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Top Scotch

Don your tartan and Wellies and discover the magic of single-malts

spirits scotch

P roduced from one kind of grain in only one country in the world, single-malt Scotch is a singular spirit. The grain is barley. The country is Scotland. And each single-malt is made by one of the distilleries that speckle the national map from the coasts of the Scottish Highlands to the riverbanks of the south. Widely considered superior to blends (those made by mixing malt and grain whisky), this venerated whisky is as varied and individualistic as wine—by turns dry or sweet, smoky or smooth, redolent of grass or peat. It's a spirit with a simple definition whose character is endlessly complex.

A Sweet History

Whisky is the national drink of Scotland, so engrained in the culture that when Robert Burns, the renowned Scottish bard, penned a famous lament in 1785, he wasn't bemoaning a broken heart; he was decrying a tax levied by the Scottish government on his favorite whisky. (Years later, strapped for cash, Burns himself would become a whisky-tax collector.) At the time, distilling was already a longstanding practice in Scotland, having seeped into the country at least by the early 1400s. It was introduced, historians believe, by Christian monks who trekked there from Ireland. The oldest written reference to Scotch whisky dates to 1494. It's from the Scottish treasury record, which dutifully noted that Friar John Cor had requested a large quantity of malt "wherewith to make aquavitae." Aqua vitae, Latin for "water of life," emerged throughout Europe—including in France as eau-de-vie, and in Scotland as uisge beatha, which English-speakers later morphed into "whisky."

By the 16th century, whisky-making had moved beyond the monasteries and evolved into a widespread trade. And as the national taste for the spirit and talent for making it grew, so did efforts to regulate it. In turn, the public and whisky-makers resisted government interference—for instance, the first whisky tax, introduced in 1644, drove whisky-making underground, and Glasgow erupted into riots in 1725 after a tax was levied on malt. By the mid-19th century, the government had settled upon a rate of excise that gave distilleries enough incentive to emerge from the darkness and make whisky in the light of the law, while still assuring the government a significant take. A cottage industry at its inception, whisky-making today is big corporate business. Most single-malt distilleries are owned by large conglomerates based outside Scotland. Less than one percent of the whisky produced in Scotland comes from family-run operations.

Whisky, of course, doesn't come from Scotland alone. The Irish and the Americans also make it, though they spell it "whiskey" and use different ingredients and methods. Irish whiskey is made from barley, rye, and oats; Tennessee and bourbon whiskey are distilled from corn (at least 51 percent), barley, oats, and rye, the main difference being that the former is filtered through sugar-maple charcoal. The Irish and the Japanese also produce single-malt whiskies, but owing to their origin—and, some would say, their character—none qualifies as Scotch.

From Malt to Whisky

Through a combination of craft, chemistry, and alchemy, whisky-makers transform humble grain into one of the world's most prized spirits. First, barley is malted: soaked in water, then spread out on the distillery floor to encourage germination. During the process, the starches in each grain convert to sugars (which will later be fermented and become alcohol). At a strategic point, whisky-makers stop germination by drying the malted barley in kilns fired with peat or coal flames.

Next comes mashing. The malt is ground, mixed with water, and put in a large container called a mash tun, where the sugars are dissolved. This sugary water, known as wort, is drained off and transferred to a large wooden container called a washback. Yeast is added, and after about two days of fermentation (and some serious bubbling and frothing), the wort has become the slightly alcoholic liquid known as the wash.

The wash is distilled twice, first in a wash still, where it's heated until the alcohol transforms into a vapor. As that vapor cools in a separate part of the still, it condenses back into a liquid composed of 25 percent alcohol. Then it's transferred to a spirit still and distilled again; the resulting liquid, which is about 70 to 80 percent alcohol, is whisky in its pre-aged stage.

