1970 Gordon & MacPhail Speymalt- Macallan 42 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky. Sherry Cask Aged

1970 Gordon & MacPhail Speymalt- Macallan 42 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky. Sherry Cask Aged

Terroir and topography 

The topography of the Highlands is vastly different from that of southern Scotland, being far more rugged, hilly and remote and, as such, more historically suited to the production of whisky. When excise taxes were introduced in the 17th Century for whisky distillation, producers began to make whisky illegally, and building distilleries in the inaccessible land in the Highlands made concealment from the authorities easier.

The soft, mineral-rich water filtered through the ancient bedrock and the cold, damp climate helped the situation as well, and the Highlands has since become one of the key whisky-producing regions of the country.

Subregions of the Highlands

Roughly speaking, the Highlands can be divided into four areas:

• The Northern Highlands includes the area north of Inverness, where the whiskies tend to be rich and powerful, with fruit and smoke
• characters and a distinctive brininess.
• The Western Highlands are closely aligned with the whisky regions of the Islands and the whiskies made here are heavily peated, with a maritime influence.

Production process

The malting process takes place at the very start of the production process. First, barley is soaked in water prior to turning on a malting floor (see picture). It is then dried in a kiln, which catalyzes and then abruptly halts germination, releasing the starch in the grain.

During kilning, peat fires are sometimes lit beneath the barley, which is an important factor in the flavor of the finished spirit: peat is a partially decomposed layer of vegetation extracted from boggy ground, which, when burned, gives the barley smoky, salty characters that translate into the finished whisky.

The malted barley is then heated in a mash tun with hot water, converting the starch into fermentable sugars and producing a sweet liquid known as wort. Yeast is added to the wort to start fermentation, resulting in the production of a beer-like liquid of around eight percent alcohol.

• The Southern and Eastern Highlands are closer in style to the whiskies of the Lowlands, being more delicate and fruity.
• Speyside, east of Inverness, is considered a region in its own right, although producers from this area may choose to label their whisky as either Speyside or Highlands. 

Typical flavors of Highland whisky 

The vast size of the area makes it difficult to generalize about the style of whisky made here, which ranges from powerful, rich and full-bodied in the north and west to lighter, sherried and more delicate in the south and east. Commonly found descriptors of a Highland single malt are a spectrum of fruity and honeyed to smokey, spicy, and robust.  

Distilleries found along the northern coast will have a cubtle briny or salty character although not as prominent as malts from the Islands. 

Alongside Islay, the Highlands is one of the biggest regions for producing peated malt whiskies with heavily peated, full-bodied selections having more of a pine forest spectrum of flavors. Historically, peat was a fuel source to dry barley at the end of the malting process, however, modernization has made this process redundant. 

Single Malt Whisky / Whiskey

This arguably the finest expression of whisky, made at a single distillery from malted barley, water and yeast. The style is produced in Japan, Ireland and most importantly (and famously) in Scotland. Indeed, single malt Scotch whisky is highly collectable and is easily one of the world’s most sought-after and revered liquids, with many examples held in equal esteem with the world’s top wines.

In addition, an increasing number of American craft producers have single malt whiskeys in their portfolio. The American Single malt Whiskey Commission was founded in 2016, and defined the category for distilleries in the USA; as of July 2018 the commission’s membership had reached 100. However at this time the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau had yet to officially recognize the term.

Use of oak

While there may be some terroir factors associated with the distillery location and the environment within the buildings, it is the shape and size of the stills and number of distillations which is usually regarded as having the most significant effect on a young whiskey. Thereafter many other characteristics can be laid over this core character through aging in oak barrels.

Single malt Scotch whiskies age in oak casks for an extended amount of time; mostly between eight and 20 years, but sometimes as long as 50-80 years. Oak maturation helps to soften the harsher edges of the spirit, while imparting its own flavors and allowing these to meld with flavors already present in the whisky.

Blended / Vatted / Pure Malt Whisky

Blended or vatted malt whisky is a combination of two or more single malt whiskeys. In contrast, standard blended whiskey will include grain whisky. Not suprisingly given the components, a skilful blender can make a product that equals most single malts in terms of quality.

Pure Malt is a tricky term; it has now been phased out of use by the Scotch Whisky Association as usage was inconsistent between single and blended malts. The phrase still appears on Japanese whisky labels, but seems to be applied to both types of malt whiskey.