Malt whisky whisky regulations require malt whisky to be made in pot stills using water and malted barley without the addition of any other cereals, and the whisky must be aged for at least three years in oak casks. The use of new barrels is not required. Caramel coloring can be added, but no other additives are allowed. Irish whiskey regulations are almost identical to Scotch regulations. Malt whiskey must be distilled in a pot still from a mash of 100% malted barley, which may be peated or unpeated in character, although unpeated malt is typically used. All Irish whiskeys must be
Blended malt whisky using a corn mash). In practice, unless a different grain is specifically mentioned, a "malt" whisky is assumed to be made from barley. In the case of Scotch whisky, blended malts do not contain any whisky made from grains other than barley or spirits distilled using continuous distillation, unlike products labelled as "blended whisky". For the Scotch whisky industry, the terms "vatted malt" or "pure malt" have been reclassified as "blended malts" per the Scotch Whisky Regulations of 2009, and it has become unlawful to label Scotch Whisky using the prior terminology. When an age statement appears on the label