Abv (A.b.v.)/alcoholic strength –alcohol by volume. The percentage of the volume of the liquid that is alcohol. To be whisky, spirit must be bottled at at least 40% abv. Most whisky is made from raw spirit distilled to somewhere between 67%-94% abv, and usually watered down to somewhere in the 60-70% range before being casked. Evaporation will eventually reduce the strength over time (see angel’s share), however even at that, most whisky comes out of the cask at somewhere near 60% abv (outside of multiple decades of maturation). Unless the whisky is being bottled at cask strength, it is usually diluted again before bottling, usually to 50% abv, 46% abv, 45% abv, 43% abv, or 40% abv.

Active– When used in connection with the status of a distillery, active refers to a distillery that is currently working and producing new make spirit for maturation. It can include distilleries that are temporarily closed for repairs, cleaning, or a seasonal shut-down. When used in reference to casks, active refers to a cask that imparts an unusual degree of influence on the final spirit.

Age -The amount of time a whisky has spent in a cask or casks; the time between when the raw spirit has been distilled and put into a cask, and when the mature whisky is taken from a cask and bottled. Whisky is not considered to mature any further once it is bottled, so it ceases to age when it is placed in a bottle (arguably, there continue to be subtle changes, but they are considered to have a negligible effect on the character of the whisky). For this reason, a whisky distilled in 1970 and bottled in 2000 is still considered “30 year old whisky” in any subsequent year.

Age statement –Bottles are often labeled with an age statement, for example “12 years old”. The age listed on the label is the age of the youngest whisky in the bottle, and barring single cask or vintage expressions, does not preclude older–possibly much older–whisky being included. Because all Scotch whisky is legally required to be matured for at least three years, the lack of an age statement does not mean the spirit is not aged, it means that all the spirit in the bottle is at least three years old, and in many cases, older.

Angel’s Share –during cask maturation, a certain amount of liquid is lost to evaporation. This is called, poetically, the angel’s share. The exact amount and nature of the evaporation depends on ambient conditions; for example, in drier climates, more water tends to evaporate, leaving behind a more strongly alcoholic liquid, while humid climes see more evaporation of alcohol, gradually reducing the alcoholic strength of the contents. Over long periods of maturation, the angels will eventually claim both liquid volume and alcoholic potency, and left to do their work for too long, will lower the strength, or abv, below the threshold for the remaining liquid to legally be called whisky.

Barley -A cereal grain used in the production of beer and spirits. All Scottish malt whisky is made exclusively from malted barley.

Barrel –In general, a barrel is an enclosed wooden (usually oak) vessel made of curved planks called staves that are held in place by metal hoops. Either end of the barrel is enclosed by flat, circular wooden pieces called heads, and one of the staves has a hole called a bung, or bung-hole, for filling and emptying the barrel. In the Scotch whisky industry, cask is the more generic term and barrel refers specifically to American Standard Barrels (A.S.B.s) which have previously been used to mature American bourbon whiskey. A.S.B.s are charred or toasted on the inside prior to being used to mature bourbon, and can hold 200 liters of liquid.

Batch distillation –Distillation that is done in discrete batches, as opposed to continuously. Malt whisky made in Scotland is made by batch distillation. For batch distillation, wash is put into the pot of the still and boiled. The more concentrated alcohols rise as vapor up the neck of the still, where the lyne arm directs them to a condenser, which returns the vapor to liquid state as low wines. A second distillation in a spirit still then converts the low wines into spirit, for maturation. During the distillation run, certain undesirable alcohols (see cut) are removed and either discarded, or redistilled. In some instances, the spirit coming off the spirit still is distilled yet again to produce a purer and stronger spirit. 

Batch variation -The discernible changes in character between different batches of whisky that are nominally identical. Although personal tastes vary over time making even identical whiskies taste different on different occasions, it is also the case that changes in process, maturation, and other factors will mean that a 10 year old whisky from Distillery A bottled at 43% abv in 2004 will not necessarily taste exactly the same as a 10 year old whisky from Distillery A bottled at 43% abv in 2018. For core expressions, most brands attempt to minimize batch variation–as much as possible, Glenlivet, for example, strives to keep their core 12 year old expression tasting the same from year to year.

