Single malt Scotch. Single Malt Scotch is single malt whisky made in Scotland using a pot still distillation process at a single distillery, with malted barley as the only grain ingredient.
As with any Scotch whisky, a single malt Scotch must be distilled in Scotland and matured in oak casks in Scotland for at least three years (most single malts are matured longer). "Malt" indicates that the whisky is distilled from a "malted" grain. Several types of grains can be malted (for example, barley, rye and wheat are all grains which can be malted); however, in the case of single malt Scotch, barley is always the only grain used.
"Single" indicates that all the malts in the bottle come from a single distillery. Bottlings containing malt whisky from multiple distilleries are called "blended malt". The age statement on a bottle of single malt Scotch is the number of years the whisky spent maturing in cask. History[edit] Distillation of whisky has been performed in Scotland for centuries. Regions[edit] See also[edit] Distillery Data - all Scotch malt whisky distilleries (in Scotland) This section of Malt Madness looks at malt whisky distilleries in Scotland - grain whisky is discussed as well, but not in great detail.
Until well after the year 2000, the number of active MALT whisky distilleries in Scotland was still much larger than that of the entire rest of the world put together. So, when I started work on this site section I didn't look past the borders of Scotland at first. This list contains all the (legal) malt whisky distilleries in Scotland that have been active since +/- 1975. Hundreds of other distilleries that were active in the 18th, 19th and 20th century are not listed, simply because the odds of ever finding a (genuine) bottle of the whisky are astronomically slim. "Antique' bottles appearing at auctions and on eBay are usually dodgy. Ardbeg.
Ardbeg Distillery (Scottish Gaelic: Taigh-stail Àirde Beaga) is a Scotch whisky distillery on the south coast of the isle of Islay, Argyll and Bute, Scotland, in the Inner Hebrides group of islands.
The distillery is owned by Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy, and the company claims it produces the peatiest Islay whisky.[1] The distillery uses malted barley sourced from the maltings in Port Ellen. History of the Distillery[edit] Ardbeg sign at distillery The Ardbeg distillery has been producing whisky since 1798, and began commercial production in 1815.[2] Like most Scottish distilleries, for most of its history, its whisky was produced for use in blended whisky, rather than as a single malt.
By 1886 the distillery produced 300,000 gallons of whisky per year, and employed 60 workers.[2] Production was halted in 1981, but resumed on a limited basis in 1989 and continued at a low level through late 1996, during the period when Ardbeg was owned by Hiram Walker. Bottlings[edit] Awards[edit]