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The distillery bottlings that you see on your supermarket shelf are 'vattings'.
Take say "Caol Ila 12 year old". Caol Ila distillery will pour the contents of hundreds of its casks into what amounts to a giant 'mixing bowl'. The youngest of these casks will be 12 years old, but many may be older. The reason "Caol Ila" will 'vat' in this way to maintain a consistency of flavour in its bottlings.
By contrast, independent bottlers tend to select either a single cask or a few casks from one day's distillation. Such bottlings are preferred by some drinkers, as they arguably closer to the "real thing".
The rest of your lesson:-
"Blends" (eg Bells)- a mixture of malt whiskies and grain whiskies from many distilleries.
"Pure Malt" or "Vatted Malt" (eg Six Isles) - a mixture of malt whiskies only from many distilleries
"Single Malt" (eg Caol Ila 12yo) - malt whisky from a single distillery
"Single Cask" (eg Balvenie Single Barrel) -malt whisky from a single cask from a single distillery
Still more 'classroom' drivel:-
"Cask strength" - at the ABV that it comes out of the cask, rather than 'watered down' to 40%
"Non-coloured" - Many distillers add caramel to maintain consistency of colour. Many argue that this effects flavour and so buy non-coloured whiskies
"Non-chill filtered" - Chill filtration is part of normal processing. Again, it effects flavour, so many prefer non-chill filtered malts. You can spot these on the supermarket shelf, as they'll have an ABV of 46%. "Ardbeg" is an example
Glenfiddich 18-year old last night for me. Not the highest regarded malt but very enjoyable to my (probably uneducated) palate. It still had elements of the 12-year old's fruitiness but much richer. I could tell I was going to enjoy it as soon as I opened the bottle and took sniff.
A lot of people 'look down their noses' at "Glenfiddich" and "Glenmorangie", but they're not the two best selling single malts for nothing.
Pretty much my fav. whisky of all time (so far) is "Glenmorangie 15yo". Sue adored "Glenfiddich 15yo Solera Reserve"
I've just joined the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. It buys single casks of malt and bottles it at cask strength. No colouring is added and the whisky isn't chill-filtered. Put simply, its bottled straight from the wood.
The whisky is identified just by a number,
so "40.2" will be the second cask that SMWS has bottled from distillery 40. SMWS don't tell you by name which distillery is no. 40, but its relatively easy to work out from the notes on distillery history etc.
My first bottle was a 1993 Speysider from "Mortlach". Its a jaw-dropping 59.6%.
I'll let you know what its like.
Mike Frog is right about price. The average for an SWMS bottle is about £35-£40.
So, it will be 'treats' rather than a replacement for shop bought malt.
Great. You'll then be just about old enough to try 'baby' malts lol
Never mind - the beauty of miniatures is that I didn't have to buy a whole bottle to discover that!
Thanks again
Dr G
PS - had a great time tasting the ports in Portugal! Came back with a rather nice Warre's 1977!
I'm at college for the next three weeks, but still in Central MK so we can sort something out.
"Balvenie Founder's Reserve" is a notch above "Balvenie Double Wood", although that latter is a good introduction to malt.
I'm really intrigued by Just Miniatures.
The one that I'd really like is "Macallan 18yo", as I think that the current expression was distilled in my wedding year of 1985. Maybe I'm wrong.
"Macallan 18yo" has been voted the finest malt in the world !!!!!!!!!
It's scary just how much I could spend at Just Miniatures, especially given my exam results coming out when I'm next in Colchester. Pass, and that's three years of hard slog done, three more letters after my name, lots more money, and a darn good reason to celebrate. Fail, and I have to resit three horrendous exams in November - which is a darn good reason to drown my sorrows. Either way, it's going to be pricey! That day sounds like a Macallan day if I pass - lots of something cheap if I fail!
They even do scotch or poteen with your family name on if you have a Scottish or Irish surname. I nearly got Dr G a bottle, but I don't know how nasty it is!
Golden coloured, very smooth and very pleasing to the palate!
Auchentoshan's on my 'would like to try' list. I'll have to pick up a botle next time I'm in Colchester.
Watched 'Cold Mountain' last night, and decided Jack Daniels was a more fitting companion than Scotch. And very nice it is too. I don't often drink it but it has character (in a good way).
Have just finished a "Macallan 15yo" (Single cask bottling at 40% by Cadenheads)
A pleasing dram, but all that time in sherry casks left it very 'heavy-bodied'. Also, the sherry 'influence' almost overpowers the malt.
I'd like something light and grassy by way of contrast, so may start in on my "Bushmills" (special limited bottling by Knappogue Castle).
My first bottle has arrived from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS). It's a "Mortlach (13yo single cask bottling at 59%). Must open it soon!
I've also ordered a SMWS "Glenrothes". It was £37 inclusive of courier delivery. Not bad for a single cask bottling at 58%.
God, I'm starting to sound like a whisky snob! Yuk!
Bottom line, it doesn't matter what a malt costs. Nor its proof strength. Nor where it was distilled. Nor how limited it is. Nor whether or not water/coke etc is added.
All that's important is whether or not the drinker enjoys their dram !!!!
(I can say that knowing that I can't afford the expensive stuff anyway!)
I have 13 bottles of whisky in the house, of which 10 are single malts, and I enjoy them all. And not one of them cost more than £30.
Often, a high price signifies limited availability and not exceptional quality.
Personally, I've always found single cask bottlings by the likes of Cadenheads worth the extra pounds. Such independent bottlers jealously guard their reputations and seldon sell rubbish
Just got back from France, whilst browsing in a wine shop, came across a display of "signatory" malts. They had about 15 or 16 of them..... and the best bit all at around £20 a bottle.....
that fell ( gently) in to my shopping basket
How much is a full bottle of Macallan 18yo in the UK? Might need to nip under the channel if it is outrageously priced.
A litre of Macallan 15 yo on the boat was £24 ( I think ? Hadn't got any room left in the car by then. What with 3 bottles of Scotch and 63 bottles of wine !!!)
I'm open to orders for anyone who doesn't mind collecting from Milton Keynes (I work in the city centre and live about ten minutes away).