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Macallan 30 Year Old Sherry Oak Single Malt Whisky 750ml
The Macallan
Coordinates: 57∞29 23.74 3N 3∞12 227.28 3W˛ˇ / ˛ˇ57.4843722∞N
3.2075778∞W˛ˇ / 57.4843722; -3.2075778
Region: Speyside
Owner: Highland
Distillers
Founded: 1824
Status: Operational
No. of Stills: 10
wash
5 spirit
The Macallan Fine Oak
Age(s): 8-year-old
10-year-old
12-year-old
15-year-old
17-year-old
18-year-old
21-year-old
25-year-old
30-year-old
Cask Type(s): Bourbon
Sherry (both American and European oak)
The Macallan Sherry Oak
Age(s): 10-year-old
10-year-old (cask strength)
12-year-old
Elegancia 12-year-old
18-year-old
25-year-old
30-year-old
Cask Type(s): Sherry
(mostly European oak)
The 1824 Collection
Type: Select
Oak
Whiskey Maker's Edition
Estate Reserve
The Macallan is a single malt Scotch whisky, produced at Macallan
Distillery near Easter Elchies House, at Craigellachie in the Speyside region. Originally,
The Macallan was only matured in oak sherry casks brought to the distillery from
Jerez, Spain. Beginning in 2004, The Macallan introduced a new main product, the
Fine Oak series, with the whisky mellowed in bourbon oak casks as well as sherry
ones.
In 2007, a bottle of 1926 vintage The Macallan was sold at a
Christie's auction for $54,000, making it one of the most expensive bottles of liquor
ever sold.
Bottlings
The distillery produces a number of expressions, the most generally
available being the 12-year-old, though the 18-year-old is also well known. Expensive
25- and 30-year-old versions can also be found. Additionally, a 58% cask strength
(i.e., non-diluted) version is widely available. The Elegancia, a 40% ABV (as opposed
to 43%) 12-year-old, is available only at duty-free shops. The Macallan is one of
the ingredients of The Famous Grouse blend.
The Core Range
Sherry Oak series
* The Macallan 10
years old
* The Macallan 12
years old
* The Macallan 18
years old
* The Macallan 25
years old
* The Macallan 30
years old
* The Macallan Elegancia
Fine Oak series
* The Macallan 10
years old
* The Macallan 15
years old
* The Macallan 21
years old
* The Macallan 30
years old
The 1824 Collection
* The Macallan Select
Oak
Matured in the highest quality Spanish and American oak casks,
specially selected by George Espie, The Macallan’s Master of Wood. From acorn to
glass takes over 100 years of care and attention to produce this extraordinarily
smooth Macallan, with remarkable sweetness and depth.
* The Macallan Whisky
Makers Edition
Containing rare whisky distilled from barley grown on The Macallan’s
Estate, Whisky Maker’s Edition is personally crafted by The Macallan’s Whisky Maker,
Bob Dalgarno and bottled at his preferred strength of 42.8% ABV. This Macallan is
exceptionally elegant with a lingering finish.
* The Macallan Estate
Reserve
The distinctly rich Macallan is draw from casks selected for
maximum intensity and depth of flavor, including some traditional sherry seasoned
hogshead casks specially reserved for this expression. It is non-chill filtered
and bottled at the old-style 80 proof, more commonly known as ‘20 under ‘. There traditional practices
ensure that every ounce of flavor and character is drawn from the cask and captured
in the whisky.
