Produced only in Scotland, Scotch whiskies fall
into two primary categories: single malt and blended. While blended
Scotches are the most familiar and have long been popular in the United
States, single malts have been gaining aficionados rapidly in recent
years.Single malt Scotches are the product of more than 100 distilleries,
each of which produces its own distinctive spirit. Though each distillery
uses malted barley for the base for its Scotch, variants in the water,
peat, atmospheric characteristics, shape of the pot-still, and the
aging casks are factors in determining the uniqueness of the resulting
spirit. Most single malts are aged at least 8 years, some considerably
longer. Generally, characteristics of single malts are best described
by those of the region in which they are produced.
Highland malts are smokey and smooth, the dryness
from the peat balanced by the sweetness of the barley malt. Island
malts are influenced by their proximity to the salt-laden atmosphere
of the Atlantic, producing a whisky with a powerful peatiness
in both the bouquet and taste. Islay malts are distinguished by
peat, which, affected by the sea atmosphere, lends its quality
to the local water, which runs off the peat moor, and the malted
barley, which is dried by burning peat. Lowland malts, the mildest
of all, lack the smokey, pungent taste of peat but have many subtle
flavors of barley malt. Speyside malts are produced by distilleries
on the banks of the river Spey, where pure, soft water from the
granite mountains runs over massive peat bogs imparting a firm-bodied
taste with a hint of malt sweetness and a smokey character. Western
highland malts, produced where the highlands come down to the
sea, are a balance between pungent Island malts and smooth Highland
Malts.
Scotch History- Dallas Bartenders
Blended Scotch whiskies derive their individual
personalities from the single malts comprising them. All Scotch
blends contain malt whisky and grain whisky, similar to American
neutral grain spirits. Anywhere from 20 to as many as 40 different
whiskies may be part of a blend. The age of the blend refers to
the age of the youngest whisky included. All blended Scotch imported
into the U.S. is at least 4 years old and is usually the standard
80 proof.
Blended Scotch traces its root to the merchants who
perfected the art of blending, creating their own brands, and set
out to market their product to the world. One of the founding fathers
of the Scotch whisky industry, John Dewar, had established a reputation
for the quality of his blends by the late 1840s. He was also one of
the first to introduce another innovation--selling his whisky in labeled
bottles, which had both his name and personal guarantee. Today, Dewar's
White Label is sold in more than 140 countries and has been the number
1 blended Scotch in the U.S. for more than a decade.
Scotch History- Dallas Bartenders
Johnny Walker Red Label, the world's best-selling
Scotch whisky, and Johnny Walker Black Label, the world's leading
12 year-old deluxe Scotch, are named after John Walker, a retailer
who created exclusive brands for his valued customers. Both brands
are blends of more than 40 whiskies, with Cardhu, a superior Highland
malt, at their heart.
The blended Scotch with perhaps the most unusual
package is Dimple. In 1893 George Ogilvy Haig conceived the idea of
bottling Haig Scotch Whisky in a unique, 3-sided, pinched decanter
with a hollow or dimple in each of its sides. Such was the eye-catching
appeal of the bottle that the name Dimple was subsequently adopted
for Haig's blend. The first bottle ever to be patented in the U.S.,
it eventually became the brand's legal trademark. Scoresby Scotch,
introduced in 1964 specifically for the preferred American taste profile,
is lighter but has a higher percentage of malt, delivering a full
malt flavor. Originally introduced in California, Scoresby has grown
in popularity to become the best-selling Scotch in the western U.S.
and ranks fourth among Scotches in the entire country.
