
Single MaltScotch Whisky
Malt whisky is the ‘original’ whisky of Scotland. Although other grains were used, barley was grown specifically for making beer and whisky. However, with the success of blended whisky in the late 19th century, little was drunk as single malt outside the Highlands until the 1980s, when ‘the vintages of the North’ were rediscovered by an enthusiastic public and began to be made available by distillery owners.
Single malt whisky must be made with 100% barley
Currently there are around 90 operating malt whisky distilleries in Scotland – it is difficult to be precise, since sometimes distilleries go out of production for periods, in order to balance stock levels. Single malts from a further 30-odd now closed distilleries may still be found.
Although made from very simple materials – malted barley, water and yeast – the make of each distillery has an individual character, owing to a variety of factors, such as the length of fermentation time, the style and size of the stills, and how they are operated, the type of condensers used and amount of spirit saved (called ‘the cut’).
By law, Scotch (both malt and grain whiskies) must be matured in oak casks in Scotland, and the casks themselves can make a huge contribution to the flavour of the finished product, according to a) how long the whisky has been left to mature, b) how often the individual cask has been used to mature Scotch and c) whether the cask is made from European oak or American oak. This makes it difficult to identify the mature products of individual distilleries.
Since at least the 1880s, blenders have identified different styles of whisky coming from different parts of Scotland. The original division, dating from the 1780s, was between ‘Lowland’ whisky and ‘Highland’ whisky. Then the whiskies made in Campbeltown and Islay were discerned to be different, and the whiskies of Speyside were added to the list.
With the dramatic growth of interest in single malt whiskies since the 1980s, the ‘Highland’ region has been sub-divided into Northern, Western, Eastern, Southern and Islands.
In truth, regional differences in the style and flavour of malt whiskies has more to do with tradition (how a malt is made in one place or another) than terroir, and although it is not possible to make a malt with identical character to another in a different distillery, it is possible to imitate a regional style out-with the region in question.
Did you know?
- more than one billion bottles of Scotch are exported every year, with France the biggest market
- the first reference to Scotch whisky was in 1495
- the first single malt to be marketed outside Scotland was by Glenfiddich in 1963
Typical Character and Style of Single Malt
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Malt
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Vanilla
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Oak
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Nutmeg
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Dried Fruit
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Smoke
Filter
Price Range
Bottling Status (1 selected)
Region
Distillery/Brand
Style
Age
Vintage
Cask Type
Bottler
Series
Strength
Size
Single Cask
Limited Edition
Flavour Profile
Colouring
Certification
Sustainability
Glenlivet 200712 Year Old Sherry Cask Distillery Reserve Collection
$100.92
($201.85 per litre)
Aberlour 12 Year Old
$58.41
($83.44 per litre)
Lagavulin 200812 Year Old Special Releases 2021
$136.05
($194.36 per litre)
Ardbeg ScorchArdbeg Day 2021
$211.52
($302.17 per litre)
Clynelish 200810 Year Old Signatory for TWE
$159.44
($227.77 per litre)
Glenfiddich Pure Malt Special Old ReserveBot.1980s
$159.44
($212.59 per litre)
Glenmorangie 18 Year Old Azuma Makoto Edition
$265.73
($379.62 per litre)
Glen Moray 2005Tokaji Cask Warehouse 1 Release
$106.24
($151.77 per litre)
Highland Park Cask StrengthRelease No.1
$116.92
($167.03 per litre)
Lagavulin 2003 Distillers EditionBot.2019
$186.01
($265.73 per litre)
Kilkerran Heavily Peated Batch 3
$116.92
($167.03 per litre)
Arran 199622 Year Old Exclusive To The Whisky Exchange
$211.52
($302.17 per litre)
Ardbeg Twenty Something23 Year Old
$850.34
($1,214.77 per litre)
Lagavulin 12 Year OldSpecial Releases 2017 17th Release
$239.16
($341.65 per litre)
Glenfiddich 1991Don Ramsay Bot.2004
$372.02
($531.46 per litre)
Macallan 2003 SpeymaltBot.2022 Sherry Cask
$584.61
($835.16 per litre)
Orkney 13 Years OldSherry Cask Reserve Cask - Parcel No.4
$132.87
($189.81 per litre)
Highland Park 200316 Year Old Sherry Cask TWE Exclusive
$265.73
($379.62 per litre)
Ballechin 200514 Year Old Sherry Cask The Whisky Exchange Exclusive
$132.87
($189.81 per litre)
Arran 12 Year OldThe Man with the Golden Glass
$95.61
($136.59 per litre)
Ballechin 200315 Year Old Sherry Cask The Whisky Exchange Exclusive
$292.30
($417.58 per litre)
Kilchoman 200711 Year Old TWE Exclusive
$159.44
($227.77 per litre)
Clynelish 199521 Year Old Signatory for The Whisky Exchange
$504.89
($721.27 per litre)
Highland Park Fire 15 Year Old
$211.52
($302.17 per litre)