The historical and ever popular drink Scotch Whisky, particularly Malt, is a sector within the drinks trade that has never really declined in popularity. In fact, according to the Scotch Whisky Association, 53 bottles are exported to nearly 200 different world markets a second. That equates to over 1.6billion a year. In other words, if you to lay them out end to end they would surround the earth 11 times. It’s a huge market and extremely important for Scotland as it provides 11,000 direct jobs in Scotland, many of which are in rural areas such as the Highlands, and 42,000 supporting jobs around the UK.
For it to be called Scotch, it can only be made in Scotland but there are several different types.
SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY – Produced at one distillery using only malted barley and distilled in individual batches in copper stills.
BLENDED MALT SCOTCH WHISKY - A blend two malt whiskies from two different single malt Scotch whisky distilleries.
SINGLE GRAIN SCOTCH WHISKY -A single grain whisky is produced at one single distillery but can be made using any grains including barley, wheat, corn, etc. It must be distilled using a column still.
BLENDED SCOTCH WHISKY - A blend of one or more single malt whiskies with one or more single grain whiskies.
The earliest recorded mention of Scotch was in 1494 when the Exchequer listed ‘Eight boils of Malt to Friar John Cor”. The first official taxes that were charged on production was in 1644 which caused a rise in illegal distilling, and it wasn’t until 1823 that the Excise Act put pay to all the illicit stills and the legal distilleries began to flourish with over 300 alone recorded in this decade.
Although Scotch outsells the likes of American, Japanese and Irish whiskies combined around the world, whiskey from these countries should not be ignored, especially Japanese whiskey and it’s an area we will look at in the future.
We will be hosting some Malt Whisky tastings in January, a great chance to discover this ‘Water of Life’.
We at VIN tend to deal with the lesser known, smaller distilleries so check these two out:
Craighellachie 13yo - £50.99
Fruity notes with a slight smoke character through the middle.
Inchmoan 12yo - £40.99
From Loch Lomond distillery, it has a lovely rich peaty and smoky character.