Scotch in 5 minutes: the only guide you need

Single malt

Whisky made from one hundred percent malted barley, at one single distillery.

It reflects the house style of the distillery, whether that's Laphroaig's medicinal peat or Macallan's sherried richness.

Even though it comes from one distillery, a single malt is usually a blend of hundreds of that distillery's barrels, mixed for consistency. The exception is single cask, which is bottled from exactly one barrel.

Examples. Ardbeg 10. Glenfiddich 12. Highland Park 12.

Single grain

Made at one distillery, but using grains other than or in addition to barley. Usually wheat or corn.

What it tastes like. Lighter, sweeter, creamier. Think bourbon's Scottish cousin, which is less aggressive and more approachable.

Single grain is the backbone of most blended Scotch. It's rarely bottled on its own, but when it is, people overlook it. They shouldn't, though, as it can be delicious.

Examples. Haig Club. Girvan Patent Still.

Blended Scotch

A mix of single malt and single grain whiskies from multiple distilleries. This is where a master blender earns their salary, mixing thirty to fifty different whiskies to hit a consistent target.

It tastes mellow, balanced, repeatable. The goal isn't character, it's reliability. Johnnie Walker Black should taste the same in Edinburgh, Tokyo, and Buenos Aires.

Blended Scotch is roughly ninety percent of the global whisky market. It's affordable, approachable, designed for mixing, though many of them are excellent neat.

Examples. Johnnie Walker. Dewar's. Chivas Regal. Famous Grouse.

Blended malt

A mix of single malts from different distilleries without any grain whisky involved.

The richness and character of single malts, with the balance of a blend.

A blender can combine a peaty Islay with a sweet Speyside to create something neither distillery could have made alone.

Examples. Monkey Shoulder. Compass Box. Johnnie Walker Green Label.

Single cask

Whisky bottled from exactly one barrel. What you're drinking is precisely what came from that cask.

It's unique and every barrel is different, even from the same distillery. One might be fruity and light, the next might be rich and sherried. The variation is the appeal.

It's rare, with only a few hundred bottles per cask. Once it's gone, it's gone forever.

Examples. Signatory Vintage. Gordon and MacPhail. Most independent bottlers.

The spelling thing

Scotland, Canada and Japan write it whisky. Ireland and the United States write it whiskey. That's the whole difference.

The five regions, briefly

Scotland has five official whisky regions. Each one has a general flavour reputation, which is useful as a rough guide and dangerous as a rule.

• Islay. Peaty, smoky, medicinal. Laphroaig. Ardbeg. Lagavulin.
• Speyside. Fruity, sweet, elegant. Glenfiddich. Macallan. Aberlour.
• Highland. Diverse. Can be light or rich. Glenmorangie. Dalmore. Oban.
• Lowland. Light, grassy, floral. Auchentoshan. Glenkinchie.
• Campbeltown. Maritime, complex. Springbank. Glen Scotia.

The catch is that not every Islay is smoky and not every Speyside is sweet. A better question at the bar is what casks did you use, because the wood shapes the bottle more than the postcode does.

The five second cheat sheet

• Single malt: One distillery, one hundred percent barley.
• Blended Scotch: Multiple distilleries, mix of malt and grain.
• Single cask: One barrel, unique, rare.
• Regions: Useful reference point.

Next time you see single malt, Islay, first fill sherry on a menu, you'll know what you're getting before you smell it. Smoky character from Islay. Rich fruit from sherry cask. Bold flavour from first fill.

And when you have a dram at hand, log it in Dramfly. Six months later, you won't be back at square one.