©2009 Sommelier Journal. May not be distributed without permission. www.sommelierjournal.com A Sommelier’s Guide to Single-Malt Scotch Dave Eriksen teaches DAVE ERIKSEN Wine Foundations and Dining Room Manage- cotland is an amazingly beautiful and “i couldn’t run a program without Scotch as ment at the Professional friendly country steeped in tradition, much as i couldn’t without Cognac; it would be Culinary Institute in patriotism, and, of course, Scotch whis- incomplete,” says Carl Grubbs, wine director at Campbell, Calif. His background in restaurant ky, the blood that fl ows through its cul- Local Kitchen & Wine Merchant, Oola Restau- Stural veins. Known to the world as Scotch and rant & Bar, and Sushi Groove in San Francisco. and event management has led him into the wine to the Scottish people simply as whisky (spelled “in a fi ne-dining environment, the guest expects industry. He coordinates without the “e”), this grain spirit is more syn- a range of spirits, as well as a range of styles to the South Bay Advanced onymous with its place of origin than any other choose from within that spirit category.” Study Group under Da- beverage in the world. And the united States, A single-malt Scotch, regarded as the elite vid Glancy, MS, CWE, according to the Scotch Whisky Association, the of the whisky category, is similar to a single- and is scheduled to sit for Edinburgh-based industry alliance, is its most vineyard wine in that each label is made from the Advanced exam of lucrative export market. That translates into “a one particular type of malted barley by one dis- the Court of Master Som- demand from our customer to make sure that tillery. Single malts vary in age, quality, and rar- meliers in October. we make it available to them.” ity, command prices similar to those of the most courtesyPhoto of the Scotch Whisky Association 58 September 2009 The Ring of Brodgar on Orkney island (left top); Cairn- gorm National Park in the Scottish Highlands (above); Highlands landscape (left middle); Castle Moil (left bot- tom) and Kilt Rock waterfall (below) on the isle of Skye. Photos © Alfiofer | Dreamstime.com (top left), R.M. Hayman | Dreamstime.com (top right), Michal Kowalski | Dreamstime.com (middle), Anthony Dodd (bottom left), Boris Buschardt (bottom right) Sommelier Journal 59 expensive wines on many lists, and attract a de- area; things are not as tightly regulated here as vout and knowledgeable following—all of which in many wine regions.” can make things difficult for the sommelier who The most important factor affecting quality does not possess at least a basic familiarity with is probably the water source, because it is used single-malt arcana. to germinate the barley, create the “wort” (the “Really, it is difficult to ‘talk’ a customer liquid drawn off the mash), and “cut” the final into Scotch,” says Andrea Fulton-Higgins, wine product before bottling. Many distilleries are consultant for Bella Vino Vita in Hopewell, Ore. located near their own natural water supplies, “it’s more like a private club. Either you are a but not all use local water; Auchentoshan, for in- member or you aren’t.” stance, is a Lowlands distillery that gets its water from a river in the South Highlands. Barley is the other main ingredient in Scotch terroir whisky. Although the quality of the barley is af- Although there is no doubt that Scotch fected by where it is grown, much of the grain’s Bruichladdich still house whisky is unique among the whiskies and bour- unique qualities are stripped during the boiling, in Islay (above); peat (below); burning peat for bons of the world, there is an ongoing debate fermentation, and distillation processes. In ad- drying barley (bottom about whether the concept of terroir applies to dition, most distilleries purchase their barley left); Highlands stream the whiskies of Scotland. As Alan Murray, MS, from large suppliers such as Simpsons, which (below center); barley field (below right). typically introduces the subject to his Certified sources grain from all over the country. Sommelier class at the Professional Culinary In- The peat used as fuel for drying the barley stitute in Campbell, Calif.: “Welcome to the gray does have a profound affect on the flavor of the whisky, dictated by where it was harvested. To- day, however, only a handful of distilleries, in- cluding Bowmore and Laphroaig, actually malt their own barley using local peat. Even these producers do not malt enough of their own bar- ley for their entire output. Photos © Bruichladdich Tt | Dreamstime.com (top), (bottom center); photos courtesy of the Scotch Whisky Association (bottom left and right) 60 September 2009 single-malt scotch Stacked whisky barrels. The tradition of stacking barrels three rows high in a stone dunnage building with earthen floors, instead of 12-plus rows high in Eilean Donan castle in the Highlands (above); Glenmorangie stills (below