Single Malt Whiskeys - A Quick Walkthrough!

Single Malt Scotch Whiskey is something that is rounding around the movies and tag lines. We see Bollywood and Hollywood tasting and enjoying the single malt beverage. So this is how we started to dig on the topic, what made the single malt so special and is it really that good a whiskey?

Single Malt

Usual belief is that the single malt whiskey is made from a single grain, preferably barley and is fermented in a single distillery and is made to mature in a oak cask for n years depending on the choices each distillery provides. The single malt whiskey is smoother and should change your thoughts if you are coming from a blended whiskey drinker.

But on research we found that this is not usually how the large manufacturers do this, the concept is that the whiskey is made in a single distillery and will contain the product of many barrels usually aged to the same number of years. So, A single-malt Lagavulin may contain whiskies from many barrels produced at the Lagavulin distillery, but it will contain only whiskies produced at Lagavulin.

Also A single-grain scotch whisky varies only in that it contains barley and one or more other cereal grains, usually wheat or corn.

Is there any standards followed in the Making of Single Malt Whiskey?

Yes, as per wikipedia, Under Scotch Whisky Regulations, a "Single Malt Scotch Whisky" must be made exclusively from malted barley (although the addition of E150A caramel colouring is allowed), must be distilled using pot stills at a single distillery, and must be aged for at least three years in oak casks of a capacity not exceeding 700 litres (150 imperial gallons; 180 US gallons).

The Indian Presence

Amrut is the global presence from India in single malt whiskey range. The product is said to have changed the concept of whiskey distilleries across India in the global stage. The Amrut Distilleries Ltd was founded in Bangalore, Karnataka in 1948 by JN Radhakrishna Rao Jagdale.

They branch launched globally on 24 August 2004 in Glasgow, Scotland.

The brand became famous after whisky connoisseur Jim Murray gave it a rating of 82 on a scale of 1–100 in 2005, and again in 2010, when Murray declared Amrut Fusion single malt whisky as the world's third-best whisky in that year's edition of his annual Whisky Bible.

It is also the only brand which made it to the London department store Harrods' "Whiskies around the World" section. It went on sale at Harrods in October 2011 and is currently the only Indian liquor brand to ever retail at the store.

Top Indian Brands

• Amrut
• Paul John
• McDowells Single Malt

Top Global Brands

• Springbank 10 Year Old 100 Proof
• Royal Lochnagar 12 Year Old
• The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old
• Bunnahabhain 18 Year Old
• Highland Park 18 Year Old
• The Macallan Cask Strength
• Scapa 16 Year Old the Orcadian
• Glenkinchie 1991 Distillers Edition
• Lagavulin 12 Year Old Cask Strength
• Glenmorangie 18 Years Old "Extremely Rare"

Disclaimer:Drinking Alcohol Is Injurious To Health, The Article in no way promotes or entertains drinking alcohol or the brands. The article is for information purpose only

Source:  Wikipedia,foxnews, Wiki on Amrut, Serious Seats   Image Courtesy: www.schmoozd.com,

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- Unknown Updated at: Thursday, January 02, 2014