Whisky : a spirit distilled from fermented grain, typically barley, corn, rye or wheat, with the barley malted in most cases when used, and typically aged in oak casks.

Scotch whisky : whisky distilled in Scotland from fermented grain, water and yeast, with the barley malted in most cases when used, aged in oak casks for at least three years, with no flavourings added, and bottled at a minimum strength of 40% ABV (Alcohol by Volume).

Scotch

Whisky. A dram. The cratur. A wee goldie. A nip. Hauf o’ a hauf’n’hauf. A wee deoch an’ dorus.
Scotch may have many names in its country of birth, but one thing is certain, Scotch remains the world’s favourite spirit.

Scotch whisky has been defined by statute in the United Kingdom since 1933, with the current definition set out in the Scotch Whisky Regulations 2009 covering every aspect of the making, bottling, labelling and promotion of Scotch Whisky. Further to this, Scotch Whisky is also a Geographical Indication protected in UK and EU law, and in other markets across the world.

All Scotch whisky must be aged immediately after distillation in oak for at least three years before being bottled at a minimum strength of 40% ABV (Alcohol by Volume). Any age statement on a bottle of Scotch must reflect the age of the youngest whisky used to create it, whilst a whisky without an age statement is known as a No Age Statement (NAS) whisky.

Working within the boundaries of the regulations, master distillers and blenders craft a huge variety of Scotch whiskies from the smokiest of single malts to the sweetest of sherry cask Speysides. With flavour impacted by elements such as stills of different size and shape, the water, the yeast, the different strains of barley, new and reused casks of differing origins toasted and charred to varying degrees, the length of maturation, the range is enormous. For example, whilst Scotch is perhaps most famous for the smoky flavour originating from the peat fire over which the barley is dried prior to grinding and mashing, not all distilleries use peat, not all smoke is peaty, and not all whiskies are smoky.

There are five classifications for Scotch whisky:

Single Malt Scotch Whisky is produced by a single distillery using malted barley, water and yeast, through distillation in a pot still

Blended Malt Scotch Whisky is a blend of malt Scotch whiskies, often from more than one distillery, produced using malted barley, water and yeast through distillation in a pot still

Single Grain Scotch Whisky is produced by a single distillery, in either a traditional pot still or a Coffey continuous still, from a combination of malted and unmalted barley, cereals such as rye or corn or wheat, water and yeast

Blended Grain Scotch Whisky is a blend of single grain Scotch whiskies, often from more than one disillery, distilled in either a traditional pot still or a Coffey continuous still from a combination of malted and unmalted barley, cereals such as rye or corn or wheat, water and yeast

Blended Scotch Whisky is a combination of one or more malt Scotch whiskies with one or more Scotch grain whiskies, distilled in either a traditional pot still or a Coffey continuous still from a combination of malted and unmalted barley, cereals such as rye or corn or wheat, water and yeast

There are five whisky regions defined in the Scotch Whisky Regulations – Islay, Campbeltown, Highland, Speyside and Lowland – and while each region may have unique characteristics which impact the flavour of the whisky produced, these geographical classifications no longer differentiate whiskies in the way they once did due to innovations in distilling and the variety of expressions offered around the country. Although only five regions are specified, any Scottish locale may be used to describe a whisky if it is distilled entirely within that place – for example, a single malt whisky distilled at Lochranza on Arran could be labelled as an Arran Malt, but it could not be labelled as an Islands malt as Islands is neither a place in Scotland nor a regional name.

A brief history of Scotch

Whisky has been distilled around Scotland for hundreds of years though the early story is lost in mist-shrouded isles and glens. It’s likely that whisky-making began in medieval Scotland as winemaking methods spread from monasteries in continental Europe. With no access to grapes, monks in Scotland used a fermentable mash of grains to produce the spirit that became known as whisky, an anglicisation of the Gaelic uisge beatha, itself a translation of the Latin aqua vitae – the water of life.

The earliest written record of whisky in Scotland comes from the Exchequer Rolls of 1494, recording the income and expenditure of the Crown:

To Friar John Cor, by order of the King, to make aqua vitae, VIII bolls of malt.

— Exchequer Rolls of Scotland, 1 June 1494.

Shortly after, in 1505, the first recorded reference to a still for making whisky appeared in the registers of Aberdeen city council. References to the making of whisky then rose markedly after the Scottish Parliament, noting its increasing popularity, looked to profit from the new industry and introduced taxes on whisky in 1644. Unsurprisingly, this led to an increase in illicit whisky distilling around Scotland, with smuggling standard practice right up to the 19th century. In 1782 alone, more than one thousand illicit stills were seized in the Highlands.

Littlemill, in Bowling beside the river Clyde, became the first licensed distillery in 1773, although distilling ‘for private consumption’ had been taking place at the site for many years. In 1823 the Excise Act eased restrictions while tougher penalties were applied to illegal distillers, leading to a doubling of the amount of whisky that had duty paid on it in a single year. By the 1890s, almost forty new distilleries had opened in Scotland, but the Pattinson Crash, the Great War, and Prohibition devastated the industry, leading to the closure of many distilleries. Recovery was slow but steady, until a new boom in production in the 70s led to oversupply, with the inevitable fresh spate of closures in the 80s.

Today, consumption of Scotch is again increasing around the world, with a trend towards premiumisation. Some research projects that from a current total market value of $32bn, the market will grow to $50bn by 2030 on a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth rate) of 6.43%.¹

Scottish Whisky Regulations 2009 – the world’s favourite spirit defined in law

Scotch Whisky is defined in UK law in the Scottish Whisky Regulations 2009 as a whisky produced in Scotland –

(a) that has been distilled at a distillery in Scotland from water and malted barley (to which only whole grains of other cereals may be added) all of which have been

(i) processed at that distillery into a mash;

(ii) converted at that distillery into a fermentable substrate only by endogenous enzyme systems; and

(iii) fermented at that distillery only by the addition of yeast;

(b) that has been distilled at an alcoholic strength by volume of less than 94.8 per cent so that the distillate has an aroma and taste derived from the raw materials used in, and the method of, its production;

(c) that has been matured only in oak casks of a capacity not exceeding 700 litres;

(d) that has been matured only in Scotland;

(e) that has been matured for a period of not less than three years;

(f) that has been matured only in an excise warehouse or a permitted place;

(g) that retains the colour, aroma and taste derived from the raw materials used in, and the method of, its production and maturation;

(h) to which no substance has been added, or to which no substance has been added except—

(i) water;

(ii) plain caramel colouring; or

(iii) water and plain caramel colouring; and

(i) that has a minimum alcoholic strength by volume of 40%.

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1. Source: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/scotch-whisky-market-104171 ↩︎