Both Scotch and whiskey are alcoholic drinks that have a significant alcohol content. Although Scotch is often referred to as Scotch whisky, it’s certainly not like whiskey.
What Is Scotch?
Scotch is an alcoholic beverage (known as a spirit) made from water and malted barley; However, there are some companies that make it with malted wheat or malted Rye. They produce Scotches exclusively in Scotland specifically around Islay, Speyside, Highlands, Campbeltown, and Lowland. The Scotch age for at least three years in oak barrels, sometimes called oak casks.
There’s also a derivative of Scotch called peaty Scotch or peated Scotch smokey dram also known as smokey Scotch. The flavor of Scotch that is peated originates directly from the barley germination process.
5 types of Scotch
There are many kinds of Scotch whisky and each one has distinct flavor and manufacturing process. Here are several popular kinds of Scotch:
1. Blended Scotch whisky: grain Scotch whisky and malt Scotch whisky blend together to make blended Scotch whisky.
2. Cask-strength Scotch: This form of Scotch is poured directly from the cask into bottles. There aren’t any other steps, nor are there any additional flavors.
3. Scotch whisky from 18 years of age: As the name implies it is a Scotch ages for eighteen years inside oak barrels. There are several types and flavors available.
4. Single-grain Scotch whisky: To produce single-grain Scotch whiskies the entire process has to take place in one distillery. This particular variation is made of water and malted barley as well as malted or unmalted grains, for the blended malt.
5. Single-malt Scotch whisky: This variation comes from only one distillery and makes use of malted barley to make the mashing. Around ten percent of Scotch whisky spirits are single malts, making single-malt whisky extremely rare.
How Is Whiskey?
A spirit too, whiskey is an alcohol-based beverage that is made by fermenting grain mash which is around 40 percent alcohol by volume (ABV). The word whiskey comes from the Gaelic “uisce beatha” or “uisge beatha,” meaning “water of life.” Whiskies (or whiskeys) are available in a variety of varieties based on the grain mix, the area of production and aging process, as well as other factors.
Distilleries create whiskey in stills, and then let it age till it is least 2-years-old. If a whiskey is aged in less than four years, producers must print an age-related statement at the bottom of their label. Whiskey makers use white oak barrels, sherry casks (casks filled with sherry), charred sherry oak barrels, and other variations. Whiskey is also called “whisky” in certain regions around the globe.
6 Types of Whiskey
Distilleries manufacture whiskey all over the world, creating variations with local distinctions. Here are a few popular kinds of whiskey:
1. Bourbon whiskey Bourbon whiskey American whiskey is mainly from Kentucky. It has to contain at minimum fifty percent corn, as a component of the grains that make up the mix. Producers from the United States have to make the mash in oak barrels that are charred. The barrels that are specifically bourbon-infused provide oaky scents to the spirit.
2. Canadian whisky: Canadian whisky has at the very least forty percent ABV, or alcohol per volume. It has to originate in Canada to have an Canadian label and be aged for at least three years. There are times when Canadian whisky is labelled that indicates it is a Rye Whisky (sometimes called rye whiskey).
3. Irish whiskey Made exclusively in Ireland, Irish whiskey has malt as its base, cereal grain, and barley. It also has a three-year time period for aging and can be characterized by a an atypical taste compared to other whiskeys.
4. Japanese whisky: Some Japanese distilleries employ a Japanese oak cask. Even though Japanese whisky undergoes the bottle-making process within Japan, the product does not necessarily originate in the country.
5. Scotch whisky: This form of whisky is from Scotland and can be malt whisky, grain whisky, or a mixture of malt and grain whisky. Scottish whiskies can be aged for three years in oak barrels.
6. Tennessee whiskey: Distillers put Tennessee whiskey, which is a variation of bourbon, through sugar maple charcoal before maturing it.
Scotch vs. Whiskey: 4 Differences Between the Spirits
Scotch whiskey and whisky are different spirits of alcohol that people frequently confuse with each other. Here are four ways that both differ:
Aging: Scotch is matured in oak barrels, which have been occasionally in previously used for wine or other spirits. Whiskey usually is stored in white oak barrels with charred wood to be matured.
Flavor: Scotch has a smoother taste than whiskey. This is because of the way the distillery malts the grains.
Grains: Whiskey is a distillated alcoholic drink made from barley, grain, wheat, or corn. Scotch whisky is originally produced solely from malted barley. However, since the eighteenth century, the producers have also used malted wheat and malted Rye.
Production Scotch whisky producers often malt their grains prior to fermentation. To malt the grains distillers soak them into the water (in the case of barley, the grain will sprout) and this prepares the starches for fermentation into sugars.
How to drink Scotch or Whiskey
There are a variety of ways to drink Scotch or whiskey, resulting in different flavor profiles that are created through the distillation and fermentation processes. Some people like to drink Scotch on the rocks–in this case the rocks are actually made of ice cubes.
An old-fashioned drink is a common cocktail, that is made using whisky, a sugar cube, Angostura bitters, Rye, and an orange twist. Another bar drink that is very popular is the Rob Roy, which is in essence a Manhattan However, instead of containing rye whiskey, it contains Scotch whisky. It is served with vermouth, bitters, and a maraschino-cherry in glasses of martini.
© All Rights Reserved.