Ben -A Gaelic word for ‘mountain,’ used in several distillery names (e.g. Ben Nevis, a distillery named after the eponymous mountain which is the highest point in Britain).

Blend -A blended whisky. While the term technically applies to any sort of blend (see Blending), in practice, absent further qualification, a blend refers to a mixture of one or more malt whiskies with one or more grain whiskies.

Blender -A person or organization that is in the business of blending whisky, both to create blends of malt and grain whisky, but also to create many single malt whiskies. Many whisky firms employ a master blender, the person who is ultimately responsible for the creation of the products they send to market. For brands such as Johnnie Walker or Chivas, the master blender’s job is to select a slate of malt and grain whiskies to create a consistent and pleasing flavor profile. For single malt brands, the master blender selects different casks and vintages of their distillery’s malt whisky to create a vatting with desirable qualities, ranging from consistency, to pleasingness, to complexity, to interestingness. Blenders generally possess unusually acute sense of taste and smell, and also train extensively to cultivate those senses and parse the particular flavors and aromas found in whisky.

Blending -The practice of mixing whiskies from different sources or of different types together to create a blended whisky. Unless a whisky is designated as a single cask whisky, at least some degree of blending is involved. For a blended Scotch whisky, one or more (usually more than one) malt whiskies are blended with one or more grain whiskies. For a blended malt whisky, two or more different malt whiskies are blended together. Even in the world of single malt whisky, where all the whisky in question is the produce of a single distillery, most bottlings are blends of numerous different individual casks, often encompassing different ages and different types of cask. A person who guides the blending process is a blender. Most blenders have unusually attuned sense of taste, and especially smell, as well as extensive training and experience, allowing them to carefully select the most harmonious combinations of different casks or whiskies to produce a pleasing bottling.

Boom -A period of optimism and expansion in the whisky business, leading to expansion of markets, increased capacity in existing distilleries, and the creation of new distilleries. There have been three major boom periods–the later 19th century, as Scotch supplanted brandy as the preferred spirit due to the phylloxera blight that wiped out French grape production, post-World War II, as rising living standards and prosperity drove consumption, and the later 1990s-present, when a renewed interest in brown spirits has driven expanded demand.

Bottle -In earlier eras, whisky was likely often consumed straight from the cask (or even from the still!), however, outside of warehouse tours or master blenders, the vast majority of whisky today is consumed from bottles. Bottles are highly standardized; in Europe and the UK, the standard liquor bottle is 70cl, or 700ml, which is 70% of a liter. In the US, it is slightly larger at 75cl, and is commonly referred to as a fifth, a reference to earlier times when bottles were exactly one fifth of a gallon (75cl is very slightly less). Scotch whisky is also commonly, if less frequently bottled in full liter bottles (generally, but not exclusively, reserved for the travel retail sector), 20cl bottles, and 5cl bottles (sometimes called airline bottles). Bottle sizes–especially those considered standard–influence availability, since countries historically do not allow the import of bottles falling outside standard size. The US recently moved to allow the import for sale of 70cl bottles which, over time, should widen the availability of whiskies made outside of the US.

Bottle code– A code, usually a combination of letters and numbers, possibly including punctuation, that is either stamped or etched onto a bottle. The bottle code can include easily decipherable information such as dates and times, or it can be far more difficult for the average consumer to understand. Bottle codes uniquely designate the bottle. Bottle codes are a fairly recent innovation, and most older bottles do not have a bottle code.

Bottling -Both the process of putting whisky into bottles, and, more generally, numerous individual bottles that share a characteristic. For example, “the official 12 year old bottling of Cragganmore” refers to 12 year old bottles of Cragganmore, bottled by the distillery’s proprietor, over some indefinite period. On the other hand, “the 15 year old cask strength Signatory Cragganmore from 1998” probably refers to a very limited run of, at most, several hundred individual bottles from a highly specific time period.

