“WHAT FLAVORS ARE THERE?”
First, let’s explain how to categorize, in AN IMPORTANT WAY, Scotch for you. Major taste types (3 of them), and distribution type (2 of them.)
Blended Scotch
Blends are the bulk of Scotch sold worldwide and are allowed to take malt from many different distilleries, then ‘blend’ them with inferior grain whisky made from unmalted barley or other grains. Blended Scotches (Johnny Walker, Chivas, and Dewars, etc.) strive for consistency and inoffensiveness, and sometimes achieve both. They have millions of casks to work with, with no two casks being exactly alike, this leaves a hefty task of keeping the brands consistent year after year. If your vision of a perfect evening is pouring Scotch into a big glass of ice and hoping for a familiar experience day in and day out, then blends are for you and you don’t have to read another word. Cheers!
Single Malt Scotch
Excellent! You’re still with us. I’ll say this plainly: blends are inferior, mostly because they are bland and boring. They strive for it! Most blends are popular because they’re so smooth that you hardly notice that it’s Scotch. Tap water is also smooth, and you’ll hardly notice the Scotch. And it’s cheaper! In single malts, however, you will find complexities of flavors you couldn’t have imagined. Sometimes they won’t suit your taste, I confess. But when you find the right malt… well, you’ll see.
Single Malt Scotch is by definition a malted-barley whisky produced in one (single) distillery. Scotch, which can only be made in Scotland, must be aged at least 3 years and be bottled at no less than 40% ABV (that goes for blends too.)
Blended Malt Scotch
Previously called Vatted Malt or Pure Malt, a Blended Malt is essentially Single Malts from multiple distilleries mixed together. As the spirit is all malt whisky, there is no reason to believe that it should be any less superior than single malt scotch.
Grain Scotch
On very rare occasions unmalted spirit gets aged. It will often take 30-40 years for it to become a decent scotch.
Flavor Types
• Bourbon cask (most whisky)
• Specialty casks (typically sherry casks)
• Peaty (mostly from Islay)
Scotch is almost always aged in a used cask (pardon me, ‘pre-owned’), because the previous spirit strips away the harsh new-wood flavor and leaves a bit of itself that the Scotch will pick up.
Yes, there are complicated taste maps out there, but knowing these three types will get you pretty far. Whisky lovers will usually tell you whether they prefer or don’t prefer sherried Scotch or Islays (they call themselves ‘Peat Freaks’.)
Bourbon cask
For lack of a better description, this is “normal” whisky. Used oak bourbon casks from America (bourbon is only allowed to use new casks) are cheap and plentiful, and the whisky may or may not inherit a small hint of bourbon. If your bottle doesn’t specify what the whisky was aged in, this is usually it. All Scotch is aged in oak casks, so don’t let that impress you.
Specialty cask
Often, whisky is aged in casks that previously contained sherry, port, wine, rum, etc. Sherry has been historically popular, with distilleries such as Macallan and Glenfarclas specializing in it, but the rising cost of spent Sherry casks has made sherried whisky more costly and less common. Occasionally, whisky that has been aged in bourbon casks will be “finished” for a short time in a specialty cask. This will not be the same as a whisky fully aged in a specialty cask.
Peaty
Peat is grassy soil burned as fuel to dry the barley and is plentiful on the boggy islands west of Scotland. The flavor from this peat smoke follows the whisky all the way to your bottle and is often described as briny, medicinal, smoky, or grassy. First timers will often react with “What the @#%,” but the peat tends to grow on you fast and is a favorite of experienced tipplers. Peat can be used on any whisky, but it’s a signature of the Islay Scotches and that’s where you should start. Hint: Laphroaig 10 is cheap, easy to find, and tasty.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Distribution Types
Distribution refers to not where the scotch was made, the but rather the company that labels, markets, and sells the scotch to retail stores.
Official Bottling
Most single malts are bottled by the distillery that made them, often with merely an age listed. These ‘OB’ distillery bottlings may mix in any whisky they produce so long as the youngest spirit is at least the age specified on the label. Most bottling lines will try to stay consistent from year to year, but distilleries often change or replace the line every decade or so.
Independent Bottling
The mass production of blends and even single-malts occasionally produces casks that for many various reasons (like being too damned tasty) are not thrown into the general company bottlings. These individual casks are sold to independent bottlers who sell the whisky under their own name AND the distillery name. These are very limited because typically only one cask is involved (200- 600 bottles), and are often better or quirkier than the distilleries’ old standbys. With independents you’ll even get to experience distilleries that don’t have their own single malt releases (i.e. they are only used in blends), and often at cask strength (no water added).
“HOW SHOULD I DRINK IT?”
Hand it over and we’ll show you. As for glassware, see our glassware guide to prepare for your dram (a dram is a Scottish “shot”.) Please avoid a big whisky tumbler. A large cognac snifter will work nicely too.
Nosing
It’s a fancy word for sniffing. Start with your nose above the rim to avoid burning yourself. If the aroma is faint, cover the top for a minute, then nose it quickly. Great whisky will probably have a great nose.
Tasting
It’s not wine, so don’t swish it around aggressively. Let it coat every part of your tongue.
Add Water
A few drops of water should be added to Scotch dram to help open it up. This creates a reaction that rouses the aromas. For cask strength whiskies that are often above 50% or 60% ABV, you may want to add more to avoid burning your palate.
“WHERE SHOULD I GET IT?”
Generally speaking, a higher end wine and spirits shop will have the good Scotch. The dirty barred-window liquor store or grocery store will probably not.
That’s it! Happy dramming!
Sláinte (“Good Health” in Gaelic, pronounced “slan-chuh”)