right). large, concrete-floor warehouses, provides the humidity that helps mature the casks by allow- Highlands: Geographically the largest region, ing moisture to make its way in. The spirit ages the Highlands include the islands that surround more slowly on the west coast of Scotland, with the north and west of Scotland, with the excep- its consistently cooler weather, than on the east tion of Islay, which is considered its own region. coast. The problem is that not every producer Despite the vastness of the area, most Highland ages its barrels in the same place as its distillery, malts tend to be floral because of the wild-heather which is the location indicated on the label. As fields that the water runs through before it an example, the Caol Ila distillery, on the island reaches the distilleries. The best-known produc- of Islay, warehouses most of its barrels on the ers here are Dalwhinnie, Glengoyne, Glenmor- mainland. angie, and Oban. Strict definitions aside, there is still a “cul- Speyside: The smell of whisky fills the air in the tural terroir” embodied by whiskies from each Spey Valley, which is densely populated with region in Scotland—whether because of local distilleries. Roughly 50% of all Scotch is pro- conditions or more stylistic traditions. Although duced in this small subregion of the Highlands, there are exceptions to these broad regional de- mainly from the watershed of the river Spey. scriptions (for reasons described above), the fol- Speyside whiskies are often described as fruity, lowing generalizations can be made. with a hint of peat that comes more from the Lowlands: The Lowlands produce the lightest water than from peat-dried barley, as in islay. style of Scotch, one that makes a great aperitif. Balvenie, Glenfarclas, Glenfiddich, Glenlivet, This is the second-largest region in terms of land Glenrothes, Macallan, and Mortlach are the top mass, but has only three remaining distilleries: producers. Auchentoshan, Bladnoch, and Glenkinchie, all of which traditionally make unpeated whiskies. Photos © Twickey | Dreamstime.com (top left), Alfiofer | Dreamstime.com (top right), Kurt Cotoaga | Dreamstime.com (bottom left), Giorgio Perbellini (bottom right) Sommelier Journal 61 types of scotch whisky Every Scotch whisky is made from some kind of grain, such as barley, maize, or wheat. To be called a Scotch whisky, it must have been produced in Scotland and aged at least three years be- fore bottling, with an alcohol level of at least 40% upon bottling. Grain Scotch whisky is based on a combination of malted barley and unmalted barley, wheat, or maize, together with yeast and water. Produced by continuous distillation in a patent or Coffey still, it is typically a lighter spirit. Blended whiskies such as Dewars and J&B Rare are a combina- tion of malt and grain whiskies. Most blends will contain a larger proportion of grain whisky than malt, although those with higher malt contents are typically more costly. Single malts, as the name implies, are produced solely from malted barley and are distilled in pot stills at single facilities. This hands-on batch-distilling process results in a higher-quality product that is often more expensive. A single-malt Scotch is almost always named after the distillery in which it is produced, Glenfiddich distillery even when the newly distilled spirit is purchased in bulk and in Speyside (above); an aged in the barrel by an independent bottler such as Gordon & Aberdeenshire distillery Islands: Whiskies from the Islands tend to have MacPhail. (below left); Lochranza castle on the island of Ar- a salty or briny character derived from the prox- Blended malt Scotch whisky contains no grain whisky and is ran (below right). imity of the distilleries to the Atlantic Ocean. made from a combination of single-malt whiskies, typically from Famous producers include Talisker on the isle more than one distillery. For example, Johnnie Walker Green of Skye, Arran on the island of Arran, and High- Label is predominantly Talisker, but it also contains portions of single malts from Linkwood, Cragganmore, and Caol Ila. land Park (the most northerly distillery in Scot- These blended malts are also known as “vatted malts” or “pure land) on Orkney. malts”—designations that can be misleading to consumers. Islay: These whiskies are often higher in phe- nols because of the heavy peat used in drying the malted barley, resulting in intensely smoky a few distilleries, most notably Springbank. Be- aromas and spicy flavors. Drinkers typically ei- cause of its peninsular location, it offers flavors ther love them or hate them. The smokiest are closest to those of the islands. from Ardbeg, Lagavulin, and Laphroaig. Lighter- peated islay malts include Bruichladdich and Bunnahabhain; in between are Bowmore and Whisky service Caol ila. You will soon see malts from the re- “Scotch drinkers are the philosophers of vived distillery of Kilchoman.