Malt Whiskies

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Scotch malt whiskies have a long tradition. For centuries, Scotland's people, both Highland and Lowland, produced 'uisge beatha' 'water of life', long before it became an internationally-renowned drink. Now, malt whiskies are one of the most important and characteristic Scottish exports. There is still an element of mystery about the making of malt whisky from the simple ingredients of barley, water, yeast and, sometimes, peat smoke. And, it's a mystery or mystique that is talked up and made much of by every whisky distillery in Scotland with a visitor centre.

Whisky - a beginners' guide

If you already know that whisky is the stuff made in Scotland while whiskey (sic)is made in Ireland and in the USA, then it suggests you may know also most of the next few paragraphs. In fact, you may want to take a look at another whisky page how to drink whisky - malt whiskies

Dalwhinnie Distillery, as seen in a snapshot from a moving vehicle on the A9. This distillery is the highest in Scotland. Nice single malt, too.

There are two main types of whisky - malt and grain. Malt whiskies, which connoisseurs claim have a more sophisticated flavour and bouquet and hence fetches a higher price, are made with malted barley. Malted barley is grain that has been allowed to sprout, then hot air dried. 'Maltings' are the industrial plants which undertake this process, these days mostly away from the distilleries themselves.

Grain whisky also contains malted barley, along with unmalted barley and maize. Both types are used in the whisky blending process. Some of the best-known whisky brand names are blended whiskies - sometimes known in our house as 'cooking whiskies' - but many whisky enthusiasts prefer to explore Scotland's range of 'single malts' which are unblended distillations unique to each individual distillery.

Malt whiskies are sometimes grouped as Highland, Lowland, Islay (from the island) and Campbeltown (meaning from the Mull of Kintyre). The Campbeltown malts are no longer significant and thus a dangerous over-simplification can be made into two very general types. Firstly, the malt whiskies made in the east (or north) of Scotland, eg Speyside. These malt whiskies tend to be lighter or 'sweeter' than the other main area - island or western malts which often have an easily recognisable taste of peat-smoke, or a salty, almost iodine-like taste of the sea. (If you are able to differentiate the taste of an Islay malt from that of a Speyside malt then you are well on your way of being able to bluff your way out of any after-dinner ambush set by your whisky-loving friends.)

Whisky Distilling - what will I see at a distillery in Scotland?

Whisky distillers who push their brand of single malt by way of allowing visitors around the distilleries (and there are a lot of them in Scotland) are all faced with the same problem. Distilling, the making of malt whiskies, is all about waiting and judging and care. These are not especially exciting themes to work with from the point of view of a bus-load of tourists on a tight schedule.

Each distillery makes a good creative effort to make the visitor experience memorable, though most emphasise the tradition, heritage and mystery. A good guide for your tour can make or break the experience (as indeed can the size of the sample you get to drink afterwards).

A typical narrative of the story of a distillery will run as follows 'Old Glenmuckle single malt whisky was made illegally by the founder, Campbell MacAroon, but he applied for a licence then sold his product to the USA as well as to exclusive London clubs. The secret of the taste of Glenmuckle lies in the unique shape of the stills, as well as the magic spring from which the water comes. MacAroon the founder's great-grandson sold the company to a multi-national twenty years ago. (Most of the other drinks in their portfolio are made with potatoes.) The four people employed in the distillery today have all worked there since they were twelve. The quality is exactly the same today as it was when it was smuggled out of the glen inside bagpipes, below the noses of the Customs and Excise inspectors….'With local variations, this is the template for most malt whisky distillery audio-visuals

Typical shop area in distillery. This one is at Dewars World of Whisky in Aberfeldy, Perthshire.

How whisky is made

A typical distillery visit would show the following processes. Barley is soaked to start it sprouting, then spread out on floors to grow, after which it is dried. Actually, probably not. In most cases, it will have arrived by the truck load from the maltings. However, the old malting floor will be available as a corporate venue. Also available for weddings or ceilidhs. Having said that, some malting floors integral to the distillery survive. This one (left) is Bowmore on Islay.

During this drying process peat-smoke may give the malt its flavour. The malt is then ground and hot water added. The resulting liquid, called wort, is held in a mash tun, a large circular vat with a several thousand litre capacity. Water at high temperatures is washed through and run off, eventually to leave a sweet, semi-transparent liquid in the underback or worts receiver at the bottom of the mash tun. (The solids remaining in the mash tun are known as draff and are dried to be used as winter cattle food!)

Now pay attention at the back of the group. This liquid is cooled and then added, along with yeast, to a wash-back, another large vat. Fermentation takes place. (You'll get to sniff the contents.) The now alcoholic liquid, known as the wash, is pumped via a wash-charger into a wash still - a large copper still where it is heated. The vapours condense in a worm, a coiled copper tube in a tank of cold water. This distilling process is repeated, at least twice. The distillate is then run into a spirit safe. Here the expertise of staff is used to decide the point at which the still is producing the purest whisky - as both at the beginning and the end of the heating/distilling process, there will be impurities. Only pure distillate is run from the safe into a spirit receiver.

From here the product goes to a spirit store, where water is added to reduce strength, then it goes into casks for maturing. Oak casks previously used to mature sherry are sometimes used to give a distinctive flavour to whisky. These casks also add colour, and some experimentation goes on, creating flavours by maturing the spirit using imported casks from distilling/fermenting activities elsewhere in the world. (Gosh, that's pretty general - I'm talking here about US bourbon casks, or Spanish sherry casks and so on.)

Whisky matures by law for at least three years. Then it either goes to the blender or is left to mature for several more years before bottling as single malt.

How to drink whisky. Click here.