The world of whiskey certainly carries with it its share of complexities and expectations. The hugely popular spirit also has attached to it quite the extensive culture. Breaking into that culture can seem like a pretty intimidating task, especially when you don’t know the first thing about whiskey! In this article, we’re helping you out with one particular whiskey that is particularly popular amongst aficionados – scotch.

We’re giving you a complete guide to understanding, choosing, and drinking scotch. We’ll start with the basics, including what scotch is and how it’s made. Then, we’ll give you a complete guide to drinking and tasting this popular spirit.

What Is Scotch?

First, if you’ve come into this article as a complete beginner, you probably have one question – what exactly is scotch? The short answer is that scotch is a particular variety of whiskey which is manufactured in Scotland. There are actually a pretty complex set of Scottish laws under which the whiskey must be made in order to be considered Scotch.

Scotch whisky is generally either grain whisky or malt whisky. Grain whisky is any whisky made from grains aside from barley. Malt whisky is the more popular variant of scotch, especially in North America. Malt whisky refers to the malting process, and the whisky is made with malted barley. Malt has a signature, rich taste, which many scotch drinkers prefer.

Scotch can also be a “blend” of both malt and grain whiskey, and is commonly known as “blended scotch”.

Another aspect of scotch that is so unique is the “peating” process. The barley used to make the whisky is actually smoked with peat moss. This gives a lot of scotches their signature “smoky” flavor. The taste of peat is very prominent in many scotches.

Of course, once you dive into the world of scotch, you will quickly notice that there are many different types of Scotch. As a new scotch drinker, you should probably understand at least the basics. Here are some quick descriptions of the types of scotch you are likely to encounter: