So what IS a Single Malt?

Barley + Yeast +Water

And some help from the angels…….

A Single Malt Whisky is nothing short of a miracle. It has three basic ingredients, barley, yeast and, water. From those simple natural substances spring the myriad of choices displayed in your local liquor store. It is the magic poured into their production that differentiates each distillery.

Every whisky, or whiskey ( see that ‘e’ - it’s important) starts of basically the same. Grain is mixed with yeast and water;- that’s the mash, fermented then distilled, sometimes aged in casks, then bottled.

Scottish Single Malt Whisky uses only barley. Whiskey (see the ‘e’?) uses a mash of wheat, corn, rye in varying proportions and those makers work their lesser magic on that. The exception is Irish Whiskey which also predominantly uses barley but for reasons known only to themselves insist upon the added ‘e’ in the name Whiskey.

To be considered Scotch Whisky the distillate - that’s what the liquid which comes out at the end of the distillation process is called, must be stored in casks for a minimum of three years.

A Single Malt Scotch is even more special. The whisky in a bottle of Single Malt has to originate from an individual distillery. Each distillery takes great care to make sure that every distillation is as close as it can be to the original. They have their idiosyncrasies which all add up to those distinct tastes, smells, and, color which go toward building the intriguing mystique of Scottish Single Malt Whisky.

Take the water source, Some distilleries pipe the water in from deep wells. The Glenrothes has The Fairies' (or Lady's) Well' which runs in the nearby Glen of Dounie. Laphroaig and Lagavulin use the same loch water on the Island of Islay, and yes it has led to disputes!

The barley is another variable, some distilleries source it locally, some only from Scotland some from further afield. Wherever it's from the barley has to germinate then be dried before becoming part of the mash together with water and yeast. Traditionally this was done on-site, and it still is in a few distillers like Bowmore, but most distilleries now buy their barley already malted. A malting floor can be heated by peat, by coal or, electrically controlled. The Bowmore distillers swear that smoke produced by the peat they use in their kilns adds a large part to the flavor of the whisky.

Once all these decisions and choices are made they can start the distillation process. Most stills are made from copper and are much the same shape, a sort of elongated onion. Glen Morangie uses very long-necked stills, Talisker stills have a kind of kink at the top, they say this extra contact with the copper brings that distinctive Talisker peppery taste to their brand. Some do double or even triple distillation before the liquid is then stored in casks.

Each distillery uses distinctive casks to store and mature the whisky. Highland Park makes their casks from American or European oak, sends them off to Spain where they are used to store Oloroso Sherry. The sherry people use them for at least two cycles and then send them back to Orkney. Only once the barrels are deemed perfect are they used to store the whisky. It is just one of the eccentricities employed by distillers that differentiate their whisky from another. Quite a few distilleries store the casks off-site, some still have stone storage barns some more modern structures. There the whisky is left to mature as mentioned above for at least three years.

Where do the angels come in? You are right, I did mention angels. The angels hover over the stored casks and sip the essence that escapes. It is called the angels share. This angelic evaporation makes the whisky smoother as it ages - and of course more expensive as fewer bottles can be produced from each cask. The longer the angels sip the better the whisky.

Scottish Whisky, Southern Charm tastings are personally designed for each event. Our introduction to Single Malts can give the Single Malt beginner a good grasp of the basics. For the more experienced whisky lover, we offer a variety of other tastings. There is much more than can be contained in a short blog and we would love to share it with you and your friends.

The First Time

Who doesn’t remember the first time they had a proper drink? I know I do. I was sixteen and three quarters, he was twenty-one, the whisky was 12.

On one warm summer day in Fife, which alone makes it memorable, we don’t get a lot of sunny summer days in Scotland so we make the best of them. I was in the back garden of my boyfriend’s house, his parents were out.

The boyfriend was an enthusiastic home brewer. He was very proud of his first palatable batch of barley wine and he wanted me to share some. Wow that stuff was bitter! However, I was a sophisticated lady and did not immediately spit it out. Recognizing that perhaps the wine, which I think was more like a beer, was not making the best impression, he decided that I should try some good whisky instead.

Out came the bottle of Glenfiddich 12 yr old Single Malt whisky. The distinctive dark green triangular prism bottle was intriguing. A generous glass was poured and I took a gulp. Big mistake! I was not prepared for the onslaught of smoke and fire which hit my throat like a diesel engine. So this is whisky? I instantly felt tremendous respect for my father, a very experienced whisky drinker.

Obviously, I had previously tried a few cocktails, Tequila Sunrise was the girls' predominant tipple at the time. A little illegal, the drinking age for liquor is 18, but a terribly pretty color and tasted like juice. This whisky was a surprise. After giving me a pat on the back and a drink of water, the boyfriend explained the finer points of drinking a Single Malt. For a happy hour or so we sipped at our Glenfiddich and he pointed out many tasting notes and explained the whole whisky-making process, fun boyfriend but quite intense.

The issue for me was that it was so different from anything I had drunk before. The smell should have been my first clue, had I spent a milli-second smelling it before taking that big gulp, my nose would have told me to take it slowly. The big gulp resulted in a shock to my poor, almost innocent, taste buds and my throat did not know what I was playing at. The next three or four or five sips i was informed how to identify different aspects of whisky, taste, smell, color, etc. and that was quite fun. We ate our picnic in-between and I am sure talked of many things. Then as I was trying to taste it “on my lips” it stripped off some dry skin and I had little bits of stuff floating in the whisky and that was the end of that first glass.

For the next eighteen months or so the boyfriend introduced me to many other Single Malts. So many different taste sensations, some mild, some smooth, some smoky. I was hooked. That was 43 years ago. I’m still drinking Single Malts - just as long as it does not come in a dark green triangular prism bottle.

My love affair with single malts lasted much longer than that summer. I am forever grateful to my boyfriend/guide and I do love many Single Malts, however, Glenfiddich is spoiled for me. I am still unable to look at that triangular bottle with anything but a shudder! As my mother would tell me, “If you can’t be a shining example you can serve as a terrible warning.” I hope this will serve as a warning for those beginning their exploration of Scottish Single Malts. Do not let your inexperience spoil it for you. I advise booking an event with Scottish Whisky, Southern Charm and we will make sure you are guided through the whole experience!

NB. As I was writing this I thought I should give Glenfiddich another try, nope, still can’t do it. My brain has declared it a no-go area. I have the same reaction to Cider, but that is another story.

Beautiful Barley

 Barley fields blowing gently in the breeze is one of the most peaceful sights and sounds of the Scottish countryside. Of course, most of the barley used in Single Malt whisky is grown in Scotland often very close to the distilleries. Macallan uses barley from their Easter Elchies estate on the banks of the River Spey. The rest is grown elsewhere in Scotland or the north of England

Scottish barley has qualities that make it perfect for making whisky. In Scotland, the cold winters kill most of the harmful bacteria in the soil so pesticide use is greatly reduced, and the rainfall means that the plants are never short of water and can grow plump, providing the crop survives the harsh winds. Barley for whisky must be very ripe. The adage from maltsters to farmers is ‘Leave the crop till it is absolutely ripe and can’t wait for a second longer then leave it for another three days".

Only the highest quality, the top twenty percent of barley grown is used in the malting process. Barley, like all modern grains, has undergone many changes over the years and as a result, there are many varieties to choose from. Macallan and Glengoyne distilleries use ‘Golden Promise’ a variety that has been available since the ’50s but has now declined, leaving these distillers less of a choice of growers. They are very adamant about tradition and feel strongly that using this particular variety is part of their single malts character. Most other distillers choose from the newer varieties, too numerous to mention, but all prefer barley harvested in winter.

Before the barley can be used in whisky production it has to be partially germinated, each single grain is looked after in a warm moist environment until it sprouts. It is a process that involves seeping in water, allowed to dry then seeping again, several times. Finally, once it has been deemed to be at the perfect stage of germination the grain is dried in a Malting house.

Some distilleries, Balvenie, Highland Park, and Laphroaig among them have kept the traditional malting houses which are long buildings heated using peat fires under a perforated floor. The barley is turned by hand until it is ready to go into the mash tubs to get the whisky-making on the go. Many distilleries now use barley malted off-site and have turned the malting buildings into visitor centers.

Scottish Whisky, Southern Charm tastings are personally designed for each event. Our introduction to Single Malts can give the Single Malt beginner a good grasp of the basics. For the more experienced whisky lover, we offer a variety of other tastings. There is much more than can be contained in a short blog and we would love to share it with you and your friends.