{"id":57091,"date":"2024-11-07T10:00:50","date_gmt":"2024-11-07T10:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"\/blog\/post\/what-is-scotch-whisky\/"},"modified":"2026-01-26T12:09:42","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T12:09:42","slug":"what-is-scotch-whisky","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/what-is-scotch-whisky\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Scotch Whisky?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scotch whisky<\/a>, or Scotch, is perhaps the most famous whisky<\/a> of all. While its origins are debated, we know enough about the <\/span>history of Scotch whisky<\/span><\/a> to trace it back at least as far as 1494, when a certain Friar John Cor of <\/span>Lindores Abbey in Fife<\/span><\/a> was paid duty on eight bolls of malt to make 500kg of <\/span>aqua vitae<\/span><\/a> (400 x 70cl bottles) for King James IV.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Single

Scotch whisky is more than a mere drink.<\/p><\/div>\n

What is Scotch whisky?<\/b><\/h3>\n

To <\/span>create Scotch whisky<\/span><\/a>, you must follow certain rules and regulations. The whisky must be distilled in Scotland from water and grain, whether that\u2019s malted barley, wheat, corn, rye, or oats.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The mashing, fermentation, and distillation must take place on-site, which means no local brewers producing mash and shipping wort, and only endogenous enzymes (those produced naturally by the grain) are allowed. Just yeast is permitted in fermentation, no sugary or fermented liquid substitutes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The spirit must be distilled to less than 94.8% ABV. It is then to be aged in oak barrels of 700 litres or less for a minimum of three years. Only water and\/or caramel colour are permitted to be added after maturation and the spirit should be a minimum 40% ABV when bottled. If an age statement is used, that must denote the age of the youngest spirit in the bottle, while the <\/span>whisky must be bottled in Scotland<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Scotch Whisky Regulations of 2009 defined both five production styles<\/strong><\/a> and five regions<\/strong> where Scotch is made: Highlands<\/strong><\/a>, Lowlands<\/strong><\/a>, Speyside<\/strong><\/a>, Campbeltown<\/strong><\/a>, and Islay<\/strong><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Scotch whisky is the biggest whisky category in the world. Johnnie Walker is the single <\/span>biggest-selling whisky brand<\/span><\/a>, while there are currently 151 operating Scotch Whisky distilleries across Scotland (as of May 2024). The <\/span>number of Scotch whisky brands<\/span><\/a> is impossible to calculate truly, so large is the variety out there, and the Scotch Whisky Association<\/a> says that 43 bottles (70cl at 40% ABV) of Scotch whisky are shipped from Scotland to over 160 markets around the world each second, totalling over 1.35bn every year.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Scotch

What Scotch whisky is your favourite?<\/p><\/div>\n

The future of Scotch whisky<\/b><\/h3>\n

This is a subject well covered before, so let\u2019s go somewhere more interesting with the topic. Recently we attended the launch for the third edition of Dave Broom\u2019s <\/span>The World Atlas of Whisky<\/span><\/i>. It\u2019s a fascinating breakdown of our ever-expanding, evolving world of whisky. One that goes beyond technical definitions and recommendations to understand and encapsulate what is happening in the places where whisky is made and what could come next.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Broom describes twenty-first-century Scotch as \u201ca complex beast\u201d. While it remains the biggest global player, it\u2019s now facing the reality that many other countries are not only making whiskey but doing so to a high standard. \u201cScotch no longer has the world to itself, rather it is feeling the hot breath of its competitors on its neck,\u201d Broom says. It is a challenge, but one that gives Scotch whisky something to rise to.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Broom takes us through a brief history of the 20th century, detailing how Scotch was able to ride the turbulence of the early part of the century to emerge ahead of American and Irish whiskey. \u201cThe world wanted whiskey and Scotland delivered,\u201d Broom says, but in this need to satisfy demand and other commercial pressure, efficiency became the driver of production, not flavour. High-yielding barely varieties, centralised maltings, the removal of the old-school worm tubs for shell-and-tube condensers, the move away from direct-fire stills, shorter fermentations \u2013 these were choices taken in the name of productivity. Broom does not judge them, they worked then for Scotch, giving it the foothold required to ensure the people\u2019s glasses were filled with the water of life.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"The

