Scotch whisky is what most people commonly associate with Scotland, when they think of a Scottish drink.
Scotch is the most complex of whiskeys, with unusual combinations of dryness and sweetness. The sweetness comes from the malted barley, which is the primary grain in the manufacturing process. The dryness of a Scotch whisky is determined by the way in which the malted barley is dried.
Scotch whiskey is aged in an array of various barrels e.g. port wood finish, bourbon, etc. The type of barrel used to age the whisky does have a direct effect on the final taste and composition of the end product.
The most popular type of Scotch whisky is blended. Blended Scotch whisky is manufactured with malts from a number of different breweries. The blending of these malts enables Scotch whisky producers to create a more universally palatable whisky.
Whilst blended Scotch whisky is undoubtedly the most popular, many connoisseurs prefer the taste of a single malt Scotch whisky. Single malt scotch whisky comes from only one brewery and normally improves with age, much like a fine wine.
As with fine wines the taste of a good single malt scotch whisky is distinguishable by the region in which is was distilled. There are four main distillation regions within Scotland. These are Highland, Lowland, Islay and Cambelltown (in no particular order).
Scotch is the most complex of whiskeys, with unusual combinations of dryness and sweetness. The sweetness comes from the malted barley, which is the primary grain in the manufacturing process. The dryness of a Scotch whisky is determined by the way in which the malted barley is dried.
Scotch whiskey is aged in an array of various barrels e.g. port wood finish, bourbon, etc. The type of barrel used to age the whisky does have a direct effect on the final taste and composition of the end product.
The most popular type of Scotch whisky is blended. Blended Scotch whisky is manufactured with malts from a number of different breweries. The blending of these malts enables Scotch whisky producers to create a more universally palatable whisky.
Whilst blended Scotch whisky is undoubtedly the most popular, many connoisseurs prefer the taste of a single malt Scotch whisky. Single malt scotch whisky comes from only one brewery and normally improves with age, much like a fine wine.
As with fine wines the taste of a good single malt scotch whisky is distinguishable by the region in which is was distilled. There are four main distillation regions within Scotland. These are Highland, Lowland, Islay and Cambelltown (in no particular order).