Nomenclature/terminology associated with whiskey

Single malt whiskey, blended scotch whiskey, pure malt whiskey are some of the terms you might be acquainted with. They are prominently displayed on branded whiskies. But what do they mean. Read on:

What is a Single Malt Scotch whiskey?
A Single Malt Scotch Whiskey is the product of one specific distillery and has not been mixed with whiskey from any other distilleries. It is a 100% malted barley whiskey from one distillery.

What is a Blended or Pure Malt or Vatted whiskey?
A Vatted Malt will contain a number of single malt whiskies that have been skilfully blended together or "married," to create a consistent whiskey with its own distinct, identifiable character. Such a malt can also consist entirely of single malt whiskies of various ages from the same distillery. However, vatted malts will never contain any grain whiskey. A fairly uncommon type of whiskey, it is often well suited to those who prefer their whiskey to be less challenging, due to the fact that the blender's skill will more often than not produce an unvarying malt with highly definable traits.

What is a Single Grain Scotch whiskey?
A Single grain whiskey is the product of one Grain distillery and is usually made from wheat, corn or unmalted barley. It does not have to be made from a single type of grain.

What is a Blended Scotch whiskey?
A blended scotch whisky may contain a combination of whiskies from over 40 or 50 different malt and grain distilleries. The normal ratio of malt to grain is 60% grain 40% malt. The percentage of malt used will determine the quality and smoothness of taste and character. Each whisky used in the blending process will normally have been matured for about 5 years. However there are a number of higher aged blended scotch whiskies available.

What is a Malt ?
Malting is a process applied to cereal grains, in which the grains are made to germinate and then are quickly dried before the plant develops. The resulting grain is, thereafter, called malt.

Brands:
Notable blended Scotch whiskey brands include Johnnie Walker, Chivas Regal, etc. Out of the Johnnie Walker stable, only the green label brand is vatted. Else all are blended scotch whiskies.

Ramneek Maan Singh