Fine & Rare
* The Macallan 1926:
60 years old
* The Macallan 1937:
32 years old
* The Macallan 1937:
37 years old
* The Macallan 1938:
31 years old
* The Macallan 1938:
35 years old
* The Macallan 1948:
53 years old
* The Macallan 1949:
52 years old
* The Macallan 1949:
53 years old
* The Macallan 1950:
52 years old cask 598
* The Macallan 1950:
52 years old cask 600
* The Macallan 1951:
51 years old
* The Macallan 1952:
49 years old
* The Macallan 1952:
50 years old
* The Macallan 1953:
49 years old
* The Macallan 1954:
47 years old
* The Macallan 1955:
46 years old
* The Macallan 1958:
43 years old
* The Macallan 1959:
43 years old
* The Macallan 1964:
37 years old
* The Macallan 1965:
36 years old
* The Macallan 1966:
35 years old
* The Macallan 1967:
35 years old
* The Macallan 1968:
33 years old
* The Macallan 1968:
34 years old
* The Macallan 1969:
32 years old cask 9369
* The Macallan 1969:
32 years old cask 10412
* The Macallan 1970:
31 years old
* The Macallan 1970:
32 years old
* The Macallan 1971:
30 years old cask 4280
* The Macallan 1971:
30 years old cask 7556
* The Macallan 1972:
29 years old cask 4014
* The Macallan 1972:
29 years old cask 4043
* The Macallan 1973:
30 years old
* The Macallan 1934:
30 years old
* The Macallan 1975:
30 years old
* The Macallan 1976:
29 years old
[edit] Special releases
[edit] Lalique
(in order of release)
* The Macallan Lalique
I: 50 years old
* The Macallan Lalique
II: 55 years old
Masters of Photography
* The Macallan Rankin
Edition
Distillery Exclusives
* The Macallan Ghillie's
Dram
* The Macallan Cask
Selection 2008 Release
Others
* The Macallan (dated,
in order of release): 1961 (40yo), 1946 (52yo), 1948 (51yo), & 1951 (49yo)
* The Macallan Replica
(in order of release): 1861, 1874, 1841, 1876, and 1851
* The Macallan Vintage
Travel: 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s
* The Macallan Exceptional:
I, II, III, IV, V, & VI
* The Macallan Cask
Strength: US & UK
* The Macallan 50
Years Old
* The Macallan Adami
* The Macallan Blake
* The Macallan Gran
Reserva 1979, 1980
* The Macallan Gran
Reserva 1982, 2002 bottling
* The Macallan Millennium
Dec
* The Macallan Private
Eye no age statement but edition includes one cask from 1961
* The Macallan Speaker
Martin's
Single Malt Scotch
Single Malt Scotch is a type of single
malt whisky, distilled by a single distillery in a pot still, using malted barley as the only grain
ingredient, in Scotland. As with any Scotch whisky, a Single
Malt Scotch must be distilled in Scotland
and matured in oak casks in Scotland for
at least three years (most single malts are matured for longer).
Production
All single malt Scotch goes through a similar batch production process,
as outlined below. At bottling time various batches are mixed together or
vatted to achieve consistent flavours from one bottling run to the next. Even
so, some variation does occur, both intentionally and due to inexperience, and
as such some distilleries will be better at creating consistent expressions than others. Also,
distillers (both independent and official) may choose to change expressions in
any way to attract more or a different kind of buyer. On the other hand, distillers
might also choose to make batch variation into an asset,
such as Edradour — which at the
time was too small to maintain batch consistency — did after it was taken over
by a new owner in 2002. Water
Water is used in all phases of the
production of whisky. It is added to the barley to promote germination, it is mixed
with ground barley grist to create a mash and it is used to dilute most whisky
before maturation and once again before bottling. Most distilleries use different water
sources in the various steps. Most new-make malt whisky is diluted to
about 63.5% before it is placed in casks to mature. These days, many
distilleries are using distilled water for diluting whisky before it is casked
as well as for diluting the whisky to bottling strength (40–46% Alcohol by
Volume (ABV)) after maturation. Others, like Jura
or Bruichladdich, use water from local burns or springs to dilute new-make
before it is casked. Much new-make whisky is shipped in tanker trucks to
central warehouses where local tap water is used to dilute it before casking,
and again at bottling time. Since huge amounts of water are used
during the process of whisky production, water supplies are a key factor for
the location of any distillery. Malting
Barley, yeast and water are the only ingredients
required in the production of single malt Scotch. The barley used to make the whisky is
"malted" by soaking the grain in water for 2–3 days and then allowing
it to germinate to produce the necessary enzymes required to convert starch
into fermentable sugars. Traditionally each distillery had its
own malting floor where the germinating seeds were regularly turned. Most of
the distilleries use commercial "maltsters" who prepare each
distillery's malt to exact specifications, but the "pagoda roof"
(many now false) which ventilated the malting floor can be seen at nearly every
distillery. The germination is halted (by heating)
after 3–5 days, before the starch begins to be converted into the fermentable
sugars. The method for drying the germinated barley is by heating it with hot
air produced by an oil, coal or even electric heat source. In most cases, some level of peat smoke is introduced to the
kiln to add phenols, a smoky aroma and
flavour to the whisky. Some of the more intensely smoky malts from Islay have
phenol levels between 25 and 50 parts per million (ppm). The three
smokiest/peatiest malts, in order of phenol concentration, are Ardbeg, Laphroaig (la-froyg) and Lagavulin (lagga-voolin),
all from Islay. More subtle malts
can have phenol levels of around 2–3 ppm. Mashing
The malt is milled into a coarse flour
(grist), and added to hot water to activate the
enzymes which will convert starches to fermentable sugars. Long starch chains
are broken into glucose, maltose, and maltriose, which yeast is able to
ferment. The extraction is done in a large
kettle (usually made of stainless steel) called a mash tun. At first, the hot water activates the enzymes
by providing an optimal temperature for activity in the grist. The enzymes act
on the starch to convert it into sugar, and producing a sugary liquid called wort. Fermentation
Yeast is added to the wort in a
large vessel (often tens of thousands of litres) called a washback. Washbacks are commonly made of Oregon Pine or stainless
steel. The yeast feeds on the sugars and as a by-product produces both carbon dioxide and alcohol; this process is
called fermentation
and can take up to three days to complete. When complete, the liquid has an
alcohol content of 5 to 7% by volume, and is now known as wash.
