It should be noted that there is no “right” or “wrong” way to drink
Scotch whisky – it is very much down to a question of personal taste.
However, let me offer a few basic suggestions and, for those interested
in pursuing the pleasures of “nosing” and “tasting.”

Many who drink Scotch whisky neat say they do not want to spoil the
taste by adding water. However, equally as many will say that adding a
touch of water, particularly if it is pure, soft spring water, (ideally
the same spring water used in the making of the particular whisky!)
serves to enhance the distinctive aroma and flavour of a whisky. Tap
water may contain high amounts of chlorine and therefore would not
complement any whisky - your best bet is to opt for bottled Scottish
mineral water!

Adding ice to a whisky can provide a refreshing drink but it should be
noted that it will dull the fine taste and wonderful aromas and so
should never be contemplated when conducting a “whisky nosing and
tasting.” Similarly, carbonated water is not an ideal accompaniment for
whisky as it will also interfere with the aromas.

The addition of mixers such as ginger ale, soda and even coca cola, is a
popular trend, however it does beg the question - why drink whisky at
all if you need to mask the taste?

"Nosing” and “Tasting"

The sense of smell is one of the most sophisticated of all the senses,
and the pleasure that can be gained from “nosing and tasting” the many
wonderful and varied scotch whiskies available today is an experience
that should be treasured. This is particularly true if it is experienced
in a convivial atmosphere with a group of friends – old or new.

[edit] Legal definition
To be called Scotch whisky the spirit must conform to the standards of
the Scotch Whisky Order of 1990 (UK),[1] which clarified the Scotch
Whisky Act of 1988,[2] and mandates that the spirit:

Must be distilled at a Scottish distillery from water and malted barley,
to which only other whole grains may be added, have been processed at
that distillery into a mash, converted to a fermentable substrate only
by endogenous enzyme systems, and fermented only by the addition of
yeast,
Must be distilled to an alcoholic strength of less than 94.8% by volume
so that it retains the flavour of the raw materials used in its
production,
Must be matured in Scotland in oak casks for not less than three years,
Must not contain any added substance other than water and caramel
colouring, and
May not be bottled at less than 40% alcohol by volume.
No whisky other than Scotch whisky may be made in Scotland.


[edit] Methods of production

[edit] Types of whisky
Malt whisky must contain no grain other than malted barley and is
traditionally distilled in pot stills. Grain whisky may contain unmalted
barley or other malted or unmalted grains such as wheat and maize (corn)
and is typically distilled in a continuous column still, known as a
Patent or Coffey still, the latter after Aeneas Coffey who refined the
column still in 1831. While there are scores of malt whisky
distilleries, only seven grain distilleries currently exist, most
located in the Scottish Lowlands.


[edit] Malting
Malt whisky production begins when the barley is malted - by steeping
the barley in water, and then allowing it to get to the point of
germination. Malting releases enzymes that break down starches in the
grain and help convert them into sugars. When the desired state of
germination is reached the malted barley is dried using smoke. Many (but
not all) distillers add peat to the fire to give an earthy, peaty
flavour to the spirit.

Today only a handful of distilleries have their own maltings; these
include Balvenie, Kilchoman, Highland Park, Glenfiddich, Bowmore,
Laphroaig, Springbank and Tamdhu. Even those distilleries that malt
their own barley produce only a small percentage of the malt required
for production. All distilleries order malt from specialised malters.


[edit] Mashing & Fermentation
The dried malt (and in the case of grain whisky, other grains) is ground
into a coarse flour called "grist." This is mixed with hot water in a
large vessel called a mash tun. The grist is allowed to steep.

This process is referred to as "mashing," and the mixture as "mash". In
mashing, enzymes that were developed during the malting process are
allowed to convert the barley starch into sugar, producing a sugary
liquid known as "wort".

The wort is then transferred to another large vessel called a "wash
back" where it is cooled. The yeast is added, and the wort is allowed to
ferment. The resulting liquid, now at about 5-7% alcohol by volume, is
called "wash" and is very similar to a rudimentary beer.


[edit] Distillation
The next step is to use a still to distil the wash - which will result
in a purer form of alcohol.

There are two types of stills in use for the distillation: the pot still
(for single malts) and the Coffey still (for grain whisky). All Scotch
whisky distilleries distil their product twice except for the
Auchentoshan distillery, which retains the Lowlands tradition of triple
distillation.

