Scotch whisky is Britain’s single largest food and drink export, worth several billion pounds a year, and it is one of the most tightly regulated products in the country.
The spelling
Scotch is whisky, with no “e”. Irish and American producers use whiskey. The rule is reliable enough to be a rough memory aid — countries with an “e” in the name tend to use the “e” in the spelling — and getting it wrong in Scotland will be noticed.
The legal definition
Scotch Whisky Regulations specify almost everything. To be called Scotch it must:
- be produced at a distillery in Scotland from water and malted barley, with other whole grains permitted;
- be matured in oak casks in Scotland for at least three years;
- be matured in casks of no more than 700 litres;
- be bottled at a minimum of 40% alcohol;
- contain no added substances other than water and caramel colouring.
The protection is enforced internationally, and the Scotch Whisky Association litigates vigorously against products elsewhere trying to use the name.
The types
- Single malt — from malted barley, made at one distillery. The prestige category.
- Single grain — from one distillery, using other grains as well as barley.
- Blended Scotch — a mix of malt and grain whiskies from several distilleries. This is the overwhelming majority of what is sold worldwide: Johnnie Walker, Bell’s, Famous Grouse.
- Blended malt — malts from more than one distillery, with no grain whisky.
An age statement on the bottle refers to the youngest whisky in it, not an average.
The regions
- Speyside — the densest concentration of distilleries in the world. Generally sweeter and fruitier. Glenfiddich, Macallan, Glenlivet.
- Highland — the largest region and the most varied.
- Lowland — traditionally lighter and grassier.
- Islay — pronounced EYE-luh. Heavily peated, smoky, medicinal, and utterly divisive. Laphroaig, Ardbeg, Lagavulin.
- Campbeltown — once home to over thirty distilleries, now three, with a salty character of its own.
The peat
What makes Islay whisky taste of bonfires and iodine is peat smoke, used to dry the malted barley. It is the single most polarising element in whisky, and people who dislike it dislike it emphatically.
Drinking it
Neat, or with a small splash of still water — which genuinely opens up the aroma by releasing volatile compounds, and is not an affectation. Ice is acceptable but dulls the flavour, and asking for a good single malt with cola in a Scottish bar will be served without comment and remembered.
A dram is the standard word for a measure, and it is deliberately imprecise.
The distilleries
Over 140 are operating, and most welcome visitors. Distillery tours are a substantial part of Scottish tourism, particularly along the Speyside Malt Whisky Trail and on Islay, where eight working distilleries sit on an island of 3,000 people.
The angels’ share — the roughly 2% of each cask that evaporates every year — is a genuine and considerable loss, and the reason old whisky is expensive.