Up until this point the process has been quite similar to the production of
beer. Distillation
The wash is then pumped into a copper pot still, known as the wash
still, to be distilled. The wash is
heated, boiling off the alcohol,
which has a lower boiling point
than water; the vapour is collected in a condenser which has been submerged in cool water. The
lower temperatures cause the vapour to condense back into a liquid form. This spirit, known as low wine, has an alcohol content of about 20 to 40%. The
low wines are then pumped into a second pot still, known as the spirit still, and distilled a second, (and in the case of
Lowlander, Auchentoshan, a third) time. The final spirit, called new make
spirit, generally has an alcohol
content of 60 to 70%. Much of the body, or mouth feel, of the final whisky is believed
to come from the size and shape of the stills used in its production. When a
still wears out and has to be replaced, or when a distillery decides to expand
the number of stills it operates, precise measurements of the existing stills
are taken to ensure the new stills are reproduced exactly like the old. There
are urban legends (mostly untrue) of master distillers having dents placed in
brand new stills so that they matched those in the old still. Another urban
legend states that one distiller refuses to allow the cobwebs to be cleaned off
his stills for fear of altering the whisky. Maturation
The "new-make spirit", or
unaged whisky, is then placed in oak casks to
mature. By law, all Scotch whisky must be aged for a minimum of three years in
oak casks in Scotland; though many single malts are matured for much longer.
The whisky continues to develop and change as it spends time in the wood, and
maturation periods of twenty years or more are not uncommon. Each year spent in
the wood decreases the alcohol content of the whisky. The lost volume from
evaporation is known as the angel's share. The selection of casks has a profound
effect on the character of the final whisky. Single malt Scotch is too delicate
to be aged in new oak casks, as new oak would overpower the whisky with tannin and vanillin, making it overly
astringent. Thus used casks are needed. The most common source of casks is American whiskey
producers, as U.S. laws require that bourbon and Tennessee whiskey be aged
in new oak casks. Bourbon casks impart a characteristic vanilla flavour to the
whisky. An important minority of whisky maturation occurs in sherry casks. This practice arose
because sherry used to be shipped to Britain from Spain in the cask rather than
having been bottled, and the casks were expensive to return empty and were
unwanted by the sherry cellars. Sherry casks are more expensive than bourbon
casks, and account for only seven percent of all casks imported for whisky
maturation. In addition to imparting the flavours of their former contents,
sherry casks lend maturing spirit a heavier body and a deep amber colour. For
this reason, single malt Scotches that have been matured in sherry casks are
especially prized by blenders, as they give a blend a roundness and richness.
