The first written mention of Scotch whisky is in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland, 1495; a friar named John Cor was the distiller at Lindores Abbey in the Kingdom of Fife.

Scotch whisky, often simply called Scotch, is malt whisky or grain whisky made in Scotland and must be made in a manner specified by law to be called Scotch whisky.

The law specifies that to be called Scotch whisky, the new make spirit must be aged in oak barrels for at least three years (with many distilleries requiring three years and a day to account for a leap year) within the borders of Scotland.

A single malt Scotch whisky is made with only three ingredients:

1. Water
2. Malted barley
3. Yeast

The colour and much of the flavour is derived from the cask in which the whisky is aged. Traditionally Scotch whisky was matured in American oak casks, but in recent years other types of cask have been introduced. A popular second type of cask used are sherry casks from Spain in which whisky is either matured or finished resulting in a darker colour and richer flavour.

Any age statement on a bottle of Scotch whisky, expressed in numerical form, must reflect the age of the youngest whisky used to produce that product; a whisky with an age statement is known as guaranteed-age whisky.

All Scotch whisky was originally made from malted barley, but commercial distilleries began introducing whisky made from wheat and rye in the late 18th century. Scotch whisky is divided into five distinct categories:

1. Single malt Scotch whisky (such as Laphroaig, Dalwhinnie and The Macallan
2. Single grain Scotch whisky (such as Haig Club)
3. Blended malt Scotch whisky which was formerly called “vatted malt” or “pure malt” (such as William Grant & Sons’ Monkey Shoulder)
4. Blended grain Scotch whisky
5. Blended Scotch whisky (such as Johnnie Walker, Dewars or The Glenturret)

To Friar John Cor, by order of the King, to make aqua vitae, VIII bolls of malt.
– Exchequer Rolls of Scotland, 1 June 1495.

According to the Scotch Whisky Association, Scotch whisky evolved from a Scottish drink called uisge beatha, which means “water of life”. The earliest record of distillation in Scotland occurred as long ago as 1494, as documented in the Exchequer Rolls, which were records of royal income and expenditure. The quote above records eight bolls of malt given to Friar John Cor wherewith to make aqua vitae over the previous year. This would be enough for 1,500 bottles, which suggests that distillation was well-established by the late 15th century.

Whisky production was first taxed in 1644, causing a rise in illicit whisky distilling in the country. Around 1780, there were about eight legal distilleries and 400 illegal ones. In 1823, Parliament eased restrictions on licensed distilleries with the “Excise Act”, while at the same time making it harder for the illegal stills to operate, thereby ushering in the modern era of Scotch production. Two events helped to increase whisky’s popularity: first, the introduction in 1831 of the column still; the whisky produced with this process was generally less expensive to produce and also less intense and smoother, because a column still can perform the equivalent of multiple distillation steps in a continuous distillation process. Second, the phylloxera bug destroyed wine and cognac production in France in 1880.

As of 23 November 2009, the Scotch Whisky Regulations 2009 (SWR) define and regulate the production, labelling, packaging as well as the advertising of Scotch whisky in the United Kingdom. They replace previous regulations that focused solely on production. International trade agreements have the effect of making some provisions of the SWR apply in various other countries as well as in the UK. The SWR define “Scotch whisky” as whisky that is:

• Produced at a distillery in Scotland from water and malted barley (to which only whole grains of other cereals may be added) all of which have been:
  • Processed at that distillery into a mash
  • Converted at that distillery to a fermentable substrate only by endogenous enzyme systems
    Fermented at that distillery only by adding yeast
  • Distilled at an alcoholic strength by volume of less than 94.8% (190 US proof)

  >li>Wholly matured in an excise warehouse in Scotland in oak casks of a capacity not exceeding 700 litres (185 US gal; 154 imp gal) for at least three years

• Retaining the colour, aroma, and taste of the raw materials used in, and the method of, its production and maturation
• Containing no added substances, other than water and plain (E150A) caramel colouring
• Comprising a minimum alcoholic strength by volume of 40% (80 US proof)

A Scotch whisky label comprises several elements that indicate aspects of production, age, bottling, and ownership. Some of these elements are regulated by the SWR, and some reflect tradition and marketing. The spelling of the term “whisky” is often debated by journalists and consumers. Scottish, Australian and Canadian whiskies use “whisky”, Ireland whiskies use “whiskey”, while United States of America and other styles vary in their spelling of the term.

