Scotch Single Malt
Scotch single malt is the archetype of the whisky world. Each expression is the product of a single distillery, made entirely from malted barley and produced through pot-still distillation. The category is defined by law and jealously protected by the Scotch Whisky Association. Within its rigorous framework, the single malts of Speyside, Islay, the Highlands, the Lowlands, Campbeltown and the Islands offer a remarkable diversity of style.
Blended Scotch
The blended Scotch category emerged in the middle of the nineteenth century, following the invention of the Coffey still and the legalisation of blending under bond in 1860. The great blending houses — Johnnie Walker, Chivas, Dewar's, Ballantine's — built the international presence of Scotch whisky and remain a cornerstone of the industry today.
Single Pot Still Irish
Single Pot Still is a distinctly Irish tradition. The use of unmalted barley alongside malted barley produces a whiskey of a characteristically spicy and oily texture. The style very nearly disappeared in the twentieth century and owes its survival above all to the continued production of expressions such as Redbreast, Green Spot and Powers John's Lane.
Blended Irish
Blended Irish whiskey is the most widely produced category on the island and includes many of its best-known brands. Traditionally triple distilled, blended Irish whiskeys are known for their comparative smoothness and approachability, characteristics that have contributed significantly to the modern revival of the whole industry.
Japanese Whisky
Founded in the nineteen-twenties at Yamazaki, the Japanese industry has developed a wholly distinctive philosophy. Distilleries typically operate a wider range of stills of different shapes than would be usual in Scotland, and the resulting palette of component whiskies allows blenders unusual flexibility. Mizunara oak, native to Japan, imparts a delicate incense-like character prized in the Japanese tradition.
American Bourbon
Bourbon is a legally defined American category, though contrary to popular belief it is not required to be made in Kentucky. The mandatory use of new charred oak gives bourbon its characteristic deep colour and its notes of vanilla, caramel and toasted spice.
Tennessee Whiskey
The Lincoln County Process, in which the new-make spirit is filtered through beds of sugar maple charcoal before maturation, is the defining feature of Tennessee whiskey. It contributes to the smoother, cleaner character for which the category is known and is the practice for which Jack Daniel's is most famous.
Canadian Whisky
Canadian whisky has a long tradition of its own and remains the leading North American whisky category by volume. It is characteristically lighter and more approachable than either bourbon or Scotch, and is often referred to informally as rye whisky in reference to the important place of rye grain in the tradition.