Stainless steel shipping containers, however, have reduced the supply of wooden
sherry casks, to the extent that the Macallan
Distillery builds casks and leases them to the sherry cellars in Spain for a time, then has them
shipped back to Scotland. Other casks used
include those that formerly held port wine and madeira, while experiments
with used red wine, rum and cognac casks are being
performed. Bottling
To be called a single malt Scotch, a
bottle may only contain whisky distilled from malted barley produced at a
single distillery. If the bottle is the product of single malt whiskies
produced at more than one distillery, the whisky is called a vatted malt, or a blended
malt. If the single malt is mixed with grain whisky, the result
is a blended
Scotch whisky. Single malts can be bottled by the distillery
that produced them or by an Independent Bottler. The age statement on a bottle of single
malt Scotch is the age of the youngest malt in the mix, as commonly the
whiskies of several years are mixed together in a vat to create a more
consistent house style. On occasion the product of a single
cask of whisky is bottled and released as a "Single Cask." While "cask-strength", or
undiluted, whisky (often having an alcohol content as high as 60%) has recently
become popular, the vast majority of whisky is diluted to its "bottling strength"
— between 40% and 46% ABV — and bottled for sale. It should also be noted that for
whisky, unlike wine, the maturation
process does not continue in the bottle. Independent bottlers, such as Gordon & MacPhail, Murray McDavid, Signatory, Hart Brothers, and Cadenhead,
buy casks of single malts and either bottle them immediately or store them for
future use. Many of the independents began as stores and merchants who bought
the whisky in bulk and bottled it for individual sales. Many distilleries do
not bottle their whisky as a single malt, so independent bottlings are the only
way the single malt gets to market. The bottling process is generally the same,
but independents generally do not have access to the distillery's water source,
so another source is used to dilute the whisky. Additionally, independents are
generally less concerned with maintaining a particular style, so more single
year and single cask bottlings are produced. History
Distillation of whisky has been
performed in Scotland for centuries. The earliest written record of whisky
production in Scotland from malted barley is an entry on the 1494 Exchequer
Rolls, which reads "Eight bolls of malt to Friar John Cor, by order of the
King, wherewith to make aqua vitae." In the following centuries, the various
governments of Scotland began taxing the production of whisky, to the point
that most of the spirit was produced illegally. However, in 1823, Parliament
passed an act making commercial distillation much more profitable, while
imposing punishments on landowners when unlicensed distilleries were found on their
properties. George Smith was the first person
to take out a licence for a distillery under the new law, founding the Glenlivet
Distillery in 1824. In the 1830s, Aeneas Coffey refined a
design originally created by Robert Stein for a continuous still which produced
whisky much more efficiently than the traditional pot stills, but with much
less flavour. Quickly, merchants began blending the malt whisky with the grain
whisky distilled in the
continuous stills, making the first blended Scotch whisky. The blended Scotch
proved quite successful, less expensive to produce than malt with more flavour
and character than grain. The combination allowed the single malt producers to
expand their operations as the blended whisky was more popular on the
international market. As of 2004,
over 90% of the single malt Scotch produced is used to make blended Scotch. Most distilleries in Scotland are not
owned by Scots. The Japanese beverage company Suntory owns Morrison-Bowmore,
while other international companies, such as LVMH & Pernod-Ricard (France),
and Diageo (England), own the
majority of distilleries. The largest distiller to remain under Scottish
ownership is William
Grant & Sons, owned by the Grant family, with headquarters
in Motherwell,
Scotland. Other distilleries owned by Scottish
companies/families are Glenfarclas, Bruichladdich, and Bunnahabhain. Regions
Flavour, aroma, and finish differ
widely from one single malt to the next. Single Malt Scotch whiskies are
categorised into the following whisky-producing regions.
Scotch
Whisky
Scotch whisky is whisky
made in Scotland.
In Britain, the term whisky
is usually taken to mean Scotch unless otherwise specified. In other
English-speaking countries, it is often referred to as
"Scotch". Scotch whisky is divided into four
distinct categories: single malt, vatted malt
(also called "pure malt"), blended
and single grain. Legal definition
To be called Scotch whisky the spirit
must conform to the standards of the Scotch Whisky Order of 1990 (UK), which
clarified the Scotch Whisky Act of 1988, and mandates that the spirit:
This definition is currently under
review and new legislation is expected in the spring of 2008. History
“To Friar John Cor, by order of the King, to make aqua
vitae VIII bolls of malt.” — Exchequer
Rolls 1494–95, vol x, p. 487. Whisky has been produced in Scotland
for hundreds of years. Legend states that distillation first reached Scotland
from monks in Ireland in the fourth and fifth centuries. The first
taxes on whisky production were imposed in 1644, causing a rise in illicit
whisky distilling in the country. Around 1780, there were about 8 legal
distilleries and 400 illegal ones. In 1823, Parliament eased restrictions on licensed
distilleries with the "Excise Act", while at the same time making it
harder for the illegal stills to operate, thereby ushering in the modern era of
Scotch production. Two events helped the increase of whisky's popularity:
first, a new production process was introduced in 1831 called Coffey or Patent
Still (see in section below); the whisky produced with this process was less
intense and smoother. Second, the Phylloxera beetle
destroyed wine
and cognac production in France in 1880. Methods of
production
Types of
whisky
Malt whisky must contain
no grain other than malted barley
and is traditionally distilled in pot stills.
