My Life in Scotch: From Blended to Single-Malt

By Single-Walt

My life in Scotch was set in motion before I was born. Both my grandfather and my dad were Scotch drinkers.  When I was young, I observed that my dad always had a shot or swig of Scotch when he arrived home from work. “It’s my vitamins!” he would say.

As I grew older he would offer me a sip of the golden liquid.  The brands he seemed to like best were Haig & Haig Pinch or Chivas Regal. (I liked the shape of the Pinch bottle.) I had my first sip when I was 10 or 11 years old. It made me gasp. My father told me “That was good! Grandpa always liked to drink cheap Scotch because it burned on the way down.” My grandfather died long before I was born, but I understood that Scotch would one day be my drink of choice.

Of course, in college I drank Mateus Rose and Jack Daniels—one because it was easy to drink and the other because it was easy to get drunk on. However, I wasn’t to encounter Scotch again until I was studying in England for the summer during medical school. I traveled to Scotland for about two weeks. On my first night, I stayed in a bed and breakfast on the west coast. I met a married couple who were astronomers from the Royal Observatory. We had dinner and repaired to the bar afterwards for spirits and spirited conversation. We had the most wonderful array of single-malt Scotches that evening, which went quite late since as guests of the establishment, the bar stayed open for us as late as we wanted.
 

The rediscovery of Scotch was to add much pleasure to my life from then on. Of course, as a young man of not much means, I drank a variety of blended Scotches. Some I found harsh, but they were improved by diluting with water or soda. These were ideal cocktails for noisy get-togethers and altogether preferable to the endless Chardonnays that everyone seemed to be drinking. In the 1970’s, my dad had discovered Glenfiddich, a single malt Scotch which of course he shared with me whenever I came home to visit. It was a cut above the Scotch I usually imbibed. Of course at that time, the U.S. was a relative desert with respect to beer and spirits and there was little choice to be had among single malts. Today, of course, one can find a wide array of single-malt Scotches at most liquor stores.

Why drink single malt versus blended Scotch? The answer lies in the complexity of the flavor and experience. It’s like comparing an excellent vintage wine to vin ordinaire. However, to provide some definitions: single malt whisky is 100% malted barley whisky from one distillery; single grain whisky is from one distillery but does not have to be made from a single type of grain; blended Scotch whisky is created by mixing single malt whisky and grain whisky.

In recent years, we have begun to see vintage single malts become available. This allows the connoisseur to appreciate the individual personality of exceptional batches of whiskey. Usually vintage selections account for a small proportion of their output. The Glenrothes Distillery  (www.glenrothes.com)  at less than 2 percent of their casks are selected to be a vintage—and only after the Scotch has been nosed and sampled many times. Each has distinctive flavors and—to my chagrin—many are no longer available from the distillery, but may occasionally be found in specialist wine and spirits shops. The components of the house character of Glenrothes include ripe fruit, citrus, vanilla and hints of spice.

Enjoying good single malt is enhanced by its sharing with kindred spirits. Fortunately, I was blessed with the best that one could imagine—the woman I married. Never a fan of “girlie” drinks and subject to headaches from wine, she has been my boon companion in my life in Scotch.

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