Brief 12 // 21st Whisky // Types of Whiskies

Single malt Whisky
Single malt whisky is one of the most popular spirits in the world and people enjoy drinking it in every country on the planet. The term 'single malt' refers to a whisky which is distilled at one distillery and then matured and bottled. the alternative is a blended whisky, which is made up of whiskies that have been produced at different distilleries and normally of different ages. There is no such thing as a 'double malt'.

Single malts are made using barley which is then malted, a process where germination is started so as to turn the starch present in to natural sugars. These sugars are then turned to alcohol during the fermentation process. For more information on this see How is whisky made.


Single malt whiskies are produced in various locations around the world, but the most popular and well known are made in Scotland, Ireland and Japan. Single malt whisky can only be called 'scotch' if it comes from Scotland.

Blended Whisky
Blended whiskies are produced by mixing different types of whisky together. These whiskies can be single malts (made from 100% malted barley) and other whiskies that are made using alternative grains (most commonly wheat). These often come from more than one distillery and are of differing ages. The whiskies are blended together to create a smoother, more complex drink with each part bringing its own characteristics to the blend. Each brand has its own distinct and traditional recipe that is adherred to. Some blended whisky can contain over 50 different single malt and grain whiskies combined together.


Grain whisky are much cheaper to produce than single malts, as the raw materials are more readily available and less expensive than barley. The costs are also reduced as they are produced continuously, rather than in small batches like single malts. These grain whiskies have always been used in blends as a foundation, with the single malts being used as 'accents'. As a rule, the more grain whisky, young whisky in the final product, the cheaper the price to the consumer.

Vatted Whisky
Vatted whiskies are also produced by mixing different types of whisky together. However, in this case only a mix of single malts are used. These whiskies may be from the same or different distilleries, have been matured in different types of cask and be of differing ages. A vatted whisky can by definition therefore contain just two differing whiskies, but commonly contain more. Therefore an easy way to remember the difference between the two is - blends are a combination of different single malts AND grain whiskies, while vattings are a combination of different single malts.

Aged blends
Blended and vatted whiskies have traditionally rarely had any age stated on the label. This is now changing with many brands adopting age statements. This can be a little confusing, especially now that you know that whiskies of differing ages will be included in the blend. When an age is shown this refers to the age of the youngest whisky present in the blend. Other whiskies included will therefore be of the same age and older.