Whisky.com Complete Guide to Scotch Whisky

Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Whisky.com's Top 5 Speyside Malts

GLENFIDDICH
RARE COLLECTION
AGED 40 YEARS

Glenfiddich Rare Collection Aged 40 Years

GLENFIDDICH RARE COLLECTION AGED 40 YEARS

Colour: Garnet. Dark marble.

Nose: Floral. Herbaceous borders. A rose garden. Fragrant. Honeyed. Then beeswax. Polished oak and leather armchairs.

Taste: Oily, then creamy and sweet, arousing delicious expectations of the white chocolate notes that can occur in a long-matured Glenfiddich. The promise is realised, in ascending layers of flavour. After mocha coffee and pain au chocolat, boxes of dates. Then a teasing, bittersweet, moment; something dark, crazy and Belgian. Chocolate truffles in crème Anglaise. Raspberries and redcurrants with a malt-doused vanilla ice cream.

Finish: For all the sweet and creamy suggestions, this single malt Scotch whisky is balanced by fruitiness and acidity. Finally, a late, long, restrained dryness. Bitter chocolate pralines with root ginger, burnt-tasting caramels in front of a smoky, aromatic log fire.

Tasting Notes by Glenfiddich Distillery

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THE BALVENIE 21 YEAR PORTWOOD

The Balvenie 21 Year Port Wood
THE BALVENIE 21 YEAR PORTWOOD

To create The Balvenie Portwood 21 Year Old, rare 21 Year Old Balvenie - which has been matured in traditional oak casks - is transferred to a port cask, or pipe, which has held fine port wines. Here it is sampled every month by The Balvenie Malt Master to ensure that just the right amount of character is imparted by the port casks, enhancing and developing the single malt, whilst preserving its original characteristics.

At the 2005 International Spirits Challenge, The Balvenie Portwood 21 Year Old was awarded a prestigious Gold Medal.

Taste: A single malt of refinement and remarkable character, it is creamy and silky with fruit, honey and spice notes, and has a long and gentle nutty finish.

Tasting Notes Courtesy of The Balvenie

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THE MACALLAN 18 YEAR OLD
SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY

The Macallan 18 Year Single Malt Scotch Whisky
THE MACALLAN 18 YEAR OLD SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY

The Macallan Sherry Oak is exclusively matured in selected Sherry oak casks from Jerez, Spain. This satisfyingly complex Single Malt, matured at The Macallan distillery for a minimum of 18 years is characterised by its rich colour, aroma and flavour with hints of dried fruits, spice and chocolate orange.

Colour: Light Mahogany

Nose: dried fruits and ginger, with a hint of citrus, vanilla and cinnamon

Palate: Rich dried fruits, with spice, clove, orange and wood smoke

Finish: Full and lingering, with dried fruits and sweet toffee, ginger and a hint of wood smoke.

Tasting Notes by The Macallan

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THE GLENLIVET 18 YEAR OLD
SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY

The Glenlivet 18 Year Old
THE GLENLIVET 18 YEAR OLD SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY

Color: Dark amber.

Nose: Full. Some peat, floral notes, sherry, honey and fruit.

Body: Firm. Quite smooth.

Palate: Full, round, floral. Some sweetness and quite rich.

Finish: Rich. Drying, with spice and smoke.

Comments: Elegant, complex, oaky and fruity. An enticing bittersweet symphony.

Tasting Notes by The Glenlivet Distillery

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CRAGGANMORE 12 YEAR OLD
SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY

Cragganmore 12 Year Single Malt Scotch Whisky
CRAGGANMORE 12 YEAR OLD SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY

Nose: Silky, elegant and rich: currant bushes, sweet fruits, honey, cream, leather, rich malt, chestnut. Water makes it smokier. Fruity with a savoury edge.

Palate: Lovely weight: honey, blackberry, cooked fruits, walnut, dried apricot. A mid- to back-palate whisky which is robust, yet silky; meaty but elegant. The word is complex.

Finish: Tingle of heathery smoke binding it together.

Comment: The most complex of the flight by some margin.

Tasting Note by Michael Jackson

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Whisky.com's Top 5 Mainland Single Malts

OBAN 14 YEAR OLD
SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY

Oban 14 Year Single Malt Scotch Whisky
OBAN 14 YEAR OLD SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY

Appearance: Olive gold.

Nose: Rich sweetness and fruits - oranges, lemons and pears, with sea-salt and peaty smokiness.

Body: Full, rich.

Palate: Mouth-filling late autumn fruits - dried figs and honey-sweet spices; followed by a smoky malty dryness.

Finish: Long, smooth-sweet finish with oak-wood, dryness and a grain of salt.

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GLENMORANGIE 18 YEAR OLD
SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY

Glenmorangie 18 Year Single Malt Scotch Whisky
GLENMORANGIE 18 YEAR OLD SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY

Colour: An attractive deep gold colour, warm and enticing. Distinctive from the Ten Year Old, but without the heavy darkness of some extra aged malts.

Aroma: The bouquet is very full, round and perfumed with nutty, caramel and vanilla overtones.

Taste: Exceptionally smooth, 'silky' and round. Fine, fully flavoured and subtle.

Aftertaste: With a long, consistent aftertaste, it is delivered with great intensity and depth.

Comments: The changes that take place during the extra eight years of maturation are profound. A superb after dinner dram.

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GLENGOYNE 17 YEAR OLD
SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY

Glengoyne 17 Year Single Malt Sotch Whisky
GLENGOYNE 17 YEAR OLD SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY

Appearance: Medium gold with a rich glow.

Nose: Some sherry, Christmas pudding. Plenty of fruit - raisins, ripe apples and tinned oranges in syrup.

Mouthfeel: Rich, mouth-coating.

Initial taste: Malty, treacle, slightly nutty. Orange peel, apple compot. Rich oak.

After Water: Pear Drops and vanilla.

Finish: Long and rich, with spicy oak.

Comments: Multi award winning dram. One of the greats. Possibly the best pound for pound dram on the market.

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GLEN GARIOCH 15 YEAR OLD
SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY

Glen Garioch 15 Year Single Malt Scotch Whisky
GLEN GARIOCH 15 YEAR OLD SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY

Colour: Honey.

Body: Medium.

Palate: Hints of lavender and oak with a syrup sweetness.

Finish: Long mellow and very sumptuous.

"Assertive, aromtaic, intense - a beauty"

Tasting Notes by Glen Garioch

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AUCHENTOSHAN SELECT
SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY

Auchentoshan Select Single Malt Scotch Whisky
AUCHENTOSHAN SELECT SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY

Color: Straw with golden highlights

Body: As light and fresh as a spring day

Nose: Floral, green apples and a hint of lime. Very Clean

Palate: Gooseberry and lime flavor, with a touch of almonds and wonderful malty sweetness,

Finish: Short, soft ad fresh, with lots of youthful characteristics.

Tasting Notes by Auchentoshan

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Whisky.com's Top Island Single Malts

ARDBEG 10 YEAR OLD
SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY

Ardbeg 10 Year Single Malt Scotch Whisky
ARDBEG 10 YEAR OLD SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY

Color: Straw with golden highlights

Body: As light and fresh as a spring day

Nose: Floral, green apples and a hint of lime. Very Clean

Palate: Gooseberry and lime flavor, with a touch of almonds and wonderful malty sweetness,

Finish: Short, soft ad fresh, with lots of youthful characteristics.

Tasting Notes by Auchentoshan

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LAPHROAIG QUARTER CASK
SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY

Laphroaig Quarter Cask Single Malt Scotch Whisky
LAPHROAIG QUARTER CASK SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY

Colour: Full sparkling gold.

Nose: Burning embers of peat in a crofters fireplace, hints of coconut and banana aromas.

Body: Full bodied.

Palate: Deep, complex and smoky yet offers and surprises the palate with a gentle sweetness.

Finish: Really long, and dries appropriately with smoke and spice.

Tasting Notes Courtesy of Laphroaig Distillery

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TALISKER 25 YEAR
SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY

Buy Talisker 25 Year Cask Strength Single Malt Scotch Whisky Here!
TALISKER 25 YEAR SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY

Strength: 57.8% ABV

Appearance: Bright olive gold.

Nose: Nose drying. Seaweed and old oranges, with smoke in the distance and some chalk. Surprisingly fruity and juicy, although with clear Talisker identity. With water almost soapy, a waxy sweetness. Smoke still present, but now more fragrant.

Body: Firm. Slippery smooth.

Palate: Sweet and meek to start, with some acidity and saltiness. Extraordinary flavour development. Becomes dry, stony, minerally, dusty, toasty. Ground white pepper. Chillies.

Finish: Medium to long, slightly bitter, drying finish. Vegetal.

Tasting Notes by Talisker

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Discerning drinkers were denied the allure and sensuous pleasures of single malt whisky for decades. While Scotland had over a hundred distilleries producing malt, most of that production went into blended Scotches. The few who marketed their malt whisky "straight" were considered the exception to the norm. Fortunately, the past two decades have led to an astonishing growth in the number of single malts available.

The term "Single Malt" alludes to the fact that the whisky comes from a single distillery. Bottlings of single malt can contain whisky from several casks and most often do, whereas the term single single could refer to a bottling from a single cask. The practice of combining exclusively malt whisky from different casks, at a single distillery, is called vatting. Once combined they are sometimes kept in wood for a period to marry.

If it is all malt whisky from a single distillery, it is a single malt. Some distilleries might use the less precise term pure malt to describe a single but this term, or malt whisky, is most often used to describe the product when several malt distilleries have contributed.

Until the 1980s, single-malt whiskies remained rare outside Scotland. There were exceptions, like Glen Grant, but the large whisky companies, those who had made their fortunes out of blended whisky, were opposed to spending money and resources promoting single malts.

By the mid 1970s, stocks of whisky in bond were the highest they had ever been, and were rising fast. In 1963, the directors of Willian Grant & Son, owner of the Glenfiddich Distillery, resolved to set aside stock with the view to promoting their whisky as a single malt.



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