Scotch Tips – Definitions

Welcome to this weeks edition of Scotch Tips. No podcast this week but some definitions that should help you appreciate Scotch.

In order to enter and enjoy the world of Scotch, you must understand the basic terms used. So I thought I would start out with some of the basic terms and their definitions.

Malt: is a cereal grain partially sprouted to prepare it to release its fermentable sugars. It is then dried in a kiln. In the making of Scotch the cereal grain used is always barley.

Whisky: is a spirit drink originating in Scotland or Ireland. Notice there is no "e" after the "k" in Scottish whisky.

Malt Whisky: whisky made from malted barley only. Typically made in batches in a copper kettle or pot.

Single Malt Whisky: is a malt whisky made in a single distillery, not vatted or blended with whisky made in another distillery.

Scotch Whisky: whisky only made in Scotland and matured for at least three years. No other nation can produce "Scotch". Other nations can produce whiskey and malt whiskey but not "Scotch".

Single Malt Scotch Whisky: is a single malt whisky mad in Scotland.

Single Cask: a bottling made from just one cask.

Vatted Malt: malt whiskies from different distilleries are combined into one malt product.

Pure Malt: used to indicate a single malt or a vatted malt. Very confusing term and going out of use.

Blended Scotch Whisky: is a use of many different Scotch Whiskies together to make one product.

Grain Whiskey: produced form corn, wheat or raw barley. They are matured in oak for at least three years. Single Grain Whiskey: not seen very often.

Peating: when the producers kilned their grain over an open fire peat is often used. The malt takes up some of the flavor of the smoke. The amount of peat flavor found in the final product varies for multiple reasons.

Double and Triple Distillation: most Scotch is double distilled but there still are a few who triple distill their products. They do this to make their product lighter and cleaner.

Bourbon Ageing: all Scotch is matured at least three years. This maturation takes place in casks. One of the favorite casks to be used is a bourbon cask. The cask was first used in the making of Bourbon and then sold to the Scotch maker. A vanilla-like flavor is imparted to the scotch especially the first fill. As the cask is used multiple times, the amount of vanilla-like flavor imparted decreases with each use.

Sherry Ageing: is when a sherry cask is used for maturation of the Scotch.

I hope you have found these definitions helpful in understanding Scotch.

Dr. Scotch