Bourbon -A style of American whiskey distilled from a mash of grains consisting of at least 51% corn (maize), and matured in new, charred oak barrels. Bourbon is immensely important to the Scotch whisky industry, since bourbon barrels are the most commonly used casks for maturing Scotch whisky.

Burn -A small stream or creek. Distilling is a highly water-intensive practice, and many Scottish distilleries get their water from a burn.

Business -What whisky fundamentally is. While it’s romantic to imagine whisky producers being motivated in their craft by a simple desire to make a high-quality, artisanal product, using age old methods, the truth is that most distilleries are owned by large multinational corporations, and even those that aren’t exist to make a profit for their owners. It’s important to keep the business aspect of the whisky business in mind when deciphering trends in availability and distribution, and decisions to build new distilleries or shutter beloved old ones.

Bust -A period of pessimism and contraction in the whisky industry, driven by overspeculation and a collapse in demand relative to supply. There have been two catastrophic busts in the whisky industry, the Pattison crash at the end of the 19th century and the so-called “whisky loch” of the later 1970s and 1980s; both resulted in a complete stop to new distillery building and the mothballing or permanent closure of numerous existing distilleries.

Butt -A large cask that holds 600 liters of liquid that has previously been used to mature the fortified Spanish wine, sherry.

Campbeltown -A small port town near the southern tip of the Kintyre peninsula, which points toward Ireland from the southwestern Highlands. Although Campbeltown only has three distilleries currently in production, it is an official whisky region per the Scotch Whisky Association, largely due to its history–at one point, Campbeltown had as many as 20-30 active distilleries, and was rivaled only by Speyside for sheer concentration of distilleries.

Capacity -The amount of whisky a distillery can produce in one year, generally measured in liters of pure alcohol per year. In Scotland, malt whisky is produced via batch distillation, so capacity is generally affected both the raw capacity of the distillery’s equipment (how many liters the mash tun, washbacks, and stills can take), but also by how much of the time the distillery is run, and expected downtime for cleaning, maintenance, and holidays.

Cask -See Barrel. An enclosed wooden vessel used to mature raw spirit into whisky. The Scotch whisky industry uses oak casks of several types. American Standard Barrels (A.S.B.s) that have previously been used to mature American bourbon whiskey, and which hold 200 liters, are probably the most commonly used. Sherry butts, which hold 600 liters and have previously held sherry, were once the industry standard, and remain common. Hogsheads hold 300 liters and are created by disassembling barrels or butts and then reassembling the staves to form a new, slightly smaller or larger vessel. Scotch whisky is also sometimes matured in casks previously used to mature the Portuguese fortified wine, port (called port pipes), rum, cognac, or various wines. Sometimes much smaller, non-standard sized casks, such as quarter casks, are used, although this remains relatively uncommon.

Casking/filling -placing spirit into casks for maturation. Filling also has an alternate meaning of providing spirit for a blended whisky (see fillings). In some instances, maturing spirit can be transferred to another cask, usually either for finishing or due to a changed wood policy. Transferring maturing spirit to another cask is sometimes called “re-casking” or “re-racking”.

Cask strength -Whisky that has not been diluted/reduced from the alcoholic strength it had while maturing in a cask or casks. Obviously, whisky being sampled directly from a cask is at cask strength. Cask strength bottlings are bottlings of unreduced/undiluted whisky, often a single cask bottling, but can also be a vatting/blending of numerous casks. In terms of alcohol by volume (abv), cask strength is quite variable and depends on numerous factors such as the climate where the whisky has been maturing, the position of the cask within the warehouse in which it has matured, the cask being used, and of course, the length of maturation. Due to the angel’s share, whisky gradually loses volume and alcoholic strength over the course of its maturation, and will eventually fall below the minimum threshold of 40% abv necessary to be called whisky. Cask strength whiskies are usually around 60% abv, give or take, however very old whiskies may still be cask strength at only 41-42% abv.