For malt whisky the wash is transferred into a wash still. The liquid is
heated to the boiling point of alcohol, which is lower than the boiling
point of water. The alcohol evaporates and travels to the top of the
still, through the "lyne arm" and into a condenser - where it is cooled
and reverts to liquid. This liquid has an alcohol content of about 20%
and is called "low wine".

The low wine is distilled a second time, in a spirit still, and the
distillation is divided into three "cuts". The first liquid or cut of
the distillation is called "foreshots" and is generally quite toxic due
to the presence of the low boiling point alcohol methanol. These are
generally saved for further distillation.

It is the "middle cut" that the stillman is looking for - it is the
middle cut which will be placed in casks for maturation. At this stage
it is called "new make". Its alcohol content can be anywhere from
60%-75%.

The third cut is called the "feints" and is generally quite weak. These
are also saved for further distillation.


[edit] Maturation
Once distilled the "new make spirit" is placed into oak casks for the
maturation process. Historically, casks previously used for sherry were
used (as barrels are expensive, and there was a ready market for used
sherry butts). Nowadays these casks previously contained sherry or
bourbon, but more exotic casks such as port, cognac, calvados, beer, and
Bordeaux wine are sometimes used. Bourbon production is a nearly
inexhaustible generator of used barrels, due to a regulation requiring
the use of new, North American white oak barrels.

The ageing process results in evaporation, so each year in the cask
causes a loss of volume as well as a reduction in alcohol. The 0.5–2.0%
lost each year is known as the angel's share. Many whiskies along the
west coast and on the Hebrides are stored in open storehouses on the
coast, allowing the salty sea air to pass on its flavour to the spirit.
It is a little-known fact, however, that most so-called "coastal"
whiskies are matured in large central warehouses in the Scottish
interior far from any influence of the sea.[citation needed] The
distillate must age for at least three years to be called Scotch whisky,
although most single malts are offered at a minimum of eight years of
age. Some believe that older whiskies are inherently better, but others
find that the age for optimum flavour development changes drastically
from distillery to distillery, or even from cask to cask. Older whiskies
are inherently scarcer, however, so they usually command significantly
higher prices.

Colour can give a clue to the type of cask (sherry or bourbon) used to
age the whisky, although the addition of legal "spirit caramel" is
sometimes used to darken an otherwise lightly coloured whisky. Sherried
whisky is usually darker or more amber in colour, while whisky aged in
ex-bourbon casks is usually a golden-yellow/honey colour.

The late 1990s saw a trend towards "wood finishes" in which fully
matured whisky is moved from one barrel into another one that had
previously aged a different type of alcohol (e.g., port, madeira, rum,
wine, etc) to add the "finish".

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society bottling number 1.81, for instance, is
known by some as "the green Glenfarclas". It was finished in a rum cask
after 27 years in an oak (ex-bourbon) barrel and is the colour of
extra-virgin olive oil. This is in homage to the legendary "Green
Springbank", also aged in rum casks.


[edit] Bottling
With single malts, the now properly aged spirit may be "vatted", or
"married", with other single malts (sometimes of different ages) from
the same distillery. The whisky is generally diluted to a bottling
strength of between 40% and 46%.

Occasionally distillers will release a "Cask Strength" edition, which is
not diluted and will usually have an alcohol content of 50–60%.

Many distilleries are releasing "Single Cask" editions, which are the
product of a single cask which has not been vatted with whisky from any
other casks. These bottles will usually have a label which details the
date the whisky was distilled, the date it was bottled, the number of
bottles produced, the number of the particular bottle, and the number of
the cask which produced the bottles.


[edit] Chill filtration
Many whiskies are bottled after being "chill-filtered". This is a
process in which the whisky is chilled to near 0°C (32°F) and passed
through a fine filter. This removes some of the compounds produced
during distillation or extracted from the wood of the cask, and prevents
the whisky from becoming hazy when chilled, or when water or ice is
added.

However chill filtration also removes some of the flavour and body from
the whisky, which is why some consider chill-filtered whiskies to be
inferior.


[edit] Whisky Regions


SpeysideHighlandLowlandIrish WhiskeysIslandIslayCampbeltownScotland was
traditionally divided into four regions: The Highlands, Lowland, Islay
and Campbeltown.[citation needed]

Speyside, encompassing the Spey river valley in north-east Scotland,
once considered part of the Highlands, has almost half of the total
number of distilleries in Scotland within its geographic boundaries;
consequently it is officially recognized as a region unto itself.

