The Scotch Whisky Industry – Established 1494

There are few Distilleries in Scotland, at the last count only 90 Single Malt Distilleries and 8 Single Grain Distilleries situated throughout Scotland, producing whiskies that are sold in over 200 countries throughout the World, quite a feat for a small nation

Each Distillery in the six producing regions of Scotland distils spirit with entirely its own character: from sophisticated Speyside to the more robust smoky Islay, from soft fruity Lowland to honeyed rich Highland and silky smooth Island whiskies. And of course there is the wonderful lightly peated Campbeltown , Scotland has a whisky for everyone’s taste.

So what has created this attraction for Scotch whisky? The taste has certainly something to do with it, but there’s more. Five hundred years of Scottish skill and experience of whisky distillation have gone into making Scotch Whisky into the world’s premium spirit. The people, the terrain, the climate and pure Scottish water all play their part in creating Uisge Beatha, the water of life.

Single Malt and Grain casks are becoming a rarity as more and more Distillers refuse to sell spirit into the private market creating great demand for private casks. They do this because demand in emerging countries and even in mature whisky drinking countries is far outstripping supply and there is not enough stock to meet the anticipated demand. Now Brazil, Russia, India, China and Mexico, countries that traditionally were not Scotch Whisky drinkers have embraced Scotland’s amber nectar with great enthusiasm.

 

Scotch Whisky – The Rules and Regulations

To be called Scotch Whisky the law states that whisky must be matured in oak casks in Scotland for a minimum of three years. Most Scotch Whisky tends to be bottled very soon after it reaches its third birthday and most as blends. Some whiskies are laid down for longer periods to be used for aged blends and of course for Single Malts which are mainly bottled between 10 to 12 years old.

This year the Scotch Whisky industry is further protected by barring the movement of casks of single malt from Scotland. This is to maintain the quality and stop inferior whiskies reaching the market. Rest assured Quartercasks.com’s casks have always been resting and maturing in Scotland.

 

Single Casks

There are still a few Distillers who maintain the tradition of selling a few casks a year. They are to be praised, because the pinnacle of all whisky is the single cask. Single casks allow the consumer to taste variations in the spirit produced by the Distillery. No one cask is the same as another and occasionally a cask demonstrates exceptional quality of spirit from natural cask strength and unadulterated whisky. Many Distillers bottle their whiskies in volume from vatted casks giving a more all round and consistent taste with no predominant traits. By not bottling at cask strength, and during the process of reduction by the addition of water, the whisky becomes cloudy. To remove the cloudiness (caused by oils becoming emulsified) the bottler chills the whisky to make this emulsion more solid so it can be filtered out. Also as a result of this process a lot of the “goodness” and natural colour is removed from the spirit. The taste loss can never be replaced but the colour can by the addition of caramel colouring. We will never do this.

Every cask is unique but if the original cask has been carefully selected, and the Whisky has been provided by a top distiller, then you will understand what we mean by the pinnacle. It takes more than luck to reach this standard: the conditions have to be absolutely perfect and it takes an expert to select the best from the best casks. Quartercasks.com strive to provide you with the “best of the best”.