Grain whisky may contain unmalted barley or other malted or unmalted grains
such as wheat
and maize
(corn) and is typically distilled in a continuous column still,
known as a Patent or Coffey still, the latter after Aeneas Coffey
who refined the column still in 1831. While there are scores of malt whisky distilleries,
only seven grain distilleries currently exist, most located in the Scottish Lowlands. Malting
Malt whisky production begins when the
barley is malted—by steeping the barley in water, and then allowing it to get
to the point of germination. Malting releases enzymes that break down starches
in the grain and help convert them into sugars. When the desired state of
germination is reached the malted barley is dried using smoke. Many (but not
all) distillers add peat to
the fire to give an earthy, peaty flavour to the spirit. Today only a handful of distilleries
have their own maltings; these include Balvenie,
Kilchoman, Highland Park, Glenfiddich,
Glen Ord, Bowmore, Laphroaig,
Springbank, Tamdhu, and Edradour.
Even those distilleries that malt their own barley produce only a small
percentage of the malt required for production. All distilleries order malt
from specialised maltsters. Mashing and
fermentation
The dried malt (and in the case of
grain whisky, other grains) is ground into a coarse flour called "grist." This is mixed
with hot water in a large vessel called a mash tun.
The grist is allowed to steep. This process is referred to as "mashing,"
and the mixture as "mash". In mashing, enzymes that were developed
during the malting process are allowed to convert the barley starch into sugar,
producing a sugary liquid known as "wort". The wort is then transferred to another
large vessel called a "wash back" where it is cooled. The yeast is added, and the
wort is allowed to ferment. The resulting liquid, now at about 5–7% alcohol by volume,
is called "wash"
and is very similar to a rudimentary beer. Distillation
The next step is to use a still to
distil the mash. Distillation is used to increase the alcohol content and to
remove undesired impurities such as methanol. There are two types of stills in use
for the distillation: the pot still (for single malts) and the Coffey still
(for grain whisky). All Scotch malt whisky distilleries distil their product
twice except for the Auchentoshan distillery, which retains the Lowlands
tradition of triple distillation. For malt whisky the wash is transferred
into a wash still. The liquid is heated to the boiling point of alcohol, which
is lower than the boiling point of water. The alcohol evaporates and travels to
the top of the still, through the "lyne arm" and into a
condenser—where it is cooled and reverts to liquid. This liquid has an alcohol
content of about 20% and is called "low wine". The low wine is distilled a second
time, in a spirit still, and the distillation is divided into three
"cuts". The first liquid or cut of the distillation is called
"foreshots" and is generally quite toxic due to the presence of the
low boiling point alcohol
methanol.
These are generally saved for further distillation. It is the "middle
cut" that the stillman is looking for, which will be placed in casks for
maturation. At this stage it is called "new make". Its alcohol
content can be anywhere from 60%–75%. The third cut is called the
"feints" and is generally quite weak. These are also saved for
further distillation. Grain whiskies are distilled in a column still,
which requires a single distillation to achieve the desired alcohol content.
Grain whisky is produced by a continuous fractional distillation process, unlike the
simple distillation based batch process used for malt whisky. It is therefore
more efficient to operate and the resulting whisky is less expensive. Maturation
Once distilled the "new make
spirit" is placed into oak casks for the maturation process. Historically,
casks previously used for sherry
were used (as barrels are expensive, and there was a ready market for used
sherry butts). Nowadays the casks used are typically sherry or bourbon
casks. Sometimes other varieties such as port, Cognac,
Madeira,
calvados, beer, and Bordeaux wine
are used. Bourbon production is a nearly inexhaustible generator of used
barrels, due to a regulation requiring the use of new, oak
barrels. The ageing process results in evaporation,
so each year in the cask causes a loss of volume as well as a reduction in
alcohol. The 0.5–2.0% lost each year is known as the angel's share.