The label always features a declaration of the malt or grain whiskies used. A single malt Scotch whisky is one that is entirely produced from malt in one distillery. One may also encounter the term “single cask”, signifying the bottling comes entirely from one cask. The term “blended malt” signifies that single malt whisky from different distilleries are blended in the bottle. The Cardhu distillery also began using the term “pure malt” for the same purpose, causing a controversy in the process over clarity in labelling — the Glenfiddich distillery was using the term to describe some single malt bottlings. As a result, the Scotch Whisky Association declared that a mixture of single malt whiskies must be labelled a “blended malt”. The use of the former terms “vatted malt” and “pure malt” is prohibited. The term “blended malt” is still debated, as some bottlers maintain that consumers confuse the term with “blended Scotch whisky”, which contains some proportion of grain whisky.

The brand name featured on the label is usually the same as the distillery name (for example, the Talisker Distillery labels its whiskies with the Talisker name). Indeed, the SWR prohibit bottlers from using a distillery name when the whisky was not made there. A bottler name may also be listed, sometimes independent of the distillery. In addition to requiring that Scotch whisky be distilled in Scotland, the SWR require that it also be bottled and labelled in Scotland. Labels may also indicate the region of the distillery (for example, Islay or Speyside).

Alcoholic strength is expressed on the label with “Alcohol By Volume” (“ABV”) or sometimes simply “Vol”. Typically, bottled whisky is between 40% and 46% ABV. Whisky is considerably stronger when first emerging from the cask–normally 60—63% ABV. Water is then added to create the desired bottling strength. If the whisky is not diluted before bottling, it can be labelled as cask strength.

A whisky’s age may be listed on the bottle providing a guarantee of the youngest whisky used. An age statement on the bottle, in the form of a number, must reflect the age of the youngest whisky used to produce that product. A whisky with an age statement is known as guaranteed age whisky. Scotch whisky without an age statement may, by law, be as young as three years old. In the early 21st century, such “No age statement” whiskies became more common, as distilleries responded to the depletion of aged stocks caused by improved sales. A label may carry a distillation date or a bottling date. Whisky does not mature once bottled, so if no age statement is provided, one may calculate the age of the whisky if both the distillation date and bottling date are given.

Labels may also carry various declarations of filtration techniques or final maturation processes. A Scotch whisky labelled as “natural” or “non-chill-filtered” has not been through a filtration process during bottling that removes compounds that some consumers see as desirable. Whisky is aged in various types of casks–and often in used sherry or port casks–during distinct portions of the maturation process, and will take on characteristics, flavour and aromas from such casks. Special casks are sometimes used at the end of the maturation process, and such whiskies may be labelled as “wood finished”, “sherry/port finished”, and so on.

There are two basic types of Scotch whisky, from which all blends are made:

• Single malt Scotch whisky means a Scotch whisky produced from only water and malted barley at a single distillery by batch distillation in pot stills.
• Single grain Scotch whisky means a Scotch whisky distilled at a single distillery but, in addition to water and malted barley, may involve whole grains of other malted or un-malted cereals. “Single grain” does not mean that only a single type of grain was used to produce the whisky–rather, the adjective “single” refers only to the use of a single distillery (and making a “single grain” requires using a mixture of grains, as barley is a type of grain and some malted barley must be used in all Scotch whisky).

Excluded from the definition of “single grain Scotch whisky” is any spirit that qualifies as a single malt Scotch whisky or as a blended Scotch whisky. The latter exclusion is to ensure that a blended Scotch whisky produced from single malt(s) and single grain(s) distilled at the same distillery does not also qualify as single grain Scotch whisky.

Three types of blends are defined for Scotch whisky:

• Blended malt Scotch whisky means a blend of two or more single malt Scotch whiskies from different distilleries.
• Blended grain Scotch whisky means a blend of two or more single grain Scotch whiskies from different distilleries.
• Blended Scotch whisky means a blend of one or more single malt Scotch whiskies with one or more single grain Scotch whiskies.

The five Scotch whisky definitions are structured in such a way that the categories are mutually exclusive. The 2009 regulations changed the formal definition of blended Scotch whisky to achieve this result, but in a way that reflected traditional and current practice: before the 2009 SWR, any combination of Scotch whiskies qualified as a blended Scotch whisky, including for example a blend of single malt Scotch whiskies.

