Whenever you think about Scotland whisky is the first thing that comes to mind. Apart from the spectacular surroundings, rolling hills and beautiful winding highways, whisky is actually what makes Scotland so famous. The famous Scotch whisky originates from Scotland. In fact so synonymous has good whisky become with Scotch that in England if you ask for a whisky you will be undoubtedly handed a Scotch unless you specify otherwise.
There are five main kinds of Scotch. These categories are single malts, single grain Scotch, blended grain whisky, blended malt Scotch whisky which was previously called a vatted malt or even pure malt, and blended Scotch. There are some specifics which need to be adopted for a whisky to be known as a Scotch. The first condition being that this whisky needs to be created specifically in Scotland. No matter what specifications are followed, if a whisky isn�t made in Scotland it cannot be known as a Scotch. The next thing to remember is that after distillation a whisky must be aged or aged in fine oak barrels for a period of at least three 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’s to clear some guidelines. The very first regulation is that such a whisky has to be produced in a Scottish distillery and should be made with water and malted barley. Other whole grains can be put into 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 should have an alcoholic power of less than 94. 8% through volume. This 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 cannot exceed seven hundred liters. The actual whisky also needs to mature for at least three years. A whisky is declared a Scotch only after it follows these procedures and then goes through the color and fragrance test.
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 creating. Apart from water and basic regulated caramel color no external substances can be added to enhance taste or appearance. Finally, following following all these protocols, a whisky can be declared a Scotch only after it has been through an alcohol strength check. A Scotch should have the minimum alcoholic strength by volume of 40%.
If you are visiting Scotland, whisky distillery tours have to be on your mind. Almost all distilleries have tours that take the visitor and introduce him to the fine art of whisky producing. There can be many type of whisky excursions of Scotland. Some tours take you around the distillery and educate you on the technicalities of whisky creating. A few are even more detailed and take you down to the cellars as well as let you experience fine whisky in some tasting sessions. You can even go on a whisky trail to gather the full experience of the actual famous whiskies of Scotland. Both ways you’ll emerge a whisky connoisseur.