What are the common types of whisky?

Whisky can be classified into different categories according to various standards.

Geographically, it is divided into Irish Whisky, Scotch Whisky, Bourbon Whisky, Tennessee Whisky, Canadian Whisky, Japanese Whisky and other varieties.

By raw materials, it falls into malt whisky and grain whisky.

By blending methods, it is classified into single whisky and blended whisky. Blended whisky can be further split into blended malt whisky and blended grain whisky.

Common Types of Scotch Whisky

I. Single Malt Whisky

By definition, Single Malt Whisky is exclusively produced from malted barley at a single distillery and matured in oak casks in Scotland for no less than three years. Scottish laws stipulate that it must be distilled in pot stills, and no ingredients other than water, yeast and E150a caramel color can be added during production.

It does not require all liquor in one bottle to come from the same cask. Distillers usually blend whiskies from different casks and vintages of their own distillery before bottling. The age marked on the label refers to the youngest whisky in the blend.

Famous single malt whiskies: The Macallan 12 Years Old, Glenfiddich 12 Years Old, Highland Park 12 Years Old, etc.

II. Single Grain Whisky

Single Grain Whisky is made from barley and other grains such as corn and wheat, with all spirits sourced from one single distillery in Scotland. It features a light, mild and neutral flavor, so most of it is used as base liquor to enrich the taste of blended whiskies.

Scottish regulations rule that any whisky distilled via continuous stills is defined as grain whisky, even if it is made purely from malt. Loch Lomond is currently the only distillery in Scotland that adopts this production method.

Loch Lomond single grain whisky is also known as Coffey malt. It tastes smooth and sweet, with rich aromas of fresh barley, vanilla cream and fresh lemon zest, offering a pleasant drinking experience.

Famous single grain whiskies: Toki Single Grain Whisky, Loch Lomond Single Grain Whisky, Haig Club Single Grain Whisky, etc.

III. Blended Whisky

Also called blended whisky, it is blended with more than one type of single malt and single grain whisky from different distilleries or the same distillery. In the United States, blended whisky must contain no less than 20% pure whisky.

Famous blended whiskies: Chivas Regal, Royal Salute, Johnnie Walker Black Label, Cutty Sark, etc.

IV. Blended Malt Whisky

Also named Pure Malt Whisky, it is a branch of blended whisky, blended with malt whiskies from multiple distilleries across Scotland.

Famous blended malt whiskies: Big Peat, Three Monkeys, Johnnie Walker Green Label, etc.

V. Blended Grain Whisky

As a type of blended whisky, it is blended with grain whiskies from different Scottish distilleries.

Famous blended grain whiskies: Compass Box Hedonism, Glen Scotia 3 Years Old, etc.