Character -A overall term for the qualities of flavor, aroma, body and texture that a whisky possesses. 

Chill-filtration -The distillation of malt whisky produces certain fatty acids and esters along with higher alcoholic strength. These compounds can cause whisky to appear clouded when it is chilled or when water is added, and can cause a light sediment to form in the bottle. Because many consumers chill whisky either directly or with ice, and because cloudiness is considered undesirable, many distillers use a process known as chill-filtration to remove these compounds from the whisky prior to bottling. However, the compounds removed via chill-filtration may contribute to richer flavor in whisky. For this reason, many bottlings aimed at enthusiasts are not chill-filtered. Unless the label specifies that a whisky has not been chill-filtered, you can assume that it has been, although whiskies bottled at 46% abv or above are more likely to be un-chillfiltered. 

Closed -In reference to the status of a distillery, closed is a somewhat indefinite term for a distillery that is inactive, and covers anything from a distillery that is mothballed (i.e. could very easily reopen) to one that has been permanently shut down and even demolished. As of this writing, the Port Ellen distillery on Islay is closed, as it has been since the 1980s, however it is currently being refurbished and will recommence production sometime in 2023. The whisky industry is highly cyclic, and prone to boom and bust, and it is not uncommon for distilleries to be closed for many years as the result of a downturn only to suddenly get a new lease on life when the industry enters a boom period. 

Coloring -In most areas, and especially in Scotland, most additives are not allowed in whisky. The exception is the addition of neutral spirit caramel, which is used to standardize the color of whisky across a bottling, since the color picked up from maturation is highly variable. While spirit caramel supposedly has no impact on flavor, purists tend to be suspicious of any additives. Single malt whiskies aimed at knowledgeable enthusiasts are often labeled as “natural color”: this means that no artificial coloring has been added to the whisky. Unless a label specifies that no color has been added, you can assume that the whisky has been colored with spirit caramel.

Column still -A type of still that uses a system of rectifying plates arrayed horizontally across a vertical column to continuously distill wash into spirit. Column stills are far more efficient than pot stills because they do not need to distill in discrete batches and because they can distill to a much higher alcoholic strength. Column stills are widely used in whisky production (for example, most bourbon is made–at least partly–in column stills, and most Scottish grain whisky is distilled entirely in column stills), however, single malt Scotch whisky is distilled exclusively in pot stills.

Condenser -The component of a distillery that condenses the alcoholic vapors produced by the still back into liquid form. The most commonly used types of condensers used in malt whisky production are shell and tube condensers and worm tubs. Shell and tube condensers are used more commonly in modern distilling, however worm tubs are believed to produce a heavier, more characterful spirit.

Cooper -A skilled tradesman who constructs and modifies traditional wooden casks. A cooper works in a cooperage.

Cooperage -A facility for making and/or refurbishing or modifying wooden casks. A person working to make casks at a cooperage is called a cooper.

Copper -A very important element in traditional distillation, copper is the material used for pot stills and other important components in the distillation process. In addition to its conductive properties, copper has chemical interactions with the spirit it comes in contact with that helps to remove impurities and improve the flavor of the final spirit.

Core -In discussions of bottlings, a core bottling refers to a bottling that will be produced and widely distributed by the producer for many years with little change to the appearance and branding, the alcohol content, and minimized batch variation. The most widely accessible single malts are core bottlings–examples include Glenfiddich 12, The Glenlivet 12, Talisker 10, and many, many more.

Cut -The first spirit to run off a still during a distillation run is known as heads or foreshots, the last portion is known as feints or tails, while the spirit that runs during the middle portion of distillation is known as the heart of the middle. Both foreshots and feints contain compounds that can create undesirable flavors in large quantities. Moreover, foreshots contain potentially dangerous alcohols (i.e. methyl alcohol or methanol). The cut points are where the stillman begins collecting spirit after the initial foreshots and stops collecting spirit before the final feints. It is important to collect spirit at just the right point in the distillation run, capturing the entire heart of the run. In addition to the heart, some stillmen collect a portion of the feints, or even a small portion of the foreshots, for maturation, usually to provide character to the final spirit. In common whisky parlance, saying that a distillery has “wide cuts” means that the distillation allowed too many undesirable compounds into the final spirit and that the distillery has been favoring quantity over quality, while “narrow cuts” tends to mean that the distillery is discerning and careful in how they distill and is emphasizing quality spirit over raw economy. 

