How Scotch Is Made: Guide to Scotch Whisky Production

Scotch is a distilled alcoholic beverage made in Scotland, also known as Scotch whisky. All Scotch refers to whiskey made from fermented grain mash (a blend of water and malted barley, or other cereal grains), that is aged for at least three years in oak barrels in one of five areas in Scotland, including Highland, Lowland, Speyside, Campbeltown, and Islay.

Distilleries follow these six processes to make any kind of Scotch whisky:

1. 1. Malting: Malting involves soaking the barley in a tank of water for two to three days. The water is then drained, and the barley is laid out on the malting floor, where it begins to germinate or sprout. Germination can take eight to twelve days.
2. 2. Mashing: After germination, the barley goes into a kiln for drying. After drying, the barley is ground into a powder called a grist. The grist is then put in a mash tun vessel, where it is mixed with hot water. The hot water induces the starch in the grist to turn into sugar. The liquid, now called wort, is filtered out, and the solids become animal feed.
3. 3. Fermentation: Distillers combine the wort with yeast, which turns the sugar into beer-like alcohol called wash. This process takes forty-eight hours.
4. 4. Distilling: In a pot still, the wash is heated until it turns into vapor. The vapor rises to the cooling plant, turning back into a liquid. This is called distillation, which removes any impurities. Distillers distill the Scotch two to three times.
5. 5. Maturation: The liquid, or distillate, is put in oak barrels to mature. Scotch must mature in oak casks for at least three years.
6. 6. Blending: In this optional stage, distilleries blend Scotches from various casks or distilleries to create different flavor profiles and kinds of Scotch. After blending, the Scotch then moves to the bottling process.

Scottish whisky is made from malted barley or barley and a mixture of grains, such as maize or wheat. Due to the presence of other grains, Scotch includes five types of whiskey:

1. 1. Single malt Scotch whisky: Single malt Scotch whisky is produced at one single distillery by using malted barley. The spirit is distilled in pot stills from a mash of malted barley. Single Malt is considered a high end Scotch, and only about ten percent of Scotch whisky is single malt.
2. 2. Blended malt Scotch whisky: Blended malt Scotch whisky, formerly known as pure malt or vatted malt, is a blend of different batches of single malt Scotch whisky from different distilleries.
3. 3. Single grain Scotch whisky: Single grain Scotch whisky is made with water and malted barley, as well as whole grains of other malted or unmalted cereals. It is distilled at one single distillery.
4. 4. Blended grain Scotch whisky: A blend of single grain Scotch whiskies, distilled at more than one distillery.
5. 5. Blended Scotch whisky: Blended Scotch is a mixture of malt Scotch whisky and grain Scotch whisky, distilled at any number of distilleries.

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