Single malt Scotch Single malt Scotch Single malt Scotch is single malt whisky made in Scotland. To be a single malt scotch the whisky must have been distilled at a single distillery using a pot still distillation process and made from a mash of malted barley. As with any Scotch whisky, a single malt Scotch must be distilled in Scotland and matured in oak casks in Scotland for at least three years and one day. (Most single malts are matured longer.) Until the Scotch Whisky Regulations 2009 (SWR 2009), the word "blended" only appeared (in the context of Scotch whisky) on bottles of
Cask strength on storage conditions. Scotch whisky is typically aged in used barrels, and due to the relatively cool climate in Scotland, the proof level typically stays the same or goes down during maturation. In contrast, American bourbon whisky is produced using new barrels, and storage conditions in Kentucky and Tennessee where nearly all of it is produced allow the proof levels to rise during aging. The vast majority of whisky bottled has been watered down to about 40–46% ABV, although some whiskies marketed for whisky enthusiasts are bottled at proof levels all the way up to cask strength. In the United