vatted malt or single

by **Frank D.Scott** » Tue Jun 04, 2002 1:20 pm

If you vat various age statements of the same single malt, is it considered a vatted or a single malt whisky?

by **Ize** » Tue Jun 04, 2002 1:29 pm

Vatted malt.

by **lexkraai** » Tue Jun 04, 2002 2:00 pm

Sorry to disagree Ize, but as long as the different ages come from the same distillery, the end product is still a single malt. All the whisky comes from the same distillery and that's the criterion for being a 'single'.

Cheers, Lex

by **Ize** » Wed Jun 05, 2002 5:10 am

Ah, every day you learn something new.

This far I have thought that single malt really comes from the very same lot.

Well, then what is vatted malt?

Kippis,
Ize

[This message has been edited by Ize (edited 05 June 2002).]

by **lexkraai** » Wed Jun 05, 2002 6:38 am

Hi Ize

A vatted malt is pure malt whisky, but coming from more than one distillery. Think of Eleuthera for instance, containing whiskies from Caol Ila and Clynelish. Think of Gordon & MacPhail's "Pride of ..." series.

Cheers, Lex

by **St.Peat** » Wed Jun 05, 2002 6:58 am

Hello, Ize --

A vatted malt is comprised of two or more single malts. By legal definition it can only contain malts that are themselves the product of one distillery (each 'single malt' may be from another distillery), whether or not the component whiskies are single-cask versions. The process is often called 'blending', but the end product is only a 'blended malt' if it also contains grain whisky.

The verb 'vat' and its conjugations are often used to describe the process by which a distillery will 'blend' their own whiskies to produce a particular expression. They combine whisky of various ages and barrel finishes to achieve consistency of taste, nose, and/or color.

Thankfully, Scotch Whisky is governed by law ... eventually the fog around terms and such lifts and all becomes clear

Cheers!

PS -- Lex, looks like I cross-posted with you

When I wrote this no one had replied yet. Greetings!

[This message has been edited by St.Peat (edited 05 June 2002).]

by **Ize** » Wed Jun 05, 2002 7:29 am

Thanks for the information!

Although I already Googled out this link before these answers, but thanks anyway.

http://math-www.uni-paderborn.de/~andi/Whisky/glossary.shtml

Kippis,
Ize