The Finest Single Malt Whiskies
The Best Whisky and Best Scotch for a Real Scottish New Year Toast
Scotland is famous for its whisky and for celebrating Hogmanay or New Year . Here's a guided tour of the very best of single malt whiskies to help you see in the New Year
How best to celebrate Hogmanay and bring in the New Year? Wherever you are, there only one drink with which to toast the end of old year and the coming of the new year, and that's through the medium of one Scotland's best known exports, whisky, and specifically the single malt whisky produced all around Scotland.
A single malt whisky is one produced at a single distillery in Scotland and, while much of that production goes into the blended whiskies that crowd onto the supermarket shelves, the single malt is the cream of the crop.
Each single malt is different and the expert can identify both distillery and year of bottling from the taste, colour and aroma. There are five broad families of malt whisky. They are the Highland malts, the Speyside malts, the Islay malts, the Cambletown malts and the Lowland malts. Each has its supporters.
The Highland and Speyside malts are sharper than their cousins from elsewhere in Scotland and give a type of taste expected by those whose only experience of whisky is of the blended type. Even here, there is a wide variety of subtle differences. The Highland malts, for instance, include both the honeyed Glenmorangie (pronounced with the emphasis on the second syllable should you care to ask for it), and the much dryer Admore and Macduff brands. Many will have come across the most popular of the Speyside malts, the Glenlivet, which is a little lighter than its Highland relatives.
There are fewer distilleries representing the Lowlands and Cambletown malts, but those who neglect them deny themselves much pleasure. For a taste of the former, try the fruity Glenkinchie, and for the latter, the rich Springbank. Both have long finishes.
Each of these single malts brings with it memories of the place where it was produced. The Highland malts are sharp, reminding the person fortunate enough to hold one in their hand of the mountains and glens in which the distilleries can be found. Speyside malts bring to mind the fast-flowing river and its tributaries along whose banks the nectar is brought forth from the barley. The Cambletown and Lowland malts reflect the richer, lush, pastures that abound in those areas.
Finally, there are the Islay malts. These are the whiskies that remind the drinker of the sea and of the peat that fuelled the blackhouses in which the population of the Island of Islay used to live. They are smooth and smoky with just a hint of sea-spray. The finest of all (in this writer’s opinion at least) are the Ardbegs which come from a distillery against whose walls the seas really do throw themselves at times of storm. The best of the Ardbegs were distilled in the 1970s and the decades before, and are the smokiest of all single malts. If found, they are to be treasured. For those who would prefer a less smoky experience (and one that is more easily purchased), the output of the Laphroaig (pronounced La-froyg with the emphasis on the first syllable and a long ‘oy’) distillery will repay a visit.
Scottish malt whiskies offer one of life’s great pleasures. They are to be savoured rather than consumed with a view to intoxication. They should be sipped. A single, small glass of malt whisky should last anything up to an hour. Most importantly, it should be drunk either on its own, poured straight from the bottle, or with a little water, but never, ever with a mixer. (Those wanting, say, a whisky and soda should use a blended whisky.) Both whisky and water should be at room temperature otherwise the aroma of the drink will be lost.
In Gaelic, whisky is called ‘uisege beatha’ or the ‘water of life’. Only by trying the single malts will the reason why that is the case become clear. Seeking that clarity is both pleasurable and also gives the drinker a remarkably good way of touring Scotland without leaving the comfort of their home.
It will also become clear to you why New Year celebrations were invented in Scotland, home of the world's finest whiskies.