Nc’nean: one of Scotch whisky’s most sustainable distilleries and a demonstration of how Scotch whisky evolving<\/p><\/div>\n

What is Scotch whisky… and what can it be?<\/h3>\n

But the whisky world is changing. That\u2019s very much the reason why we even need a third edition of this book. Broom joked that it was an impossible task to ever finish such a work. No sooner do you send the final edits to the publishers, do you get an email revealing the construction of a single malt distillery in Uruguay. But diversity is not the only strength of the new whisky world. He revels in the notion that the planet’s new distillers proudly and rightly choose to not make Scotch, but whiskies that reflect location, culture, and personality.<\/span><\/p>\n

The consequence, however, is an existential crisis for Scotland’s distillers. There are new voices, flavours, and approaches all with their own compelling stories. Scotch can be in danger of being trapped within its own mythos and believing that being the biggest makes it immune to competition. Broom warns that positioning the category towards luxury cannot be the sole solution, as Scotch wasn’t built by luxury brands but by blends that offered a reward to all people and luxury can be shallow, all packaging and opaque messaging with little justification for the price tag. \u201cUltimately Scotch has to remain democratic, not elitist,\u201d he explains.<\/span><\/p>\n

But Broom is not down on Scotland\u2019s chances. He quotes Emma Walker, Johnnie Walker’s master blender, and her belief that Scotch has been defined by eras. The 19th century was the Era of Business. The Era of Engineering was the 1920s. The Era of Science started in the 1970s. Now it’s the Era of Freedom. \u201cWe know the business we know how to make it, and we know the finer chemistry now we can use all of that to play. This is the shape of 21st-century Scotch.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Scotch whisky can\u2019t turn its back on the importance of blends and there is a reality that their mass production (with 30m cases of blended Scotch made per annum) means that some distilleries need to stay a more even, efficient course. But a new wave of dedicated single malt distilleries is helping to pull this giant into the modern age. By exploring the past, adapting old techniques, and adopting new ones, these distilleries favour flavour over yield. We\u2019ve seen yeast strain experimentation, longer ferments, different types of stills, direct fire, new cask profiles, other cereals such as rye\u2026 and a wider shift, from the distillery as a factory of spirit to the centre of the community*. The big players have made notable shifts too in keeping with the times, perhaps prompted by the early promise of the bright hopefuls.\u00a0<\/span>New whiskies from a new generation, made with new thinking have created \u201cpost-punk whisky making\u201d as Broom has it. He believes Scotch is in a good place because of it. <\/span><\/p>\n

The release of <\/span>The World Atlas of Whisky (3rd Edition) <\/span><\/i>and its probing nature are a timely reminder that the question \u2013 <\/span>What is Scotch whisky? <\/b>\u2013 isn\u2019t answered simply.\u00a0<\/span>There are technicalities to meet, histories well-recorded, and only one place it can all happen. But Scotch whisky, by its nature, is not one static product. It evolves, and so we must continue to learn and explore ourselves to keep up.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"The

Dave Broom in his homeland, where Scotch whisky is made<\/p><\/div>\n

*Broom has written extensively about whisky\u2019s sense of place, another book of his on the subject is an essential read – <\/span>A Sense of Place: A Journey Around Scotland\u2019s Whisky<\/span><\/i>. I\u2019d also recommend you pick up a copy of <\/span>The World Atlas of Whisky (3rd Edition)<\/span><\/i>. And buy some Scotch whisky<\/a>, for goodness sake. It’s bloody brilliant.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Scotch whisky, or Scotch, is perhaps the most famous whisky of all. While its origins are debated, we know enough about the history of Scotch whisky to trace it back…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":50226,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[893,746,19],"tags":[1959,895],"yoast_head":"\nWhat is Scotch Whisky? | Master of Malt blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What is Scotch whisky? 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