So the new question is, do distilleries make many single malts that actually come from different batches?
Cask maturation might differ. Take Highland Park 12 as an example: The malt is matured in ex-bourbon and ex-sherry cask and is combined in a 80:20 ratio prior to bottling. Many Single Malts contain a certain percentage sherry-matured whisky to increase the complexity of the malt.
Remember that the age statement on a bottle refers to the youngest malt in the 'blend'. Sometimes it is required to add some older malt to achieve a certain effect. Batch consistency is utterly important: If you buy a bottle of a well-known Single Malt, you have an expectation of what you buy. The masterblender will use the casks which are necessary to maintain the house style.
Your explanation of a batch is my conception of a single malt. The batch all came from the same stills at the same time, was aged in the same type of casks for the same length, combined after aging, and then bottled.
I think you are forcing a very narrow idea on to whiskymaking which is ultimately about the malt master creating a taste profile he wanted to achieve. for example, there are single malts with a mixture of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry vatted together (note this is not the same as finishing in sherry cask) to create a certain taste profile.
I might be more confused than I know. When I read a lable that states matured in oak and sherry casks, I sort of pictured that the batch was first matured for x years in oak casks and then the scotch in those casks were transferred to sherry casks to finish maturing. From your response, I think I have that wrong and the scotch is a blend of a batch that was matured x years in oak casks and a different batch that has been aging for y years in sherry casks. These two are then blended together by a master blender to come up with the expected taste of the consumer. See that to me is a blended malt. Even though I've always told people that a single malt is a malt that came from one distiller, I never pictured it could be from different batches.
If this is the case, then I have even more respect for the master blenders for being able to reproduce the same quality and taste. I just have to change my perception of what a single malt is.
LOL. Now I am confused. When you say 'finished' do you mean the scotch started in say an oak cask and then was transferred to a sherry cask?
I think my concept of a single malt just needs to be adjusted. I've always known that a single malt came from a single distillery, I just didn't picture it coming from different batches.
Don't be confused. Both procedures are common practice. In the case of Highland Park 12, whisky is matured in ex-bourbon casks and ex-sherry casks. The 12-year-old expression contains about 20% sherry cask matured malt - the rest comes from ex-bourbon casks. 'Marrying' of malt prior to bottling can take some time.
The alternative is what you described: a finish. There are all sorts of finishes:
sherry finish (oloroso casks) sherry finish (PX casks) rum finish port wine finish ...
The finish usually takes 3-6 months, sometimes years. So in case of a finish, you mature your whisky for X years in cask A before transferring it to cask B for another Y months. However, the master blender still needs to choose the right casks to maintain a certain flavor profile.
I will just add a couple of point to the excellent info you have already been given above:
1) Single cask bottlings can be better or worse than standard "batch" bottlings. This is especially so if the single casks are from an independent bottler (not bottled by the distillery itself). If you want to get a good feel for a particular distillery, you are better off trying one of the standard "batch" bottlings. It will reflect the house style that the owners feel best showcases the distillery's character (within constraints of cost, cask availability, etc.). If your only experience with a distillery is a single cask bottling, you might decide you don't like that distillery without realizing that the cask is not very representative of the distillery style.
2) I would recommend adding Benromach 10 year old to your list of malts to try. It is about an 80/20 mix of ex-bourbon-matured and ex-sherry-matured whiskies (both 9 years old) that are then finished (after mixing) in ex-sherry casks for another year. It is made from barley peated to about 10-12 ppm, and is an excellent all-rounder for the price.
Clear alcohols are for rich women on diets.
(Ron Swanson)
Ok. I think I might have a better understanding of the various processes which will enable me to fully understand what I am reading on the bottle or box or canister. As long as all the batches come from the same distillery it's a single malt, which STILL seems crazy to me LOL but I accept it.
Which brings us to the independent bottler. I wasn't going there yet, but Carlton mentioned it. So an independent can buy casks from a distillery and bottle it? Under the same name? I slightly remember hearing this on a vlog but didn't pursue it further. I agree that it would be better to try the scotch from the distillery itself rather than the independent. I'm really trying to learn about distilleries as much as different types of scotches.
I'll add the Benromach 10 to the list. The scotch sounds like it has a lot of character. Not sure I've heard of the distillery or if it'll be readily available.
You are correct. Independent bottlers buy whisky from a producer, bottle it, and bring it to market; normally, but not always, the distillery name will be disclosed. The better independent bottlers usually buy new-make spirit from a distillery, have it filled into their own casks, and age it either in contracted warehouse space or in their own warehouses.
Benromach is a small Speyside distillery owned by Gordon & MacPhail, one of the best independent bottlers. (It is becoming more common for independent bottlers to buy or build their own distilleries to supplement their businesses as distilleries increasingly want to keep more whisky for themselves due to high demand.) G&M have a reputation for using high-quality casks to mature their whiskies, and Benromach benefits from this.
Clear alcohols are for rich women on diets.
(Ron Swanson)
...My conception of a blended malt is different batches being blended together and bottled.
When talking about single malt scotch, this is often called a marriage. The distiller will take at least two different whiskies (for example, one matured in ex-bourbon for 10 years and a separate whisky which has matured in ex-sherry for five years) and "marry" them together for a period of time to make a blended batch. This is different than a "finishing", in which THE SAME liquid is transferred to a different vessel (a sherry cask).
Please look up Balvenie Tun 1401 (or ANY Balvenie Tun). Even though it is technically a single malt scotch, this is the purest definition of a "Distillery Blend", as it's a combination of multiple whiskies all from one distillery ( https://us.thebalvenie.com/our-range/tun-1401-batch-9). In this example, I actually agree with you... calling the Balvenie Tun a single malt seems like an oxymoron.
We use cookies and website technologies to customize information and improve your shopping experience all around whisky. We use technically necessary cookies to ensure the general functionality and features of our website. With your consent we also use cookies and iframes of third party providers to present our social media content to you and make use of functional tracking and analysis tools to identify errors and continually improve your user experience.
Details & Settings
Necessary cookies (always active)
Necessary cookies
The following cookies and technologies are required for the core functionalities of our website and online shops.
Necessary cookies (always active)
Name
Provider
Lifetime
Type
Name
_fe_typo_user
Provider
Whisky.com
Lifetime
Session
Type
HTTP
Description
This cookie is necessary for logging into the Whisky.com community and using the community functions.
Name
sid
Provider
Whisky.com
Lifetime
Session
Type
HTTP
Description
This cookie is necessary for the basic provision of the shop functions.
Name
sid_key
Provider
Whisky.com
Lifetime
Session
Type
HTTP
Description
This cookie is necessary for the basic provision of the shop functions.
Name
cookie_consent
Provider
Whisky.com
Lifetime
12 months
Type
HTTP
Description
This cookie is necessary to save the settings in this Consent Manager.
Name
adventcalendar_clicked
Provider
Whisky.com
Lifetime
Session
Type
HTTP
Description
This cookie is necessary for the correct display of the open doors in the Whisky.com advent calendar.
Name
language
Provider
Whisky.com
Lifetime
Session
Type
HTTP
Description
This cookie is necessary for language control on our website.
Name
BannerImpressions
Provider
Whisky.com
Lifetime
Session
Type
HTTP
Description
This cookie is necessary to limit the banner ads on our website.
Name
datamints_http2push
Provider
Whisky.com
Lifetime
Session
Type
HTTP2
Description
This cookie is necessary to improve the loading speed of our website for a better user experience.
Name
datamints_http2push_shop
Provider
Whisky.com
Lifetime
Session
Type
HTTP2
Description
This cookie is necessary to improve the loading speed of our website for a better user experience.
Name
datamints_shopselector_hasdismissednote
Provider
Whisky.com
Lifetime
Session
Type
HTTP
Description
Necessary functionality to determine whether the shop selection has already been made if the geolocation of the IP address does not match the shop country.
Name
hasUserHash
Provider
Whisky.com
Lifetime
Session
Type
HTTP
Description
Necessary functionality to determine whether a shop user exists.
Name
Vanilla
Provider
Whisky.com
Lifetime
1 Month
Type
HTTP
Description
This cookie is necessary to use the forum functions in the Whisky.com community.
Name
Vanilla-Volatile
Provider
Whisky.com
Lifetime
Session
Type
HTTP
Description
This cookie is necessary to use the forum functions in the Whisky.com community.
Name
Vanilla-Vv
Provider
Whisky.com
Lifetime
24 hours
Type
HTTP
Description
This cookie is necessary to use the forum functions in the Whisky.com community.
Name
__vnf
Provider
Whisky.com
Lifetime
13 months
Type
HTTP
Description
This cookie is necessary to use the forum functions in the Whisky.com community.
Name
preferred-country
Provider
Whisky.com
Lifetime
12 Monate
Type
HTTP
Description
This cookie is necessary to save and restore the country setting in the language and country selection.
Name
preferred-language
Provider
Whisky.com
Lifetime
12 Monate
Type
HTTP
Description
This cookie is necessary to save and restore the language setting in the language and country selection.
Functional cookies
The following cookies and technologies allow us to anonymously analyze consumer behaviour on our website to detect potential errors and continually improve the user experience.
Name
Provider
Lifetime
Type
Name
__utmz
Provider
Google, LLC
Lifetime
13 months
Type
HTTP
Description
This cookie records whether a user is redirected to our website by a search engine (and if so, which search term was used), a specific link or if he was not redirected from a previously visited page (e.g. opening the website via a bookmark).
Name
__utma
Provider
Google, LLC
Lifetime
24 months
Type
HTTP
Description
This cookie records the number of visits, timestamp of your first visit, the previous and current visit.
Name
_ga
Provider
Google, LLC
Lifetime
24 months
Type
HTTP
Description
This cookie is used by Google for user differentiation.
Name
_ga_UA******
Provider
Google, LLC
Lifetime
Session
Type
HTTP
Description
This cookie is used by Google Analytics to limit the amount of data recorded on websites with high user traffic.
Name
_gid
Provider
Google, LLC
Lifetime
24 Months
Type
HTTP
Description
This cookie is used by Google to track and store the visited page history.
Name
_gat
Provider
Google, LLC
Lifetime
10 minutes
Type
HTTP
Description
This cookie is used by Google for tracking.
Name
__gads
Provider
Google, LLC
Lifetime
30 days
Type
HTTP
Description
The __gads cookie is associated with the DoubleClick for Publishers service from Google. It serves purposes such as measuring interactions with the ads on our domain and preventing the same ads from being shown to you too many times.
Name
_gat_commercetracker
Provider
Google, LLC
Lifetime
30 Tage
Type
HTTP
Description
This cookie is used by Google Analytics to track and evaluate e-commerce applications.
Name
CONSENT
Provider
Google, LLC
Lifetime
max. 2 Jahre
Type
HTTP
Description
This cookie stores user consent information.
Name
NID
Provider
Google, LLC
Lifetime
6 Month
Type
HTTP
Description
When creating a Google account or logging in, NID cookie is stored on the computer in order to remain connected to your Google account when you visit its service again. While you are logged in and use plug-ins from other websites, such as Whisky.com, Google uses these cookies to improve your user experience.
Social Media cookies
The following cookies and technologies are required for displaying Social Media content of third party providers like YouTube, Instagram, etc.
Name
Provider
Lifetime
Type
Name
yt-remote-cast-installed
Provider
Youtube, LLC
Lifetime
Session
Type
HTML
Description
Stores user settings when accessing a Youtube video embedded on external websites.
Name
yt-remote-connected-devices
Provider
Youtube, LLC
Lifetime
Persistent
Type
HTML
Description
Stores user settings when accessing a Youtube video embedded on external websites.
Name
yt-remote-device-id
Provider
Youtube, LLC
Lifetime
Persistent
Type
HTML
Description
Stores user settings when accessing a Youtube video embedded on external websites.
Name
GPS
Provider
Youtube, LLC
Lifetime
1 Day
Type
HTTP
Description
Registers a unique ID on mobile devices to allow geographic GPS location based tracking.
Name
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE
Provider
Youtube, LLC
Lifetime
179 Days
Type
HTTP
Description
Attempts to calculate the user's network bandwidth on pages with embedded YouTube videos.
Name
YSC
Provider
Youtube, LLC
Lifetime
Session
Type
HTTP
Description
Registers a unique ID for storing statistics on YouTube videos watched by a user.
Name
yt-remote-fast-check-period
Provider
Youtube, LLC
Lifetime
Session
Type
HTML
Description
Stores user settings when accessing a Youtube video embedded on external websites.
Name
yt-remote-session-app
Provider
Youtube, LLC
Lifetime
Session
Type
HTML
Description
Stores user settings when accessing a Youtube video embedded on external websites.
Name
yt-remote-session-name
Provider
Youtube, LLC
Lifetime
Session
Type
HTML
Description
Stores user settings when accessing a Youtube video embedded on external websites.
Name
_fbp
Provider
Facebook/Meta
Lifetime
1 Month
Type
HTML
Description
Facebook Tracking via Facebook Pixel
Name
csfrtoken
Provider
Instagram, LLC
Lifetime
1 Month
Type
HTML
Description
Are set as soon as an Instagram plugin is embedded in our website. Enables the correct functionality of these Instagram plugins, such as embedded Instagram posts. Instagram cookie information: help.instagram.com/1896641480634370.
Name
ig_cb
Provider
Instagram, LLC
Lifetime
Session
Type
HTML
Description
Are set as soon as an Instagram plugin is embedded in our website. Enables the correct functionality of these Instagram plugins, such as embedded Instagram posts. Instagram cookie information: help.instagram.com/1896641480634370.
Name
ig_did
Provider
Instagram, LLC
Lifetime
Session
Type
HTML
Description
Are set as soon as an Instagram plugin is embedded in our website. Enables the correct functionality of these Instagram plugins, such as embedded Instagram posts. Instagram cookie information: help.instagram.com/1896641480634370.
Name
mid
Provider
Instagram, LLC
Lifetime
Session
Type
HTML
Description
Are set as soon as an Instagram plugin is embedded in our website. Enables the correct functionality of these Instagram plugins, such as embedded Instagram posts. Instagram cookie information: help.instagram.com/1896641480634370.
Name
rur
Provider
Instagram, LLC
Lifetime
Session
Type
HTML
Description
Are set as soon as an Instagram plugin is embedded in our website. Enables the correct functionality of these Instagram plugins, such as embedded Instagram posts. Instagram cookie information: help.instagram.com/1896641480634370.
Name
urlgen
Provider
Instagram, LLC
Lifetime
Session
Type
HTML
Description
Are set as soon as an Instagram plugin is embedded in our website. Enables the correct functionality of these Instagram plugins, such as embedded Instagram posts. Instagram cookie information: help.instagram.com/1896641480634370.
@SlàinteMhath
Thanks for the suggestion. I can get that at my grocery and will likely buy it this week and give it a try.
Cask maturation might differ. Take Highland Park 12 as an example: The malt is matured in ex-bourbon and ex-sherry cask and is combined in a 80:20 ratio prior to bottling. Many Single Malts contain a certain percentage sherry-matured whisky to increase the complexity of the malt.
Remember that the age statement on a bottle refers to the youngest malt in the 'blend'. Sometimes it is required to add some older malt to achieve a certain effect. Batch consistency is utterly important: If you buy a bottle of a well-known Single Malt, you have an expectation of what you buy. The masterblender will use the casks which are necessary to maintain the house style.
“That's what I do. I drink, and I know things.” (Tyrion Lannister)
>>> Whisky reviews by SlĂ inte Mhath <<<
I think you are forcing a very narrow idea on to whiskymaking which is ultimately about the malt master creating a taste profile he wanted to achieve. for example, there are single malts with a mixture of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry vatted together (note this is not the same as finishing in sherry cask) to create a certain taste profile.
I might be more confused than I know. When I read a lable that states matured in oak and sherry casks, I sort of pictured that the batch was first matured for x years in oak casks and then the scotch in those casks were transferred to sherry casks to finish maturing. From your response, I think I have that wrong and the scotch is a blend of a batch that was matured x years in oak casks and a different batch that has been aging for y years in sherry casks. These two are then blended together by a master blender to come up with the expected taste of the consumer. See that to me is a blended malt. Even though I've always told people that a single malt is a malt that came from one distiller, I never pictured it could be from different batches.
If this is the case, then I have even more respect for the master blenders for being able to reproduce the same quality and taste. I just have to change my perception of what a single malt is.
@hwchoy
LOL. Now I am confused. When you say 'finished' do you mean the scotch started in say an oak cask and then was transferred to a sherry cask?
I think my concept of a single malt just needs to be adjusted. I've always known that a single malt came from a single distillery, I just didn't picture it coming from different batches.
@thommes
Don't be confused. Both procedures are common practice. In the case of Highland Park 12, whisky is matured in ex-bourbon casks and ex-sherry casks. The 12-year-old expression contains about 20% sherry cask matured malt - the rest comes from ex-bourbon casks. 'Marrying' of malt prior to bottling can take some time.
The alternative is what you described: a finish. There are all sorts of finishes:
sherry finish (oloroso casks)
sherry finish (PX casks)
rum finish
port wine finish
...
The finish usually takes 3-6 months, sometimes years. So in case of a finish, you mature your whisky for X years in cask A before transferring it to cask B for another Y months. However, the master blender still needs to choose the right casks to maintain a certain flavor profile.
Make sense?
“That's what I do. I drink, and I know things.” (Tyrion Lannister)
>>> Whisky reviews by SlĂ inte Mhath <<<
@thommes
I will just add a couple of point to the excellent info you have already been given above:
1) Single cask bottlings can be better or worse than standard "batch" bottlings. This is especially so if the single casks are from an independent bottler (not bottled by the distillery itself). If you want to get a good feel for a particular distillery, you are better off trying one of the standard "batch" bottlings. It will reflect the house style that the owners feel best showcases the distillery's character (within constraints of cost, cask availability, etc.). If your only experience with a distillery is a single cask bottling, you might decide you don't like that distillery without realizing that the cask is not very representative of the distillery style.
2) I would recommend adding Benromach 10 year old to your list of malts to try. It is about an 80/20 mix of ex-bourbon-matured and ex-sherry-matured whiskies (both 9 years old) that are then finished (after mixing) in ex-sherry casks for another year. It is made from barley peated to about 10-12 ppm, and is an excellent all-rounder for the price.
@Carlton
@SlàinteMhath
Ok. I think I might have a better understanding of the various processes which will enable me to fully understand what I am reading on the bottle or box or canister. As long as all the batches come from the same distillery it's a single malt, which STILL seems crazy to me LOL but I accept it.
Which brings us to the independent bottler. I wasn't going there yet, but Carlton mentioned it. So an independent can buy casks from a distillery and bottle it? Under the same name? I slightly remember hearing this on a vlog but didn't pursue it further. I agree that it would be better to try the scotch from the distillery itself rather than the independent. I'm really trying to learn about distilleries as much as different types of scotches.
I'll add the Benromach 10 to the list. The scotch sounds like it has a lot of character. Not sure I've heard of the distillery or if it'll be readily available.
@thommes
You are correct. Independent bottlers buy whisky from a producer, bottle it, and bring it to market; normally, but not always, the distillery name will be disclosed. The better independent bottlers usually buy new-make spirit from a distillery, have it filled into their own casks, and age it either in contracted warehouse space or in their own warehouses.
Benromach is a small Speyside distillery owned by Gordon & MacPhail, one of the best independent bottlers. (It is becoming more common for independent bottlers to buy or build their own distilleries to supplement their businesses as distilleries increasingly want to keep more whisky for themselves due to high demand.) G&M have a reputation for using high-quality casks to mature their whiskies, and Benromach benefits from this.
said:
When talking about single malt scotch, this is often called a marriage. The distiller will take at least two different whiskies (for example, one matured in ex-bourbon for 10 years and a separate whisky which has matured in ex-sherry for five years) and "marry" them together for a period of time to make a blended batch. This is different than a "finishing", in which THE SAME liquid is transferred to a different vessel (a sherry cask).
Please look up Balvenie Tun 1401 (or ANY Balvenie Tun). Even though it is technically a single malt scotch, this is the purest definition of a "Distillery Blend", as it's a combination of multiple whiskies all from one distillery ( https://us.thebalvenie.com/our-range/tun-1401-batch-9). In this example, I actually agree with you... calling the Balvenie Tun a single malt seems like an oxymoron.