Scotch whisky whisky" is any spirit that qualifies as a single malt Scotch whisky or as a blended Scotch whisky. The latter exclusion is to ensure that a blended Scotch whisky produced from single malt(s) and single grain(s) distilled at the same distillery does not also qualify as single grain Scotch whisky. Three types of blends are defined for Scotch whisky: The five Scotch whisky definitions are structured in such a way that the categories are mutually exclusive. The 2009 regulations changed the formal definition of blended Scotch whisky to achieve this result, but in a way that reflected traditional and current
Straight whiskey water, cordial, or other mixer. Thus, in bartending terminology, "straight" is typically synonymous with "neat". The core aging requirement that defines a whiskey as "straight" is if the distillate has spent at least two years stored in charred new oak barrels, except corn whiskey which must use uncharred or used oak barrels. The spirit mellows in this time and penetrates the wood, extracting many of the flavor compounds and caramelized wood sugars. A straight whiskey that has been aged less than four years is required to be labeled with an age statement describing the actual age of the product. Other