Before this stage, whisky-makers make choices that affect the end product: for instance, which variety of barley to use, whether or not to dry the malt over a peat flame, and at what point in the distillation to start drawing spirit from the still. Even the size and shape of the stills used in distillation affect the spirit. But the whisky-maker exerts his most significant influence in deciding how—and how long—to age whisky. All single-malts mature in oak barrels for a legal minimum of three years, but usually for much longer. In the early days of whisky-making, wooden casks were used for sheer convenience. Only later was their vital role in shaping character understood. Wood can lend a single malt depth and roundness, infuse it with hints of cherry and vanilla, and impart a citrus crispness. Single-malt distillers typically keep whisky in oak barrels that stored bourbon, though some age it in casks once used for fortified wines, such as port and sherry. Every single-malt matures differently, but 10, 12, and 18 years are common ages for bottling. Older is not necessarily better, but it's often scarcer and tends to be sold at a higher price.

Just as wood helps shape a whisky, so can other factors, such as water and weather, though the extent of their importance provokes debate. For years, distillers have hailed water (added during the mashing stage) as a defining ingredient of Scotch, promoting its purity or minerality or peatiness as the key to the uniqueness of their spirit. But many whisky experts now suggest that the importance of water has been overstated, a marketing mythology actively encouraged by the industry. The truth probably lies in between. Peaty water, for instance, likely does give whisky a smoky flavor, but not one as strong as that imparted when malt is dried over a peat flame. The same goes for weather. Because casks "breathe," a spirit can gain flavor from the surrounding air. The question is how much. Some experts say the influence is negligible, but few would deny that a whisky aged in misty Scotland would taste different from whisky aged in the sultry climate of Kentucky. The writer Michael Jackson, who is to whisky what Robert Parker is to wine, has noted that single-malts produced along Scotland's rocky coasts have "a distinctly briny or seaweedy character."

Regional Variation

When it comes to categorizing Scotch, experts often speak of four distinct regions. Although the whiskies produced within each region are far from uniform, they do tend to embody certain qualities.

The Highlands
The largest of the whisky regions, it stretches across northern Scotland and yields a wide range of whiskies, some spicy, some smoky, some distinguished by a sherrylike sweetness. The Highlands include an area called Speyside, Scotland's epicenter of malt distillation. Located between the cities of Aberdeen and Inverness, Speyside lies on the watershed of a system of rivers, including the river Livet, as in Glenlivet, the renowned distillery. Other Highland distilleries include Macallan, Glenmorangie, and Aberlour.

The Lowlands
Generally defined as the area south of a line drawn between the Firth of Forth and Loch Lomond, this region is known for whiskies with a dry, light finish. As a result, Lowland whiskies are frequently served as aperitifs. They're made with malt not dried over a peat flame, so they lack the smokiness characteristic of many Highland whiskies. Only a smattering of Lowland distilleries remain in operation, including Auchentoshan, Glenkinchie, and Ladyburn.

Once home to more than 30 distilleries, this finger of land, which juts toward Ireland, now has only two, Springbank and Glen Scotia. But the characteristics of its whiskies remain distinct. Campbeltown single-malts are known for their full bodies and, thanks to their coastal location, something of a salty, seawater tang.

Pronounced "EYE-luh," this small wind-and-rain-whipped island on the southwest of Scotland is densely populated with distilleries. The water here washes over peaty earth, and the whiskies tend toward an intense, smoky flavor that rarely draws a neutral reaction. Among the best-known Islay distilleries are Lagavulin and Bowmore.

Storing and Sipping

Once a whisky has been bottled, it stops aging. And thanks to its high alcohol content, it's less sensitive than wine or beer to changes in temperature. Even so, according to the whisky writer Michael Jackson, leaving a bottle open for extended periods of time can lead to a "collapse" of flavors. Single-malts should be stored at room temperature, and purists maintain that they're best drunk that way too. They also insist on drinking whisky undiluted in a brandy snifter or a sherry copita—and definitely not on the rocks. But this is far from a requirement. Many connoisseurs believe that a small drop of water enhances the flavors of a single-malt, and some drinkers enjoy single-malts over a chip of ice.

However you enjoy them, single-malts work wonderfully as aperitifs or after-dinner drinks, as late-night elixirs or lubricants during a round of golf. Whatever your preference, there's almost no occasion that doesn't benefit from single-malt—except, perhaps, dawn.

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