Malt Whisky

Scotch whiskies are mainly distilled twice, but some are distilled a third time. International laws require anything bearing the label "Scotch" to be distilled in Scotland and matured for a minimum of three years in oak casks. Whiskies do not mature in the bottle, only in the cask, so the "age" of a scotch is the time between distillation and bottling. This reflects how much the cask has interacted with the whisky, changing its chemical makeup and taste. Whiskies which have been in bottle for many years may have a rarity value, but are not "older" and will not necessarily be "better" than a more recently made whisky matured in wood for a similar time. If Scotch whisky is from more than one cask, then if it includes an age statement on the bottle, it must reflect the age of the youngest whisky in the blend. Many cask-strength single malts also omit the age as they use younger elements in minute amounts for flavouring and mellowing.

Single Malt whisky is malt whisky from a single distillery. However, unless the whisky is described as "single-cask" it will contain whisky from many casks, so the blender can achieve a taste recognisable as typical of the distillery . In most cases, the name of a single malt will be that of the distillery (The Glenlivet, Glenmorangie, Bowmore), with an age statement and perhaps some indication of some special treatments such as maturation in a port wine cask.