Within this hub, we explain everything you need to know about choosing whisky by flavour, including key flavour profiles and tips for finding your ideal whisky.
Single malt whisky offers a rich variety of flavours, shaped by fermentation, distillation, and cask selection. Whether you prefer bold, smooth, or delicate expressions, there’s a dram for every palate.
In this article, we summarise the main factors that affect a whisky’s flavour outcome, from cask selection, age, production techniques, grain choice and the effect of peat.
This article explores the best glass for drinking whisky, whether you should drink it neat, add a few drops of water or serve with ice cubes. Explore the impact of each serving decision and age-old tasting techniques.
If you want to save your whisky for a special occasion or you’ve bought an investment bottle, you’ll want to maintain top quality. You can do this by storing the bottle upright in a cool, dark spot. Re-wet the cork by inverting the bottle once every few months to prevent cracking.
Whisky is made by fermenting starch sugars from grains. The alcohol produced is distilled and matured in oak. There are several things that influence the final flavour of the single malt whisky
The barley itself: the type of grain is highly influential on the final flavour profile, it's why malt whisky and grain whiskies are in distinct categories.
The fermentation: During this crucial stage, aromatic compounds form, which add flavours ranging from tropical or ripe fruit to citrus or floral notes. It's not uncommon for distilleries to smell of banana bread and pina colada during fermentation.Maturation: Whisky takes on lots of flavour from the barrel including red fruit, raisins, nuts, smoke, toffee, toast, caramel and honey. The flavours in your final whisky can depend on the type of barrel seasoning used.
Scotch whisky must be entirely produced in Scotland (from barley to bottling), but Scotch whiskey encompasses single malt and blended styles. Some producers even use a blend of different grains other than malt (Grain Scotch). Single malt can come from anywhere in the world, but must be made using 100% malted barley, produced from a single distillery.
Our single malt whiskies are gluten free.
Single malt is produced from a single distillery while blended whisky incorporates whiskies from a range of sources. Master blenders select a range of malt or grain whiskies which complement one another. The result is usually a smooth, well-rounded, accessible spirit which can be better for mixing.
