Browse whiskies by style
Whisky styles are broad and varied and are defined by the types of: grain; maturation; still configuration; and filtration. Geography plays little part and although some styles are tethered to particular regions, whisky styles are dictated by process.
Single malt whisky is as iconic, eminent and revered as any luxury commodity, be it sports cars, high end... fashion, cigars or wine. Perhaps it is history that has most established it as a style with such éclat.
To be labeled as single malt, according to SWA regulations – the Scotch Whisky Association (a trade organization with a great deal of clout) – whisky must be distilled at a single distillery, in a pot still, from nothing other than malted barley yeast and water, before a maturation of at least three years and one day. Other, more meticulous stipulations must also be met; provisions such as strength at barrel entry and barrel size being two examples.
Blended whisky is made up of malt whisky, as above, and a portion of grain whisky, used for ease and cost effectiveness (grain whisky may be produced in a very efficient column still). A ratio of 40:60 of malt to grain is a legal minimum, but most commercially available blended whiskies comprise of around 60% malt whisky.
The drawback of the cheap and easily produced grain whisky is its flavour profile, which is decidedly devoid of character, and whilst there are some very good 100% grain whiskies on the market (a style in its own right), their sales account for very little of the world’s whisky market.
Blended malts were once known as “vatted malts”, though the name has been changed under SWA guidelines in a bid to bring clarity to an industry where labeling can be as deceptive as a tabloid headline (Pure Malt and Vatted Malt are both archaic terms, both implying the sole use of malt whisky). Blended malt whisky is a curious beast, best looked at as a blend of nothing other than single malts. Here the sum may be greater than the parts, and it is indeed a great way of making use of whiskies of varying quality, with the result being a vast improvement on its less favourable components.
Renowned proponents of the style include The Easy Drinking Whisky Company, a trio of whisky fanatics who crafted some fabulous blended malts, vatting across regions with great effect. Compass Box Whisky, the brainchild of American, John Glaser, is as innovative and iconoclastic as can be in a centuries old industry; their whiskies emblazoned with names such as “The Peat Monster” and “Oak Cross”.
Whilst whisky is required to undergo a three year ageing period, the spirit is still potable and often delightful before full maturity is reached. Not called whisky, this is malt spirit, or “new make” as is the Scots’ handle for it. With several newly founded distilleries producing whisky, the release of new make is a marvelous way of bringing both public interest and capital to a venture. America even has its own “new make”, though its infant whiskey is referred to as “white dog” - a spirit with a strong cereal flavour, often porridge like in taste.
Bourbon is distilled from a selection of grains, including corn, wheat, barley and rye, with a minimum quantity of 55% corn. The mix of grains is known as the “mash bill” and the make up differs between distilleries. Some distilleries, Maker’s Mark included, omit grains completely; Maker’s bourbon is distilled from corn and barley and - favouring the gentle sweetness of wheat - rye with its peppery, spiciness is excluded to great effect.
But filter bourbon through sugar maple charcoal and you at once vacate Kentucky for Tennessee, bordered by the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi to the east and west respectively. There are just two Tennessee whiskey distillers: George Dickel (one of the only American distillers to spell their whisky ‘whisky’) and Jack Daniel, the eponymous whiskeyman brought to fame by his popular “Old Time Number 7 Brand” as well as a string of wonderful advertisements.
The States are also celebrated for Rye Whiskey. Rye is a spicy, dark grain with a product as big and bold as any drink one will ever know. The rye whiskey industry met its demise with Prohibition, and whilst the bourbon distillers regained momentum speedily following its repeal, rye found itself largely dormant until a recent burgeon in popularity.
When whiskey is distilled from a very high proportion of a single grain, it may be preceded with the word “straight”, as in Straight Wheat Whiskey. Here the flavour of the dominant grain is highlighted and brought to greater prominence: straight wheat whiskey is sweet and smooth.
As the variance of whisky style is governed by process, in theory geographic location is of little concern. However, different grains and different styles thrive in separate conditions. Bourbon cannot be produced in Scotland because the warmer climes of America are much more favourable for both its maturation and the farming of the grains.