As was the case under the Scotch Whisky Act 1988, regulation 5 of the SWR 2009 stipulates that the only whisky that may be manufactured in Scotland is Scotch whisky. The definition of manufacture is “keeping for the purpose of maturation; and keeping, or using, for the purpose of blending, except for domestic blending for domestic consumption”. This provision prevents the existence of two “grades” of whisky originating from Scotland, one “Scotch whisky” and the other, a “whisky — product of Scotland” that complies with the generic EU standard for whisky. According to the Scotch Whisky Association, allowing non-Scotch whisky production in Scotland would make it difficult to protect Scotch whisky as a distinctive product.

Single grain

The majority of grain whisky produced in Scotland goes to make blended Scotch whisky. The average blended whisky is 60%—85% grain whisky. Some higher-quality grain whisky from a single distillery is bottled as single grain whisky.

Blended malt

Blended malt whisky–formerly called vatted malt or pure malt (terms that are now prohibited in the SWR 2009)–is one of the least common types of Scotch: a blend of single malts from more than one distillery (possibly with differing ages). Blended malts contain only malt whiskies–no grain whiskies–and are usually distinguished from other types of whisky by the absence of the word “single” before “malt” on the bottle, and the absence of a distillery name. The age of the vat is that of the youngest of the original ingredients. For example, a blended malt marked “8 years old” may include older whiskies, with the youngest constituent being eight years old. Johnnie Walker Green Label and Monkey Shoulder are examples of blended malt whisky. Starting from November 2011, no Scotch whisky could be labelled as a vatted malt or pure malt, the SWR requiring them to be labelled blended malt instead.

Blended

Blended Scotch whisky constitutes about 90% of the whisky produced in Scotland.[19] Blended Scotch whiskies contain both malt whisky and grain whisky. Producers combine the various malts and grain whiskies to produce a consistent brand style. Notable blended Scotch whisky brands include Bells, Dewar’s, Johnnie Walker, Whyte and Mackay, Cutty Sark, J&B, The Glenturret, Ballantine’s and Chivas Regal.

Scotland was traditionally divided into four regions: The Highlands, The Lowlands, The Isle of Islay, and Campbeltown. Due to the large number of distilleries found there, the Speyside region is now also recognized by the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) as a distinct region. The whisky-producing Islands other than Islay are not recognised as a distinct region by the SWA, which groups them into the Highlands region.

The Lowlands

The southernmost region of Scotland. There are 5 distilleries that remain in operation: Auchentoshan, Bladnoch, Glenkinchie, Annandale and Ailsa Bay from the Girvan Distillery plus two more–Daftmill and Kingsbarns–are currently pending their first releases.

Speyside

Speyside gets its name from the River Spey, which cuts through this region and provides water to many of the distilleries. It has the largest number of distilleries, which includes: Aberlour, The Balvenie, Cardhu, Cragganmore, Dalwhinnie{/Cpl], [Cpl]Glenfarclas, Glenglassaugh, Glenfiddich, Speyburn, The Macallan, The Glenlivet, and The Glenrothes.

Encompassing the area surrounding the River Spey in north-east Scotland, once considered part of the Highlands, has almost half of the total number (approx. 105 as of 2013) of distilleries in Scotland within its geographic boundaries; consequently it is officially recognized as a distinct region.

The Highlands

The Highlands is by far the largest region in Scotland both in area and in whisky production. Some Highland distilleries: Aberfeldy, Balblair, Ben Nevis, The Dalmore, Glen Ord, Glenmorangie, Oban, Glendronach, Old Pulteney and Tomatin.

The Islands, an unrecognised sub-region includes all of the whisky-producing islands (but excludes Islay): Arran, Jura, Lewis, Mull, Orkney, and Skye: with their respective distilleries: Arran, Jura, Abhainn Dearg, Tobermory, Highland Park and Scapa, and Talisker.

Campbeltown

Campbeltown once home to over 30 distilleries, currently has only three distilleries operating: Glen Scotia, Glengyle, and Springbank.

Islay

Islay /ˈaɪlə/: has eight producing distilleries: Ardbeg, Bowmore, Bruichladdich, Bunnahabhain, Caol Ila, Kilchoman, Lagavulin, and Laphroaig.

Although only five regions are specifically described, any Scottish locale may be used to describe a whisky if it is distilled entirely within that place; for example a single malt whisky distilled on Orkney could be described as Orkney Single Malt Scotch Whisky instead of as a Highland whisky.