A “National Scotch Day” in America seems like a contradiction in terms, but this “holiday” is more about drinking Scotch than making it.
Technically, by law, whisky can only be called “Scotch” if it is distilled in Scotland according to a specific set of rules. [It is generally spelled “whiskey”— with an e — if it is made in the United States and Ireland. It is spelled “whisky” — without the e — if made in Scotland.]
According to the UK website “Metro,” the difference in the spelling comes from differences in the Scottish and Irish Gaelic forms. The Scots spell it whisky and the Irish spell it whiskey, with an extra ‘e’. This difference in the spelling comes from the translations of the word from the Scottish and Irish Gaelic forms. Whiskey with the extra ‘e’ is also used when referring to American whiskies. This ‘e’ was taken to the United States by the Irish immigrants in the 1700s and has been used ever since.
However, this doesn’t mean that single malt whisky can’t be made anywhere else, nor that it can’t “compete” against Scottish Scotch in international tasting tastes. Indeed, to the consternation of Scots, in 2014 a leading whisky critic ranked a Japanese single malt as No. 1. The Washington Post reported that Jim Murray awarded “World Whiskey of the Year” to the Yamazaki Single Malt Sherry Cask 2013, giving it a score of 97.5 out of 100. According to the Post, Murray “described it as a drink of ‘near incredible genius’ with a taste ‘thick, dry, as rounded as a snooker ball.’”
Similarly, Murray praised the 2018 “World’s Best Single Malt,” The Hakushu Single Malt Whisky aged 25 years, also from Japan, as “a malt which is impossible not to be blown away by.” Japan even came in first in the “Best Blended Malt” category, with its Taketsuru 17-Year-Old whiskey.
The New York Times explains the difference between single malt and blended whisky:
“Single malt is simply whisky made from only water and malted barley at a single distillery. In Scotland, single malts are distinguished from blended Scotch, the province of familiar names like Johnnie Walker, Dewar’s and Chivas Regal, which are a blend of one or more single malts with whiskies distilled from other grains. Another category, blended malt Scotch, which used to be called vatted malts, is a blend of two or more single malts.”
Yamazaki, the maker of the winning single malt whiskey in 2014, is Japan’s oldest distillery, founded in 1923 and now owned by Suntory, the world’s third-largest distiller that also bought Jim Beam. Making matters worse, the Post cited Ron Taylor, a Scottish spirit judge who claims to be a “nonpartisan” drinker, as saying that it’s no surprise a Japanese whiskey won. Comparing the whiskeys of the two countries to cars, he says Japanese single malts are like a Lexus: “beautifully crafted, no vibration, smooth, consistent and always pleasant.” Think of Scottish whiskeys, on the other hand, like Maseratis: “They’ll knock you around and slap you around the face a little bit.”
So if these Japanese malts keep winning, why can’t they be called “scotches”?
This definition is not only traditional, it is enshrined by law. Laws regulating scotch whisky have been on the books in the U.K. since 1909 and recognized in the European Union since 1989. The Scotch Whisky Regulations 2009 expanded the scope of previous legislation from not only governing the way in which Scotch Whisky must be produced, but how Scotch Whiskies must be labelled, packaged and advertised, as well as requiring Single Malt Scotch Whisky to be wholly matured and bottled in Scotland.
(Note: This flow chart is very basic and doesn’t show all possible categories of scotches. There is also a difference among aficionados, for example, between single cask whiskies and cask strength whiskies. You can read more about the distinctions here.)
Furthermore, the law goes the other way as well, providing that “The only type of whisky which may be produced in Scotland is Scotch Whisky.” (There are a number of other complex requirements; you can read them here.) An amendment just added in 2019 expanded the range of casks permitted to be used to mature scotch.
The regulations also specify other differences between whiskeys make in Scotland and elsewhere, including the size and shape of distilleries, the use of peat in Scotland to dry the malted barley, the use of barley itself and the “terroir” itself in which the barley grows. (“Terroir” is the set of all environmental factors that affect a crop’s qualities, and that lend it its character, from type of soil to water conditions, etc. Even water alone can affect taste, which is why New York claims its bagels are different from all other bagels. And speaking of water, is it true you need to add a drop to your glass of scotch to release the flavor notes?)
If you read a lot of detective books, you will no doubt be familiar with one of the most famous of Scotch whiskys, Laphroaig (pronounced ‘La-froyg’, from a Gaelic word meaning “the beautiful hollow by the broad bay.”) Laphroaig is made on the remote island of Islay in the Western Isles of Scotland, where the distinctive peat is said to give Laphroaig its rich flavor.
starwars pic from
scotchtrooper-blog.com
This single malt is a favorite of Peter Robinson’s Yorkshire Inspector Alan Banks, Ian Rankin’s Edinburgh detective John Rebus, and even Barry Eisler’s free-lance hit-man John Rain. Other whiskeys also soak the pages of fiction, from Loch Lomond, the Scotch whisky consumed by Captain Haddock in Hergé’s famous comic book series The Adventures of Tintin, to the many brands of scotch (mostly American) consumed by James Bond, to even a fictional scotch you will see in the movie Pulp Fiction, in which the character played by John Travolta drinks a creation by the director, McCleary Blended Scotch Whisky.
So how to “celebrate” National Scotch Day? I’m not much of a scotch drinker – okay, I think it tastes like face cleaner, not that I would know, but anyway, but I have had Scotch Fudge. I was afraid to try it at first, but the word “fudge” won me over, and I found it is very good indeed, and a perfect way to mark the day!
There are a number of recipes you can find on google – this one seems good.
You can also buy it online already made, such as this tin of scotch fudge from Edradour. Edradour is the smallest traditional distillery in Scotland, dating back to 1825. You can read more about this distillery here.
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