Although there are many different types of whisky available on the market, the original whisky is Scotch Malt Whisky, which dates back to the 15th century and probably long before and should not be confused with "whiskey" as spelt in the United states and Ireland.

The producing area in Scotland is divided into 4 main distilling regions: Lowland, Highland, Islay and Campbeltown.
In the Highland-  which has recently been sub-divided into North, East, West and Central Highland - the most important region is today referred to as "Speyside" and corresponds to the former "Glenlivet" appellation. Forty-six distilleries are located in this area, which accounts for more than 50% of all Scotish malt whisky distilleries.

Malt whisky

Malt Whisky is produced by an ancient process involving only three ingredients: barley, pure soft Highland water and yeast.

The first step of this process - malting - consists in steeping barley in water to start germination. Germination enzymes transform the starch naturally contained in barley into soluble and fermentable sugars. The grain is then dry over a peat fire to stop germination, which greatly contributes to give whisky its typical peaty flavour.
The malt is then milled and mashed with hot water into a mash-tun. At this point, the starch turns into wort - a sugary liquid - which is drawn off from the mash-tun, cooled and fermented by yeast in fermenting vats called washbacks.

Once fermentation is over, the wash is distilled twice in large copper pot stills. This step is very important. It requires the skill of the stillman who gives the spirit the traditional quality and flavour of his distillery.

The whisky is then aged in oak casks until it fully matures. At the end of the aging process, it is mixed with soft water to reduce its natural strength, filtered and bottled.

a traditional potstill

Grain Whisky

The chemical processes which take place during the manufacture of grain spirit are broadly similar to those which occur when malt whisky is made. However, both the raw materials and the equipment are different.

Whereas the cereals are all malted in malt distilleries,  in grain distilleries the mash is mainly made of unmalted wheat or maize and only about 16% of green malted barley is added, as it is necessary to turn starches into fermentable sugars.

In some cases, grain distilleries do not separate off wort, passing the complete mash to the fermentation vessels. For grain whisky, the wash obtained after fermentation does not bubble quite so vigorously, because of the oils in the maize. It is also lower in alcohol.

Unlike malt whisky, grain whisky is distilled in a continuous operation in a patent still. Once the spirit begins to be collected, it runs continuously until the end of distillation. Because of the rectifying element present in this process the result is generally lighter in aroma, has a milder character and requires less time to mature.

Blended Whisky

Whisky was often sold by taverns and hotels, wine and spirits merchants, grocers and provision merchants. The whiskies were not branded by the distiller but sold under the merchants' names who blended them together. 

The whisky blenders' goal is to combine a number of malt and grain whiskies in order to obtain a whisky which has a lighter character than malt but is more substantial than grain whisky. The Master Blender selects from up to fifty malt whiskies and three or four grain whiskies. The youngest whisky in the blend must be at least 3 years old but some can be 25 years old. When specified on the label, the age corresponds to the youngest whisky in the blend. The Master Blender also decides in which proportions each whisky is added to the blend according to the flavour he wishes to obtain, the consistency of which is crucial to the brand's success. 

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