Types of whisky
Single Malt is a name reserved for Scotch whisky made exclusively from malted barley in one distillery. The aim is to obtain very characteristic flavours and nuances that reflect the style of individual distilleries.
Blended whisky, or mixed whisky, is the most popular type of whisky on the market. It's the most popular type of Scotch on the market. It is formed from a combination of single malt whisky made from barley with a mixture of whisky produced from other cereals.
Grain whisky – is produced from a mixture of different types of cereals, such as wheat, rye, and even corn. In Scotland, it is mainly used for blended whisky, less often spilled as pure grain whisky.
The term can be translated as "cask strength" and indicates that the whisky was bottled with the alcohol content it reached after maturation in the barell.
Fresh distillate goes to barrels with a power of approx. 60%, and sometimes even above 80% (most often, however, it is 63.5%). Over time, however, both the volume of whisky and its power decrease, which in jargon is described as "Angel's share".
The term "Single Cask" means that a given series of bottles comes from a single barrel. Single cask spouts are usually issued by independent distributors or as limited series of a given distillery.
These are often numbered series, it also happens that the number of a given barrel is placed on the labels.
According to the law, food caramel is the only ingredient that can be added to Scotch whisky – and this applies only to E150a caramel, a natural product resulting from the heating of sugar. Theoretically, it should have only an aesthetic meaning and be neutral in aroma and taste.
Whisky marked as "uncoloured" is considered more natural and closer to the original content of the barrel, which also has its value for connoisseurs. It was first noticed by independent bottlers, but soon also large producers began bottling editions in natural color.
If the whisky is described as "non-chill filtered", this means that it has not been filtered cold. Cold filtration is used so that whisky does not become cloudy after cooling.
The "non-chill filtered" drink is closer to the original content of the barrel, which is of great importance for connoisseurs.