When you think about Scotland whisky is the very first thing which comes to mind. Apart from the spectacular scenery, rolling hills as well as beautiful winding roads, whisky is actually what makes Scotland so famous. The famous Scotch whisky comes from Scotland. In fact so synonymous has good whisky become with Scotch which in England if you ask for a whisky you will be undoubtedly handed a Scotch if you don’t indicate otherwise.
There are five main types of Scotch. These types of groups tend to be single malts, single grain Scotch, blended grain whisky, blended malt Scotch whisky which was previously called a vatted malt or pure malt, and blended Scotch. There are some specifics that need to be adopted for a whisky to be known as a Scotch. The first condition being that this whisky must be created specifically in Scotland. No matter what specifications tend to be followed, if a whisky isn�t produced in Scotland it can’t be called a Scotch. The following point to remember is actually that after distillation a whisky must be matured or aged in fine oak barrels for a period of a minimum of 3 years. In reality it’s been made compulsory to write the age statement on the bottle.
According to the Scotch Whisky regulations for any whisky to be called a Scotch it has to clear some rules. The very first regulation is that this type of whisky has to be produced in a Scottish distillery and should be produced with drinking water and malted barley. Additional whole grains can be added to this kind of barley. Secondly, this concoction has to be processed into mash in a distillery after which fermented only by adding yeast. The distilled spirit has to have an alcoholic power of less than 94. 8% through volume. This particular spirit now has to be left to mature in oak casks in warehouses in Scotland. The capacity of the oak casks is also regulated and can’t exceed seven hundred liters. The whisky also needs to mature for at least 3 years. A whisky is declared a Scotch only after it follows these processes and then goes through the color and aroma check.
In order to become a Scotch, a whisky must manage to retain the aroma, color and flavor of the raw materials that go into its making. Apart from water and basic regulated caramel coloring no external ingredients can be added to enhance taste or appearance. Lastly, following following all these protocols, a whisky can be declared a Scotch only after it has gone through an alcoholic beverages strength check. A Scotch has to have the minimum alcoholic power by volume of 40%.
If you are visiting Scotland, whisky distillery tours have to be in your thoughts. Almost all distilleries have tours that take the visitor and introduce him to the fine art of whisky making. There can be numerous type of whisky excursions of Scotland. A few tours take you around the distillery and teach you the technicalities of whisky creating. Some are even more comprehensive and take you down to the cellars and allow you to experience fine whisky in some tasting sessions. You may also go on a whisky trail to collect the full experience of the well-known whiskies of Scotland. Both ways you will emerge a whisky connoisseur.