What does single malt mean?

Answer 1

A Single Malt is a whiskey that is produced by a single distillery in a single batch and only using malted barley. Blended Malt is a blend of different malts and Blended Whisky is a blend of a single malt or single malts with grain spirit. Scotch Whisky is spelt without an 'e' unlike Irish and American Whiskey.

Single malt doesn't have to be from a single batch, it is just malt whiskey from a single distillery Many distilleries blend their whiskey with other distilleries as per age old contracts!

Answer 2

Single malt means that it contains only one type of malted grain that comes from only one distillery. As far as scotch, this is typically malted barley, although I've heard some made of rye, but the bottle will say "single malt rye" on it. There are also blended scotches, which typically will take the malt as a percentage and blend it with other malts from a different region. This is supposed to give the scotch a more even and typically more mild flavor, as single malts are sometimes considered to be too strong. There are some people who label themselves "aficionados" who believe the single malt "craze" doesn't really have any good justification and that blended scotches are actually much better, as they have been blended with the specific purpose of having the more even taste. Typically single malts are the more common types once you get to the more expensive scotches. However, there are some fairly expensive blended scotches as well. For example, there's Johnny Walker Blue Label. I've never tried it so I can't talk much about it. I DO like single malts a great deal though. There is also single BARREL whiskey. This is even pricier, as not only is it all from the same malt, but the whole bottle of it comes from the same barrel! Single barrel jack is supposed to be this type of whiskey. Again, I've never tried it.

Answer 3

Malt is a germinated grain used in the Scotch. Single malt means they used only one type of that malted grain. Typically the characteristics are more noticeable and pronounced, where blends of many malts are typically smoother. To put it in wine terms, it's like drinking 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from one vineyard vs. a blend of multiple grapes.

Answer 4

Single malt is not necessarily better then blends, or any other type of fermented grain or corn. It is more highly regarded by many. It depends on the brand, Processing, aging and more importantly on its smell, flavor, texture and how it goes down.