Many whiskies along the west coast and on the Hebrides are stored in open
storehouses on the coast, allowing the salty sea air to pass on its flavour to
the spirit. It is a little-known fact, however, that most so-called
"coastal" whiskies are matured in large central warehouses in the
Scottish interior far from any influence of the sea. The distillate
must age for at least three years in Scotland to be called Scotch whisky,
although most single malts are offered at a minimum of eight years of age. Some
believe that older whiskies are inherently better, but others find that the age
for optimum flavour development changes drastically from distillery to
distillery, or even from cask to cask. Older whiskies are inherently scarcer,
however, so they usually command significantly higher prices. Colour can give a clue to the type of
cask (sherry or bourbon) used to age the whisky, although the addition of legal
"spirit caramel" is sometimes used to darken an otherwise lightly
coloured whisky. Sherried whisky is usually darker or more amber in colour,
while whisky aged in ex-bourbon casks is usually a golden-yellow/honey colour. The late 1990s saw a trend towards
"wood finishes" in which fully matured whisky is moved from one
barrel into another one that had previously aged a different type of alcohol
(e.g., port, Madeira, rum, wine, etc.) to add the "finish". The Scotch Malt Whisky Society bottling
number 1.81, for instance, is known by some as "the green
Glenfarclas". It was finished in a rum cask after 27 years in
an oak (ex-bourbon) barrel and is the colour of extra-virgin olive
oil. This is in homage to the legendary "Green Springbank",
also aged in rum casks. Another notable example is the "Black
Bowmore", released in batches in 1993, 94 and 95 after 29, 30, 31 years in
ex-Oloroso sherry casks. The name betrays the density of colour and complexity
of flavour naturally imparted into what was originally water-clear spirit in
1964. Bottling
With single malts, the now properly
aged spirit may be "vatted", or "married", with other
single malts (sometimes of different ages) from the same distillery. The whisky
is generally diluted to a bottling strength of between 40% and 46%. Occasionally distillers will release a
"Cask Strength" edition, which is not diluted and will usually have
an alcohol content of 50–60%. Many distilleries are releasing
"Single Cask" editions, which are the product of a single cask which
has not been vatted with whisky from any other casks. These bottles will
usually have a label which details the date the whisky was distilled, the date
it was bottled, the number of bottles produced, the number of the particular bottle,
and the number of the cask which produced the bottles. Chill
filtration
Many whiskies are bottled after being
"chill-filtered". This is a process in which the whisky is chilled to
near 0°C (32°F) and passed through a fine filter. This removes some of the
compounds produced during distillation or extracted from the wood of the cask,
and prevents the whisky from becoming hazy when chilled, or when water or ice
is added. Chill filtration also removes some of
the flavour and body from the whisky, which is why some consider chill-filtered
whiskies to be inferior. Whisky regions
Scotland was traditionally divided into
four regions: The Highlands, Lowland, Islay and Campbeltown. Speyside, encompassing the Spey river
valley in north-east Scotland, once considered part of the Highlands, has
almost half of the total number of distilleries in Scotland within its
geographic boundaries; consequently it is officially recognized as a region
unto itself. Campbeltown was removed as a region
several years ago, yet was recently re-instated as a recognized production
region. The Islands is not recognized as a
region by the SWA (Scotch Whisky Association) and is instead considered part of
the Highlands region.
Classic Malts
The Classic Malt range is a selection
of Single Malts distributed by Diageo. There are 6 Classic Single Malts
according to the United Distillers and Vintners. There is slight variation in
the regions, where Campbeltown is dropped and Islands are classified
separately.
Single Malt in
literature
R L Stevenson ,in 1880,wrote in his
poem "The Scotman's Return From Abroad" The king o' drinks, as I conceive
it, Talisker,Islay or Glenlivit Types of
Scotch whisky
There are two major categories, single
and blended. Single means
that all of the product is from a single distillery, while Blended means that the product is composed of whiskies
from two or more distilleries.
