Both Scotch and whiskey are both spirits that have a significant alcohol content. However, although Scotch is often referred to as Scotch whisky, it’s actually not identical to whiskey.
What is Scotch?
Scotch is an alcoholic drink (known as spirits) made from malted barley and water; however, there are companies that produce it using malted wheat or malted Rye. They make Scotches only in Scotland particularly within Islay, Speyside, Highlands, Campbeltown, and Lowland. The Scotch is aged for a minimum of 3 years inside oak barrels, often referred to as oak casks.
There’s also a variant of Scotch called peaty Scotch or peated Scotch or smoky dram as well as smokey Scotch. The taste of peated comes from the process of germination of barley.
5 types of Scotch
There are a variety of Scotch whisky each with distinct flavor and production process. Here are some of the most popular types of Scotch:
1. Blended Scotch whisky: grain Scotch whisky and malt whisky are blended to create blended Scotch whisky.
2. Cask-strength Scotch: This kind of Scotch is poured straight from the cask to the bottle. There aren’t any additional steps to follow, and no additional flavors.
3. Scotch whisky aged 18 years as the name suggests it is a Scotch is aged for 18 years inside oak barrels. There are a variety of kinds and flavors to choose from.
4. Single grain Scotch whisky: To create single-grain Scotch whiskies The entire process needs to be carried out in one distillery. This variant is made up of malted barley and water and malted and unmalted cereals to create blended malt.
5. Single-malt Scotch whisky: This variant is made by one distillery that uses malted barley to make the mashing. Around ten percent of Scotch whisky spirit is single malts, which makes single-malt whisky a rare thing.
How Is Whiskey?
A spirit as well, whiskey is a booze made from mash of fermented grains that contains around forty percent alcohol per volume (ABV). The word whiskey is derived directly from Gaelic “uisce beatha” or “uisge beatha,” meaning “water of life.” Whiskies (or whiskeys) are available in a variety of types based on the type of grain mash, the location of production as well as the method of aging and other elements.
Distilleries make whiskey in stills and let it sit till it is minimum 2 years old. If a whiskey is aged for less than four years, the producers have to print an age declaration in the bottle. Whiskey producers use white oak barrels and sherry casks (casks filled with sherry) and charred sherry oak barrels, and other variations. Whiskey is also referred to as “whisky” in certain regions around the globe.
6 Whiskey Types
Distilleries produce whiskey across the globe and create variations that have local differences. Here are some of the most popular varieties of whiskey:
1. Bourbon whiskey Bourbon whiskey American whiskey is mainly from Kentucky. It should contain at least fifty percent corn as one of the various grains that comprise the mashing. The producers of America United States have to make it in oak barrels that have been charred. The barrels that are specifically bourbon-infused provide oaky scents to the spirit.
2. Canadian whisky: Canadian whisky is at minimum a forty percent ABV, which is alcohol volume. It must originate from Canada for it to be eligible for the Canadian label and be aged for at least 3 years. In some cases Canadian whisky is labeled that indicates it is a Rye Whisky (sometimes referred to as Rye Whisky).
3. Irish whiskey is exclusively bottled by Ireland, Irish whiskey has malt as its base as well as cereal grain and barley. Additionally, it has a 3-year maturation period, and may have an atypical taste compared to other whiskeys.
4. Japanese whisky: A few Japanese distilleries make use of the Japanese oak cask. While Japanese whisky is made through the bottle-making process within Japan however, the whisky does not have to be a product of the country.
5. Scotch whisky: This kind of whisky is from Scotland and can be malt whisky or grain whisky, or a mix of grain whisky and malt. Scottish whiskies are aged for 3 years in a barrel of oak.
6. Tennessee whiskey: Distillers run Tennessee whiskey, which is a variation on bourbon, into sugar maple charcoal before maturing it.
Scotch vs. Whiskey: Four Differences Between the Spirits
Whiskey and Scotch are distinct alcohol-based spirits that are often mistakenly associate with one another. Here are four places where they differ:
Ageing Scotch is matured in oak barrels which have seen previously used for other spirits or wine. Whiskey is typically stored into white oak barrels that have been charred to mature.
Flavor: Scotch is smoother than whiskey. This is due to the method used by the distillery to malt the grain.
Grains: Whiskey is an alcoholic distillation drink made from barley, grain, wheat, or corn. Scotch whisky was initially produced solely from malted barley. However, since the 18th century, whisky producers have also employed malted wheat and malted Rye.
Production Scotch whisky producers may malt their grains prior to fermentation. In order to malt their grains, distillers soak the grains into the water (in cases 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 methods to drink Scotch and whiskey, each with different flavor profiles that are created by the distillation and fermentation processes. Many people prefer drinking Scotch on rocks. In this instance the rocks are frozen cubes of ice.
A classic is a well-known cocktail consisting of whisky, a sugar cube, Angostura bitters, Rye and a twist of orange. Another drink that is popular in bars is the Rob Roy, which is basically an Manhattan but instead of containing rye whiskey, it contains Scotch whisky, paired with bitters, vermouth and a maraschino cherries in the glass of a martini.
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