Campbeltown was removed as a region several years ago, yet was recently
re-instated as a recognized production region.

The Islands is not recognized as a region by the SWA (Scotch Whisky
Association) [1] and is instead considered part of the Highlands region.

Lowland — only three distilleries remain in operation: Auchentoshan,
Bladnoch, and Glenkinchie.
Speyside — has the largest number of distilleries, which includes:
Aberlour, Balvenie, Glenfiddich, The Glenlivet and The Macallan
Highland — some Highland distilleries: Dalmore, Dalwhinnie, Glenmorangie
and Oban.
The Islands, an unrecognized sub-region includes all of the whisky
producing islands (but excludes Islay): Arran, Jura, Mull, Orkney and
Skye — with their respective distilleries: Arran, Isle of Jura,
Tobermory, Highland Park and Scapa, and Talisker.
Campbeltown, once home to over 30 distilleries, currently has only three
distilleries operating: Glengyle, Glen Scotia and Springbank.
Islay (pronounced I-LA, ˈaɪlə or eye-luh) — has eight producing
distilleries: Ardbeg, Bowmore, Bruichladdich, Bunnahabhain, Caol Ila,
Lagavulin and Laphroaig. A new small distillery, Kilchoman, has recently
begun production, but is not yet selling whisky.
Another version used by the Classic Malts Selection considers the
Coastal Highlands as a sub-division of Highland Single Malts. This
region includes Clynelish and Oban (Classic Malts Selection official
website) [2]


[edit] Types of Scotch whisky
There are two major categories, single and blended. Single means that
all of the product is from a single distillery, while Blended means that
the product is composed of whiskies from two or more distilleries.

Single malt whisky is a 100% malted barley whisky from one distillery.
Single grain whisky is a grain whisky from one distillery (it does not
have to be made from a single type of grain).
Vatted or Blended malt whisky is a malt whisky created by mixing single
malt whiskies from more than one distillery.
Blended grain whisky is a whisky created by mixing grain whiskies from
more than one distillery.
Blended Scotch whisky is a mixture of single malt whisky and grain
whisky, usually from multiple distilleries.

[edit] Single grain
The majority of grain whisky produced in Scotland goes to make blended
Scotch whisky. The average blended whisky is 60%-85% grain whisky. Some
higher quality grain whisky from a single distillery is bottled as
single grain whisky. As of 2006, there are only seven grain whisky
distilleries in Scotland.


[edit] Vatted / Blended malt
Vatted malt whisky—also called pure malt—is one of the less common types
of Scotch: a blend of single malts from more than one distillery and
with differing ages. Vatted malts contain only malt whiskies—no grain
whiskies—and are usually distinguished from other types of whisky by the
absence of the word ‘single’ before ‘malt’ on the bottle, and the
absence of a distillery name. The age of the youngest whisky in the
bottle is that used to describe the age on the label, so a vatted malt
marked “8 years old” may include older whiskies.


[edit] Blended
Blended Scotch whisky constitutes over 90% of the whisky produced in
Scotland. Blended Scotch whiskies generally contain 10–50% malt whisky,
blended with grain whisky, with the higher quality brands having the
highest percent malt. They were initially created for the English
market, where pure malt whiskies were considered too harshly flavoured
(the main two spirits consumed in England at the time being brandy in
the upper classes, and gin in the lower ones). Master blenders combine
the various malts and grain whiskies to produce a consistent "brand
style". Blended whiskies frequently use the same name for a range of
whiskies at wildly varying prices and (presumably) quality. Notable
blended Scotch whisky brands include Dewar's, Johnnie Walker, Cutty
Sark, The Famous Grouse, and Chivas Regal.


edit Independent bottlers
Most malt distilleries sell a significant amount of whisky by the cask
for blending, and sometimes to private buyers as well. Whisky from such
casks is sometimes bottled as a single malt by independent firms such as
Gordon & MacPhail, Cadenhead, Murray McDavid, Signatory, and others.
These are usually labeled with the distillery's name, but not using the
distillery's trademarked logos or typefaces. An "official bottling" (or
"proprietary bottling"), by comparison, is one from the distillery (or
its owner). Many independent bottlings are from single casks, and they
may sometimes be very different from an official bottling.

There have been occasional efforts by distillers to curtail independent
bottling; Allied Domecq, owner of the Laphroaig distillery, initiated
legal action against Murray McDavid in an effort to prevent them from
using "Distilled at Laphroaig Distillery" in their independent bottlings
of said whisky. Murray McDavid subsequently used the name "Leapfrog" for
a time, before Allied backed off.

William Grant & Sons, which owns three malt distilleries, adds a measure
of one of its other distilleries' whisky to each cask of malt it sells
to independent bottlers. This prevents independent bottlers from
bottling the contents of the cask as a single malt.

To avoid potentially sticky legal issues, some independent bottlings do
not reveal the distillery of the whisky, using a manufactured brand name
or a geographical name instead such as Old St Andrews. Understanding a
Scotch whisky label
Like most other labels, the Scotch whisky label combines law, tradition,
marketing, and whim, and may therefore be difficult to understand.
Because of variations in language and national law, the following is but
a rough guide.

Scotch whisky labels contain the exact words "Scotch whisky"; "Whisky"
is sometimes capitalised. If the word "Scotch" is missing, the whisky is
probably made elsewhere. If it says Scotch whiskey or Scottish whisky,
it may be counterfeit.

If a label contains the words single malt (sometimes split by other
words e.g., single highland malt), the bottle contains single malt
Scotch whisky.

Vatted malt, pure malt or blended malt indicates a mixture of single
malt whiskies. In older bottlings pure malt is often used to describe a
single malt (e.g. Glenfiddich Pure Malt).

The label may identify the distillery as the main brand or as part of
the product description. This is most likely the case for single malt.
Some single malt whisky is sold anonymously or with a fictitious brand
name. This does not indicate quality, but successive bottles may be
completely different. The only reliable way to identify the distillery
is to use a reference.

Alcoholic strength is listed in most countries. Typically, whisky is
between 40% and 46% abv. A lower alcohol content may indicate an
"economy" whisky or local law. If the bottle is over 50% abv it is
probably cask strength.

Age is sometimes listed as well. If a bottle is, say, 12 years old, then
all the whisky in the bottle was matured in cask for at least 12 years
before bottling.

A year on a bottle normally indicates the year of distillation and one
cask bottling, so the year the whisky was bottled may be listed as well.
Whisky does not mature once bottled, so the age is the difference
between these two dates; if both dates are not shown the age cannot be
known from the bottle alone.

There is no right way to drink scotch!!

I once ordered a rye and coke in hawaii and they gave me scotch and
coke!!! Spitting your drink across the room is NOT pretty, lol.
However I learned that rye=scotch in the usa. I should have ordered cc
and coke.

To me Scotch=RottGut

What is a Blended/Pure Malt (Vatted) Scotch Whisky?
A Vatted Malt will contain a number of malt whiskies that have been
skilfully blended together or "married," to create a consistent whisky
with its own distinct, identifiable character. Such a malt can also
consist entirely of malt whiskies of various ages from the same
distillery. However, vatted malts will never contain any grain whisky. A
fairly uncommon type of whisky, it is often well suited to those who
prefer their whisky to be less challenging, due to the fact that the
blender's skill will more often than not produce an unvarying malt with
highly definable traits.

What is a Single Grain Scotch Whisky?
A Single grain whisky is the product of one Grain distillery and is
usually made from wheat, corn or unmalted barley. There are about 8
operating grain distilleries in Scotland, the majority being in central
Scotland with the exception of Invergordon in the northern Highlands and
Girvan in the far south. There are of course more grain distilleries,
which are now closed or mothballed.

Single malt
Mmmmmmmmmmm

Now does it matter to you if it is a Protestant or Catholic Whisky? I
know it matters to some of Irish lineage.

My Dad drank his whisky all ways as he taught us how to. Neat, with
water (yes, spring water), rocks, and he made a mean wisky sour (oh, how
I miss those!).

And thanks for the educational material. Better than about.com!

gee I drink it out of a glass....any way it's served it's good!

Just love a good scotch don'tcha

With all the many years of drinking I have done, Scotch is the only
alcoholic I could never develop a taste for. The mere smell of it makes
me nauseous.

Um
Tom
There is not a wrong way to drink scotch
LOL

why yes I do!!