When one thinks of the qualities of a whisky is it not true to say that it is the flavour that enjoys most, if not all, of our attentions? Of course, being a drink other than water, we are consuming it for pleasure, not out of necessity, although a few people will give strong arguments that a life without pleasure is no life at all. As we sip, savour and swallow, the primary essence of the dram is certainly its taste. However, without a nose we would taste nothing!

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In his first three articles Steve talked about the differences between malt and grain whisky, how they can be combined and how their smell affects us. I would like to pick up the pen and first have a look at what whiskies offer our other senses.
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Stephen Penman is our expert on scotch whisky

Scotch whisky may be the world’s favourite spirit, but to many, it is rather confusing as to what Scotch whisky actually is. We regularly hear of malt whisky and blended whisky but what exactly are they, and what are the differences between them? In fact when we refer to a ‘blended whisky’ we are talking about a marriage between two different spirits: malt whisky and grain whisky. It is important in talking about whisky that the fundamental differences between them are understood. So let’s start with what is often referred to as ‘the real stuff’, Scotch malt whisky. Read the rest of this entry »

Stephen Penman is our expert on scotch whisky

In my first article on whisky in Lothian Life, I differentiated between the three different kinds of Scotch whisky that are produced. These are malt whisky, made using malted barley in a pot still, grain whisky, made from grains such as wheat and corn in a continuous still, and blended whisky, a combination of malts and grains. Here I’m going to look a little further at each type.
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