fermentable sugar. (Not done for grain whisky)
    Grind malt into grist and steep in hot water.  The starches are converted to fermentable sugars in the water.
    Add yeast and allow wort to ferment.
    Separate solids from wash and distill (generally twice).
    Stick it in a cask and let it ferment for at least three years.

    This is the point at which the process changes.

    Single Malt

    At some point in the aging process, a cask of whisky will be deemed acceptable to bottling.  Casks of varying ages will be blended together to create a batch of single malt Scotch.  The single malt refers to the fact that the whisky must be made with 100% malted barley and is only blended with other whisky from the same distillery.  On a caveat, there is such a thing as single cask Scotch (which is incredibly rare, and more than you can afford), which is a bottle of Scotch that came from a single cask and wasn’t blended with anything else.

    Blended

    After a certain amount of time goes by, the distilleries will sell off some of their casks to blended scotch companies.  Each blended Scotch company will purchase enormous amounts of whisky from dozens of different distilleries, but a majority of their purchases will be grain whisky – not malt whisky.  That’s because 80% of blended Scotch is grain whisky, and the 20% that is malt whisky is a blend of up to 20 (but typically less than 15) single malts.

    So What Does That Mean Regarding Flavor?

    I’m glad you asked!  First of all, the grain whiskey that is used in the blending process has a higher alcohol content and is nearly flavorless so this has no effect on the flavor profile of blended whisky.  So the difference in flavor is that each distillery produces their own distinct flavor of Scotch and they put a great deal of effort into producing a quality, unique product that stands apart.  Meanwhile the folks making the blended scotches are spending just as much effort to create a quality product that focuses on consistency and moderate flavor as opposed to uniqueness.

    Talisker
    The Scotch that gets my motor running.

    You can think of it like mom-and-pop restaurants vs. franchises.  Some people would rather go to the franchise that they KNOW is above average no matter where in the world they are, while some people would rather try the mom-and-pop restaurant and run the risk of truly awful food if there’s a chance that it might be AMAZING food.  With blended scotch, you’ll always get a consistent flavor that isn’t too over the top.  With a single malt, it’s hit or miss.  Luckily, if you come across that single malt that makes your mouth salivate just thinking about it, you can always go back for more, no matter where you’re at.