Part of a series of blog posts, where the three Bevvy whisky specialists face the most common questions posed by those who are new to whisky. All answered independently, just how similar will their responses be?
QUESTION 1: WHAT DOES 'SINGLE MALT' MEAN?
Laurie: A whisky made at one distillery with 100% malted barley.
Kieran: Whisky produced at single distillery using malted barley. Not a by-word for “better than blends”.
Lewis: Single malt on a label means the content is made exclusively from malted barley (as opposed to wheat, corn or rye, which are all common grains for whisky production) and is the produce of a single distillery.
QUESTION 2: ARE SCOTCH AND WHISKY THE SAME THING?
Laurie: Whisky is an incredibly broad term, and Scotch is just one segment of that. So all Scotch is whisky, but not all whisky is Scotch. Whisky made in Japan (for example) isn’t Scotch.
Kieran: In a way, yes. All Scotch is whisky, but not all whisky is Scotch. And some whiskey can be similar to whisky, but whiskey is never Scotch.
Lewis: Whisky can be made anywhere in the world (theoretically even on other worlds, SpaceX Distillery Mr Musk?) Scotch has to be made in Scotland (on earth).
QUESTION 3: WHAT'S THE 'PROPER' WAY TO DRINK WHISKY?
Laurie: If you’ve spent your own hard-earned cash on a whisky, you can drink it however the hell you want. Some drams do benefit from a touch of water (particularly those above 50% ABV), and some can provide an interesting dimension to a cocktail - one example that springs to mind is Lagavulin & Coke, often referred to as a Smoky Cokey.
Kieran: There isn't one, and don’t let the Whisky Police tell you any different. My preference is probably on the traditional side - straight, maybe with water, occasionally with ginger beer -, but if you want to add Elderflower tonic water to your Macallan 1978, go ahead and have a ball.
Lewis: The way you like it. Personally if I were going to mix it with coke I’d go for something fairly cheap and blended as there’s not much point paying a premium for a nuanced and complex whisky to have all that nuance and complexity masked by a mixer, same goes to a lesser degree for ice. I generally drink most whisky neat or with a little water and think that’s how you get the most out of a good whisky but if you enjoy yours through an IV drip that’s a perfectly valid preference - though it does sound ill-advised from a medical perspective.