Types of Scottish Whiskeys
Scottish whiskey comes in numerous different varieties. Whiskeys are distinguished by whether they are made from malted barley (malts) or other grains and unmalted barley (grain whiskey). They are further differentiated by whether they are from one distillery and whether they have been mixed with other whiskeys. Does this Spark an idea?
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Single Malt
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Single malt whiskeys are made from 100 percent malted barley. By law, they have to be produced in copper pot stills. Single malts are always produced at the same distillery, and malt whiskey can only include malted barley. The barley used in the whiskey is steeped in water, and left until it is at the point of germination. The malting process releases enzymes which break down the sugars in the barley. Barley is sometimes dried using peat smoke.
Single Grain
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Like single malt, single grain whiskey must be produced at one distillery. Grain whiskeys can, however, contain grains other than barley, such as corn. Unlike single malts, single grains are not peat dried and aren't distilled in copper stills. They are usually produced using continuous distillation in a column still. This process is cheaper and more efficient than using copper pots, which is partly why single grain whiskeys are cheaper than single malts.
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Blended Malt or Grain
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Blended whiskeys are the most common in the marketplace today. Blended whiskeys can be divided into those made from blends of malts or blends of grains and those that mix the two varieties. Blended malts are sometimes called vatted malts and are often produced to create new varieties and add extra depth to existing single malts. Blended grain whiskeys are more prevalent, as they are cheaper to produce and mature faster than malts.
Mixed Blends
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Mixed blends are far and away the most common whiskeys available. They mix malt whiskeys and grain whiskeys to create varieties that can easily be mass-produced; they are often considered to have less depth than exclusively malt or grain whiskeys. Blended whiskeys can contain up to 50 different whiskeys which are brought together in casks for a "marrying" process that can last up to eight months. This blends the flavors together.
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References
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