Single grain
The majority of grain whisky produced
in Scotland goes to make blended Scotch whisky. The average blended whisky is
60%–85% grain whisky. Some higher quality grain whisky from a single distillery
is bottled as single grain whisky. As of 2006, there are only seven grain whisky
distilleries in Scotland. Vatted /
Blended malt
Vatted malt whisky—also
called pure malt—is one of
the less common types of Scotch: a blend of single malts from more than one
distillery and with differing ages. Vatted malts contain only malt whiskies—no
grain whiskies—and are usually distinguished from other types of whisky by the
absence of the word ‘single’ before ‘malt’ on the bottle, and the absence of a
distillery name. The age of the youngest whisky in the bottle is that used to
describe the age on the label, so a vatted malt marked “8 years old” may
include older whiskies. Blended
Blended Scotch whisky constitutes over
90% of the whisky
produced in Scotland. Blended Scotch whiskies generally contain 10–50% malt
whisky, blended with grain whisky, with the higher quality brands having the
highest percent malt. They were initially created for the English market, where
pure malt whiskies were considered too harshly flavoured (the main two spirits
consumed in England at the time being brandy in the upper
classes, and gin in
the lower ones). Master blenders combine the various malts and grain whiskies
to produce a consistent "brand style". Blended whiskies frequently
use the same name for a range of whiskies at wildly varying prices and
(presumably) quality. Notable blended Scotch whisky brands include Dewar's,
Johnnie Walker,
Cutty Sark, J&B, The Famous Grouse,
and Chivas Regal. Independent
bottlers
Most malt distilleries sell a
significant amount of whisky by the cask for blending, and sometimes to private
buyers as well. Whisky from such casks is sometimes bottled as a single malt by
independent firms such as Duncan Taylor, Gordon & MacPhail, Cadenhead,
Murray McDavid, Signatory, and others. These are usually labelled with the
distillery's name, but not using the distillery's trademarked logos or
typefaces. An "official bottling" (or "proprietary bottling"),
by comparison, is one from the distillery (or its owner). Many independent
bottlings are from single casks, and they may sometimes be very different from
an official bottling. There have been occasional efforts by
distillers to curtail independent bottling; Allied Domecq,
owner of the Laphroaig distillery, initiated legal
action against Murray McDavid in an effort to prevent them from
using "Distilled at Laphroaig Distillery" in their independent
bottlings of said whisky. Murray McDavid subsequently used the name
"Leapfrog" for a time, before Allied backed off. William Grant & Sons, which owns
three malt distilleries, adds a measure of one of its other distilleries'
whisky to each cask of malt it sells to independent bottlers. This prevents
independent bottlers from bottling the contents of the cask as a single malt. To avoid potentially sticky legal
issues, some independent bottlings do not reveal the distillery of the whisky,
using a manufactured brand name or a geographical name instead such as Old St Andrews. Understanding
a Scotch whisky label
Like most other labels, the Scotch
whisky label combines law, tradition, marketing, and whim, and may therefore be
difficult to understand. Because of variations in language and national law, the
following is but a rough guide. Scotch whisky labels contain the exact
words “Scotch whisky”; “Whisky” is sometimes capitalised. If the word “Scotch”
is missing, the whisky is probably made elsewhere. If it says Scotch “whiskey”
or “Scottish” whisky, it might well be counterfeit. If a label contains the words “single
malt” (sometimes split by other words e.g., “single highland malt”), the bottle
contains single malt Scotch whisky. “Vatted malt,” “pure malt,” or “blended
malt” indicates a mixture of single malt whiskies. In older bottlings pure malt
is often used to describe a single malt (e.g. “Glenfiddich Pure Malt”). The label may identify the distillery
as the main brand or as part of the product description. This is most likely
the case for single malt. Some single malt whisky is sold anonymously or with a
fictitious brand name. This does not indicate quality, but successive bottles
may be completely different. The only reliable way to identify the distillery
is to use a reference. Alcoholic strength is listed in most
countries. Typically, whisky is between 40% and 46% abv. A lower alcohol
content may indicate an “economy” whisky or local law. If the bottle is over
50% abv it is probably cask strength. Age is sometimes listed as well. For
example, if a bottle is labelled as 12 years old the youngest whisky in the
bottle has been matured in cask for at least 12 years before bottling. A year on a bottle normally indicates the year of distillation and one cask bottling, so the year the whisky was bottled may be listed as well. Whisky does not mature once bottled, so the age is the difference between these two dates; if both dates are not shown the age cannot be known from the bottle alone.
Pick up is available from our store at: 395 Sailors Bay Road, Northbridge, ( in Sydney ), New
South Wales, 2063. Between 09:30 – 19:30 AEST
NSW Liquor License No. 351837 WARNING: NSW
Liquor Act 1982 It is an offence
to sell or supply to, or obtain liquor on behalf of, a person under the age of
18 years. Delivery will not be made to any person under the age of 18 years. |
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