Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette!
In today's video, we discuss scotch, the history, what it's made from, the different types you
can buy, and anything else you always wanted to know about scotch.
To learn how to taste scotch or host a whisky tasting, please check out this video here.
The first mention of scotch can be dated back to June first 1495 to the Exchequer rolls
of Scotland.
Thereafter, whisky begin to circulate throughout the country and by 1644 it was
now . Of course, there are some smart distillers who sold it illegally and it became only more
popular after that.
By 1780, there were only eight legal distilleries in Scotland who had to compete against bootlegging
operations.
The popularity of whisky swelled again in 1831, when a column still took off.
Now distilleries were able to mass produce this spirit at a much lower cost with a better
quality, however, it was until 1880 that Scotch would become a global phenomenon.
Up until then, wine and brandy had the top spots of drinks in the world.
Interestingly, a very small microscopic insect killed a lot of the grapes and so there was
a huge demand for a new beverage.
The phylloxera bug brought the wine and brandy production almost to an immediate halt and
scotch would pick up where they left off.
Today, scotch is enjoyed by many gentlemen around the world.
Unfortunately, the terms are often mixed up and so we'll try to provide some clarity.
Probably the most popular scotch term is single malt.
That means, it is a whisky from a single Scottish distillery that is based on barley and water.
It contains no other cereals, must be distilled and bottled in Scotland.
Next up is a calocategory of single grain Scotch whisky which usually you can't find
easily on liquor store shelves in the US.
Just like the single malt, the single grain whisky starts out with barley and water but
then other things are added to the mash which would start the fermentation and eventually
end up in alcohol.
Just like a single malt, it has to be bottled in Scotland to be named scotch.
So single grain Scotch whisky is what you find for the most part in blended whiskeys
out there.
So what does the term blended Scotch mean?
Basically, you need at least one single malt scotch that is then paired with at least one
single grain Scotch.
You may have come across the term blended malt scotch which is rather uncommon and previously
was also referred to as “vatted malt” or a “pure malt”.
If you get a blended malt Scotch you take at least two single malt scotches from different
distilleries and blend them together.
So blended grain Scotch is very similar it just means that you have at least two or more
single grain Scotch instead of them blended together.
What about the term double malt scotch?
Chances are, you've come across the term when in fact, it's not even a legal definition.
So one could say that a double malt Scotch doesn't actually exist.
So if you ever come across a bottle that says double malt or triple malt, it means that
the Scotch was aged in either two different barrels or three different barrels.
The proper term for this would be double wood or triple wood.
Sometimes, you can also find terms like double cask or anything that's similar to that.
The process of aging Scotch in different casks and barrels is very common but nevertheless,
it still remains a single malt whisky.
So what needs to be in a Scotch in order to be able to call it a Scotch?
Again, it must be produced, bottled, and distilled in Scotland.
Must be based on barley and water and must be aged in casks.
Yes whole grains and other cereal can be added to the malted barley mash in order to produce
different flavor varieties.
It also has to be processed entirely at a distillery, it has to be fermented with enzymes
and yeast, and the alcoholic strength can't be more than 94.8% or 190 proof.
That is matured in a warehouse in Scotland and it can't be larger than 700 litres that's
about 185 US gallons.
In order to call it scotch, it has to stay there for at least three full years.
If you call it scotch you must retain color aroma and flavor of the raw ingredients.
It must not contain any other substances other than water to wear it down to bring to a certain
proof level and e-150a which is caramel coloring.
Last but not the least, you can't water it down too much and must retain at least 40
percent or 80 proof for it to be called scotch.
So what about the production of scotch?
Just like other spirits, it all starts with water and in Scotland, they're known for particularly
pure soft water that is very low on mineral contents which allows for a great Scotch and
because of that most distilleries are usually very
close to a good water source.
Now, the distilleries at the west coast of Scotland have a slightly different water which
results into a different aroma.
The so called peat bogs influence the flavour which is also known as peat.
So bogs are as much as wetlands and peat is fermented plant matter that gives a certain
taste that is harder to describe and it's truly something you have to drink so you can
appreciate and either really like it or not but at least you have to
taste it.
today the majority of barley in the world comes from Scotland and so it makes sense
to use that local grain to keep costs down.
so how do you get from barley to malted barley?
First you add the barley grain to the water.
when the grains are soaked in water it causes the starch to be transformed into a sugar
called maltose. this sugar in turn feeds a process called the germination.
For the next six days, little shoots begin to sprout from the barley which is a sign
for a distiller that the barley can now be dried.
this either happens with hot air or with peat smoke.
the drying prevents the barley from sprouting growing further and it prevents them from
rotting.
now that the barley is properly malted it is ground up into a substance that is similar
to a flour. at this stage hot water is added to the malted barley and it turns it into
a mash. this is usually a big mash and the purpose is to remove the sugar from the grains
which is then in turn used in the next step of the fermentation. during fermentation yeast
consumes the sugar and in turn produces alcohol.
however at a certain level the yeast produces so much alcohol that it kills itself in order
to get a spirit with a higher proof it needs to be distilled.
usually the mixture is least two or three times which produces a high alcohol content.
if you want to learn more details about this process please check out our in-depth Scotch
guide on our website here.
now the region of Scotland are very important.
there are five regions each of them known for a specific flavor profile.
there's the highlands the lowlands Speyside Campbeltown and Islay. for example the highlands
are known for your medium bodied whiskeys.
Typically lighter and some say more luxurious then let's say the whiskeys from Islay at
the same time they're stronger than the whiskeys you typically get from the lowlands.
the lowlands are known for their lighter and more delicate whiskeys and usually you don't
find peat in them so if you're not a fan of peat the lowlands are good for you.
some would argue that you can find the most elegant and refined whiskeys in Scotland in
Speyside which is also home to most distilleries in Scotland today majority of the whiskeys
of Campbel are aged about 10 years and there are only 3 distilleries left today.
Islay spell I-S-L-A-Y are the heavy hitters of Scotch whiskeys.
these spirits are often heavily peated some would even say they feel oily when you drink
them and others even compare them to iodine.
so how should you taste scotch? of course you can drink it in any way you want but there
are a few traditional ways.
If you want to savor scotch it's best not to blend it in mixed drinks or cocktails.
also use the right glass basically there's a stemmed copita glass as well as a Glencairn
glass and you can learn more about them in our Scotch tasting video here.
Some argue that the stemmed glass is better because it doesn't heat up the whisky as much
and you also don't have any off flavors from your hand personally I find the shorter stemmed
glass much more practical because I've never experienced it heating up my whisky and you
can easily wash it in the dishwasher.
So how exactly should you drink scotch?
Neat with water or with ice?
I answer all those questions in our Scotch tasting video here.
so what Scotch bottles do we recommend?
honestly my personal taste change over time but we put a list together on our website
that is constantly updated. if you want to read some tasting notes along with a specific
rating and a value for the money explanation, I suggest you check out whiskymusings.com
and matt who runs that blog has tasted over a thousand whiskeys he owns several hundred
bottles and he's a true connoisseur of Scotch whisky and it can help you to figure out if
a whiskey that you like maybe had others that go on the same vein and that way you don't
have to spend so much money to find others that really work for you
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In today's video wearing a blazer combination which consists of a lighter shade of navy
double-breasted blazer a very fine vitale barberis canonico fabric I'm pairing it with
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