The word ‘single’ in the designation, “single malt whisky” refers to the fact that the whisky is produced by a single distillery and is not a blend of product from multiple distillers. Single malt whisky is made with 100% barley malt, distilled at least twice, occasionally, though, it is triply distilled in copper pot stills, and if in Scotland, to be called Scotch, it must be produced in Scotland and aged in oak casks. The source of the oak, whether European or American, size of the stills, the length of aging, type of condensers, and evaporation, all contribute to the character of the end product. The style and character of various Scotch is often described as smoky, with hints of vanilla, or of fruit, oak, peat, spice, and of course, malt. The peat or smoky flavor sometimes enters the whisky via the malt alone, to a small degree, but is mainly infused via the malt when it is dried using peat as a heat source with which to dry the malt.
