98 THE GREEN MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2006 | JANUARY 2007

More than a century ago, golf immortal Horace Hutchinson wrotethat “we borrowed golf from Scotland as we borrowed whisky. Notbecause it is Scottish, but because it is good.” The two are Scotland’sbest-known and most enigmatic exports. And while whisky didn’toriginate in Scotland (it was introduced by Irish monks in the seventhcentury), it has become one of the nation’s most profitable products,accounting for a nearly us billion industry.

Some take it with water, and many have a preferred glass fromwhich to drink, but the key here is the simple fact that there areblends and there are single malts. Single malts are the product of onemalting, distilled and aged in a barrel and not mixed with any otherwhisky. They each have a distinctive taste that is their trademark.Blends abound, all of which—Johnnie Walker, Dewar’s, FamousGrouse—rely upon single malts for their mixing. Most distilleriestypically market their own single malts (and bottle more than onelabel) and sell to the larger blenders as well.

Few spirits require the time-consuming aging of Scottish whisky.Further, the variables of Scotland’s topography affect taste as no otherregion does. While cognac and wines are subject to soil conditions,climate, and the like, whisky’s list of variables is particularly lengthy.

Each distillery draws its water from a specific source. The rockfaces, ferns, heather, peat and other factors that the water moves overin its course directly affect the water, which is typically untreated inthe distillation process.

The casks in which the whisky is aged also play an integral role inthe flavor of the whisky. The wood used to construct the cask is aprimary consideration (oak is typically preferred). Casks previouslyused to store sherry or bourbon are the most common.

Evaporation, oxidation, infusion of mountain or sea air, the barleysource, the season in which the peat was cut, and other environmentalincidentals all have an effect on the whisky and help each single maltattain its own character. The overlying factor in all this is the regionin which the distillery operates; geology and such factors are aregional consideration.

The largest of the regions is the Highlands; for purposes ofclassifying whisky regions, it is often further separated into Speyside,West Highland, and Skye (an island with a single distillery).Highland whiskies are generally drier with some spicy notes andlittle peat; Speysides particularly are sweeter with low peat notes.

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The second-largest region of whisky distillation is the Lowlands inScotland’s south. Lowland whiskies are typically grassy and herbal, muchlighter than Highland whiskies and with little or no peating. This lendsto wider general appeal; Lowlanders figure prominently in most blends.

The small island Islay (pronounced “Eye-luh”), situated withinthe Inner Hebrides of Scotland’s west coast, has, despite its smallgeographic size, a large whisky presence, with seven distilleriescurrently operating. The whiskies distilled on Islay—among themLaphroaig, Lagavulin and Bowmore—are strong and peaty andredolent with the sea’s influence.

The fourth region is Campbeltown, with two distilleries currentlyin operation (of approximately a dozen distilleries and thirty labelsin the once-thriving region, most of which closed in the s).Campbeltown’s distinctive salty-finish taste can still be had in thethree remaining labels, Springbank, Longrow (both from theSpringbank distillery), and Glen Scotia.

The distillation and enjoyment of whisky is a complex and well-agedprocess akin in its complexities to knocking a small ball about for holes. Enjoying a single malt doesn’t require the well-trained nose, anencyclopedic knowledge of water conditions in the Grampians, ordetailed information about barley conditions in central Scotland. Likegolf, the true enjoyment of a Scottish single malt starts with the rightframe of mind.

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WHISKY 101“Whisky” is the spirit from Scotland or Canada; “whiskey” is fromIreland or the United States.

Harvested barley is steeped in water for two to three days, andthe moistened barley is then spread on an open floor until it sprouts(approximately seven days). The grain is dried in a kiln (and is nowmalt), and then roughly ground and infused in water within a mash-tun. The run-off from this mix in turn is fermented in a washbackby the addition of yeast.

In post-fermentation, the liquid is distilled twice (sometimesthrice), and the condensed vapor from the boiling is the spirit.The spirit is then aged in oak casks. A decade or so later, you havewell-aged single malt ready for enjoyment.

By Craig R. Carey