It’s a question we have all pondered over when reading the drinks list at a bar.
Single malt refers to whisky that is the product of a specific distillery, for example, the Bowmore Distillery on the Scottish island of Islay.
Malt whisky refers to the fact that the whisky is distilled from malted barley, as opposed to other grains, such as corn.
A blended Scotch whisky – like the multiple versions of Johnnie Walker – is a product of malt and grain whisky, from multiple distilleries from the various regions of Scotland.
A bottle of Bowmore is the product of a carefully selected mix of various casks of malt whiskies that were distilled at Bowmore over the years. The age statement of 15 years refers to the fact that the youngest whisky of that mix spent at least 15 years maturing in its cask.
The 15-year-old Bowmore could have older whiskies as part of its mixture. The blend of these various aged casks of Bowmore malt whisky is then diluted with water down to 43 per cent alc/vol and bottled for the consumer.
This mixing of various casks is done to provide a consistent taste for the consumer.
“Single Barrel” or “Single Cask” – as is most commonly used with Scotch whisky – is the kind that is bottled straight from a single cask or barrel.
These bottles will typically identify both the distillation date and the bottling date for that specific cask. In addition, it is typically bottled at “cask strength”, often in the 50 to 60 per cent ab/v range. (We often call this “casket strength” as a joke because of it’s high alcohol content).
Want more stories like this? Sign up here. Follow STYLE on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter
