Шотландский односолодовый виски: история и производство.

Type of whisky made in Scotland

Single malt Scotch refers to single malt whisky made in Scotland. To qualify for this category, a whisky must have been distilled at a single distillery using a pot still distillation process and made from a mash of malted barley. Therefore, a single malt means that the whisky has not been blended elsewhere with whisky from other distilleries. "Single" indicates that all the spirits in the bottle come from a single distillery. That distillery may combine single malt whiskies of several ages in a bottle. Many companies use malt whisky purchased from multiple distilleries, and these whiskies combined into "blended malt". For any Scotch whisky, whether malt or blended, the age statement on a bottle refers to the number of years the whisky spent maturing in casks. Very few whiskies are bottled from a single cask. The mixing of spirits with different amounts of ageing is allowed; the age statement of the resulting mix reflects the age of the youngest whisky in the bottle.

Distillation of whisky has been performed in Scotland for centuries. The earliest written record of whisky production in Scotland from malted barley is an entry on the 1494 Exchequer Rolls, which reads "Eight bolls of malt to Friar John Cor, by order of the King, wherewith to make aqua vitae." The expression 'single' means that of "separate, distinct, not combined or taken together" and is adapted from the old Latin word singulum (individual). Punishments were imposed on landowners when unlicensed distilleries were found on their properties. The passing of the act encouraged many distillers to apply for licensees. An Upper Drummin farmer in the Glen Livet valley, George Smith, working under landlord the Duke of Gordon, was the first person in Scotland to take out a licence for a distillery under the new law, founding what would become the Glenlivet Distillery in 1824, making single malt Scotch. Others followed and by 1830, some 232 distilleries had become licensed in Scotland. This new method produced whisky much more efficiently than the traditional pot stills. The new type of still allowed for continuous distillation, without the need for cleaning after each batch was made. This process made manufacturing more affordable by performing the equivalent of multiple distillation steps. The new still dramatically increased production; the whisky was less intense and smoother, though less flavoursome. By the Victorian era, distilleries had become commonplace across Scotland. A common feature in design originating from Charles C. Doig was that of a pagoda like roof that improved the efficiency of distilleries by drawing off peat smoke in the malting process. Even today many distilleries possess a pagoda style roof on at least one building even if no malting takes place and in some instances, new pagoda roofs are added for aesthetic purposes. Independent distilleries owned by Scots companies make a substantial amount of whisky too, particularly William Grant & Sons, the largest of these. Grant produces 8% of all Scotch whisky, with brands including Glenfiddich and Balvenie. Glenfiddich is the best selling single malt Scotch in the world; roughly 14 million bottles are sold annually. By year end 2017, however, exports totaled a record breaking £4.37 billion, an increase of 8.9% over 2016. Of that total, single malt Scotch accounted for £1.17 billion in exports, a 14% increase over 2016. Of the total exports in 2018, single malt accounted for £1.3 billion.

Flavour, aroma, and finish differ widely between single malts. Single malt Scotch whiskies are categorised into the following whisky producing regions: Campbeltown single malts, Highland single malts, Island single malts (a sub section of the Highland region), Islay single malts, Lowland single malts, and Speyside single malts

Independent bottlers buy casks of single malts and either bottle them immediately or store them for future use. Many of the independents began as stores and merchants who bought the whisky in bulk and bottled it for individual sales. Many distilleries do not bottle their whisky as a single malt, so independent bottlings are the only way the single malt gets to market. The bottling process is generally the same, but independents generally do not have access to the distillery's water source, so another source is used to dilute the whisky. Additionally, independents are generally less concerned with maintaining a particular style, so more single year and single cask bottlings are produced. Established independent bottlers include Duncan Taylor, Murray McDavid, Douglas Laing & Co, and Blackadder.