Single Malt vs Blended . For these reason, many have resorted to aging thousands of barrels simultaneously in order to have more liquor available to make … Informally, a blend is a mixture—in this case, a mixture of two or more whiskies that are bottled and sold as one whisky. It’s just a matter of style.The Three Drinkers present the first major Amazon series that delves into the world of the drink. Embark on an imbibe journey with Colin, Aidy & Helena; the travelogue trio putting fun and spirit side by side.
Whisky Database. If you were to take a cross-section of different cask types of the same age, you would see a wide range of different flavours. The difference is only in that single malts from one region will have the region’s characteristics come through in the scotch. Take John Walker, a grocer from Kilmarnock, or Messrs Chivas, shopkeepers on King Street, Aberdeen. Thanks
I'm not going to tell them they're making an inferior product. My Reviews. A single malt scotch is one in which only one whiskey, from start to finish, is used. Single Malts vs Blends – Understanding Whisky.
A fresh cask (first fill) will give a bigger hit of flavour more quickly than one that has been filled a few times already (the refill). Single malt Scotch whisky is simply a “malt whisky” (again, as in “all barley”) that’s the product of a single distillery.
A single malt is, therefore, a mix of different cask types and, potentially, ages – there’s nothing to stop some 15-year-old first fill Sherry casks going into a 12-year-old single malt based on refill casks.Single malts must stay true to their local identity as they become global brands, says Dave Broom.In other words, the way in which a single malt is assembled is exactly the same as the way in which a blend is composed. Malt whiskies from the Lowlands, Highlands, Speyside and the Islands all have distinctively different characteristics. But think of how that single malt is put together. Dammit, I’m 718 short of the word count. Generally speaking, you can rest assured that the drink has been created in a single distillery via a certain process. Unless it is a single cask, it will be an amalgamation (I’m trying not to use the ‘B’ word for the moment) of different casks. Frankly, back in the 19thand early 20thcentury, the single expressions of each distillery were pretty rough. What’s interesting is what came later. The distiller will be working to an end flavour.A visit to Cognac reminds Richard Woodard that ‘single’ malts aren’t quite what they seem.The distiller is looking to create a complex product. After all, the regulations seem to be perfectly clear.
That said, there is no mistake that in general single malt is perceived as a finer drink, and blends are generally seen as the single malt’s runt of a little brother. Flavour vs Score. Over 90% of the whisky sold around the world is blended, and 90% of the whisky-drinking world can’t be wrong, can they?
You can see how the complexity is growing. In fact, when the industry began to boom, it was because it was blended – it finally could be blended. Think of it like comparing a fine red Burgundy to a fine red Bordeaux: the Burgundy will be made with a single grape variety (Pinot Noir) and Bordeaux will be a blend (Cabernet, Merlot and some others). Volume, character and consistency are the by-words. (I now understand that the fault was not entirely of the blend, but rather of the boy.
After all, the regulations seem to be perfectly clear. Single malt distillers are at a much greater disadvantage from blended whiskey makers when it comes to creating an undiscernible product. Suffice to say, I didn’t drink whiskey for another decade, so obscenely gasoline-like was its flavor. The early period of Scotch production can really be construed as a series of relatively wealthy, or aspirant, farmers giving distillation a crack. (Bless you, Father, for you have sinned.)
I overheard an interesting conversation in an off licence the other day. Although blended Scotches capture the same flavors as single malts, a good single malt expresses those flavors with considerably more delicacy and subtlety. (Some make a few, but let’s not get dragged down that rabbit hole today). Distillery A is different in style to distillery B, and so on through all of the hundred-and-whatever distilleries operating in Scotland. This ‘distillery character’ is their DNA. He came up with the bright idea of bottling it as a single malt and begin promoting it as 'better' or 'more genuine' than blended whisky.