While sipping your favorite spirit, have you ever wondered about the difference between scotch and whiskey?
Many people fail to understand the difference between the two. While there are many similarities between the two, each has manufacturing practices that make them different.
Scotch vs Whiskey
The main difference between scotch and whiskey is that Whiskey is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from different types of grains like barley, corn, and wheat, etc. Whiskey is produced all around the world. Scotch is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from only water and malted barley. Scotch just as the name suggests is produced in Scotland.
Comparison Table Between Scotch and Whiskey (in Tabular Form)
Parameter of Comparison | Whiskey | Scotch |
---|---|---|
Manufacturing origin | Manufactured all around the world. | Manufactured in Scotland. |
Grains used | Made from Barley, corn, wheat, rye. | Made from water and malted barley. |
Uniqueness | Sugar Maple Charcoal is used to filter Tennessee Whiskey. Unpeated Malt is a unique ingredient used in the Irish Whiskey. | The barley grain is malted by the manufacturers before the fermenting process to turn the scratch into sugar. This is the main reason behind scotch having a smooth flavor. |
Price | Price varies depending on the brands and age of the beverage, whiskey is generally cheaper than Scotch. | Price varies depending on the brands and age of the beverage, Scotch is generally expensive than Whiskey. |
Maturation | Matured in American White oak. | Matured in European oak. |
What is Scotch?
Scotch is a whiskey manufactured in Scotland. It is made from grain usually from barley and water. Scots take pride in their whiskey, and they have rules and quality standards in place to produce the best beverage in the world.
Scotch whiskey regulations have laid down the guidelines for the entire production process of the Scottish whiskey. As per the regulation, scotch is aged for a minimum of three years, though it is usually aged for a period between 12 and 25 years.
Scotch usually has a more intense flavor than all the other whiskeys around the world. This is mainly because of strict quality control in place and because it is fermented by using only yeast, no other grains or substances are used in the fermentation process.
Scotch is commonly distilled twice and is usually made from Barley. Single malt wins most of the market share but blends are also popular among the people and manufactured from a mash of malted grains.
Whiskey is the category in which many alcohol beverages drinks like scotch, bourbon fall. All the scotches are whiskey but not all the whiskey is scotch.
Whiskey is a distilled alcoholic beverage that is made from grains. It is made from wheat, corn, Barley, malted barley and rye. The grains are soaked in hot water to ensure that all the sugar is released, then yeast is added so that the sugar is fermented to alcohol. Finally, the liquor is distilled and aged in the barrels.
Tennessee Whiskey is distilled in the state of Tennessee and it is made from corn. It is usually believed that corn is a vegetable, however, it is a grain and thus distilled liquor made from corn meets the definition of whiskey.
Irish whiskey is made in Ireland. Different types of grains are used in the production of Irish whiskey but the Alcohol must be less than 94.8% and the whiskey must be aged for at least three years in the barrels.
Like scots, the Irish take pride in their whiskey. The market for Irish whiskey has grown in recent years. A decade ago there were only three distilleries in Ireland thanks to the increase in demand in recent years it has grown to sixteen.
Canadian whiskey, as the name indicates, is made in Canada. It is primarily made from corn but the manufacturers add a small quantity of rye in the mash. It is often confused with the rye whiskey distilled in the United States.
Conclusion
A glass of whiskey after a tough week is having a moment. But with so many different types of whiskeys available in the market, it is important to know the basic difference between them.
To summarize scotch is a form of whiskey produced in Scotland. It is manufactured under strict quality controls and certain laws are in place that must be followed during the production process.
According to many people, Scotch is the finest form of whiskey. It is usually expensive than other forms of whiskey. There is one thing common among all types of whiskeys produced all around the globe that they are made from grains.
References
- https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2005/an/b415422c
- https://www.bostonapothecary.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Changes-in-Whiskey-While-Maturing-1.pdf