Cut point -The point in the distillation run at which the stillman begins collecting spirit for maturation or after which the stillman stops collecting spirit for maturation.

Dilution -Whisky typically undergoes two dilutions/reductions where water is added to reduce alcoholic strength. The first occurs after the spirit has been condensed and collected and before it is put into casks for maturation. Malt whisky is usually distilled to a strength of 67-72% abv, and is usually casked at somewhere in the mid-60s percent abv. When maturation is completed and the whisky is ready for bottling, it is usually diluted again prior to bottling, unless it is being bottled at cask strength. Although whisky can be bottled at any alcoholic strength from 40% abv to cask strength, typical bottling strengths are 40% abv, 43% abv, 46% abv, and 50% abv.

Distill -The process of producing a distilled liquid.

Distillate -The raw spirit produced by distillation.

Distillery -An industrial facility for converting some substance (grain, specifically malted barley for malt whisky) into highly alcoholic spirit. A malt whisky distillery consists of the following major components: a grist mill, which grinds malted barley into a starchy grist; a mash tun, which extracts fermentable sugars from the starch in the grist by running hot water over it to produce wort; a washback, in which yeast is added to the wort allowing it to ferment over the course of hours or days into a mildly alcoholic liquid called wash (sometimes called distiller’s beer, or just beer); pot stills, where the wash is distilled into low wines of around 20-30% alcohol and the low wines are redistilled into spirits of around 62-72% alcohol; a spirit safe, which allows the stillman to monitor the alcohols coming off the stills; and condensers, which convert vaporous spirit back into liquid form for casking and maturation. In theory, a distillery can operate with a single still; in practice, most distilleries have at least two, one dedicated to converting wash to low wines (the wash still), and one dedicated to converting low wines into spirit (the spirit, or occasionally, the low wines, still), and many distilleries have many more stills, usually operating in pairs. In the past, many distilleries also included an on-site maltings, where barley was malted and a kiln to dry the malted barley and arrest its germination. This is relatively uncommon now, although many distilleries still include the pagoda roof used for kilns as an architectural element.

Distillery status -While it can sometimes feel like distilleries are immemorial institutions that emerged from the mists of Scotland centuries ago and will remain producing whisky using the same ancient methods long after you and I have returned to dust, the truth is more complicated. Many distilleries currently operating began operation within the last century, and with the current whisky boom, quite a noticeable chunk of them are far more recent. And those are just the active distilleries! Over the years that whisky has been a sizable commercial enterprise, distilleries have come and gone. Some are lost in the mists of time, but others, such as Glenlochy, in Fort William and St. Magdalene in the Lowland town of Linlithgow operated for many years and only closed their doors relatively recently (the mid 1980s, for both of the ones mentioned). Working distilleries are all those distilleries that are more or less in operation at present (leaving room for occasional seasonal lulls in production, and for planned closures to replace, refurbish, or add major equipment. Mothballed distilleries are those closed for an indefinite period but that have enough of their distilling equipment intact that they could recommence production with relative ease and only minor refurbishment. Currently, there are no Scottish malt distilleries mothballed, but historically, distilleries have been mothballed quite frequently and sometimes for protracted periods. Closed distilleries are those that occupy a somewhat indefinite status, and can refer from anything between those that are merely mothballed, to those that have been completely demolished and been replaced with apartment blocks. Dismantled distilleries are those that still have intact buildings, but that have had most or all of their important distilling equipment removed. Still, they could theoretically resume production at some point with a careful and thorough refurbishment. Finally, the most definitively lost distilleries are those that have been demolished and/or repurposed. In these cases, not only is the distilling equipment gone, the buildings have been torn down or reused for wholly other purposes. It’s worth noting amidst all this that many distilleries with long and storied histories have been completely rebuilt at least once, and sometimes several times, over the course of their history, and many more have lain silent for many decades. 

Draff -Also called, “spent grain” the solid remnants of barley such as grain husks, etc., from which starch has been extracted. It is often recycled as cattle feed.

Drum maltings -An industrial malting method that uses and large metal cylinder to turn the germinating grain prior to kilning. Less labor intensive, if also less romantic, and far more efficient than the more traditional method of floor maltings.

Ethyl alcohol/ethanol -Drinkable alcohol.

Feints/tails -The last portion of the distillation run (see batch distillation) containing compounds which can produce undesirable flavors and aromas in the final spirit. For this reason, distillers usually stop collecting spirit for maturation prior to the end of the distillation run, although usually some portion of the feints are collected. “Feinty” is sometimes used to describe aromas or flavors in mature whisky, usually chemical or leather notes.

Fermentation -The natural process by which yeast consumes sugars to produce alcohol. In whisky distillation, fermentation takes place in vessels known as washbacks. The amount of time the fermenting worts are left in the washback has an effect on the character of the final spirit, and in the Scotch whisky industry different distilleries ferment for different amounts of time, generally ranging from 2-5 days, although there are outliers.

Fill -Scotch whisky is almost always matured in casks that have previously held something else, most frequently American bourbon whisky, but also sherry or other fortified wines, rum, wine, etc. Once a barrel has been used to mature Scotch once, it is often reused multiple times until the wood is exhausted. The first time Scottish spirit is filled into a cask, it is called a “first fill” cask. First fill casks, especially first fill ex-sherry or port casks, tend to exert a strong, or even an overpowering effect on the resultant whisky. Subsequent fillings of a cask are called a “refill” (occasionally, the number of the filling is listed, e.g. “second fill”). Refill casks generally have a more subtle effect on the resultant whisky, ideally allowing more pronounced distillery character to shine through the maturation. Very occasionally (it is becoming more common), new make Scottish spirit is filled into wood that hasn’t previously held another liquid. In this case, it is said to be filled into “virgin oak”.

Fillings -Whisky used as a component in a blend, usually one taking a background role in the flavor profile of the blend.

Floor maltings -A traditional method of malting barley whereby the barley is carefully spread across the floor of a large room and regularly turned by hand using a tool called a shiel. Floor maltings were once the norm in the whisky industry; now, only a handful of distilleries still use them at all, and even those that do get a sizable proportion of their malt from other sources, usually industrial-scale maltings.

Foreshots/heads -The first portion of the distillation run (see batch distillation). Like the feints, foreshots can contain undesirable flavors and aromas; however, they can also contain methyl alcohol/methanol, which turns to vapor at lower temperatures than its drinkable cousin ethanol and can, in sufficient quantities, cause toxicity leading to blindness, organ failure, and death. For reasons of both desirability of flavors and safety, distillers only collect spirit for maturation after some portion of the foreshots have passed.

Gaelic -A Celtic language, with distinctive dialects traditionally spoken in Scotland (Scots Gaelic) and Ireland (Irish Gaelic, or just Irish). Many distillery names are based on Scots Gaelic terms. 

Glen -Derived from the Gaelic “gleann” it refers to a narrow, and usually relatively short, valley. Numerous Scottish malt distilleries use the word as a prefix that specifies some particular glen. The Glen of Livet was sometimes facetiously referred to as “the longest glen in Scotland” or “the longest valley in Scotland” due to the practice of far-flung distilleries around Speyside and even somewhat beyond appending the word “Glenlivet” to their distillery’s name on account of the perceived quality of the whisky from The Glenlivet.

Grist mill -The part of the distillery plant where malted barley is ground into a substance suitable for mashing.

Grain whisky -Distinct from malt whisky, grain whisky is whisky made from cereal grains other than barley. In Scotland, grain whisky is generally made via the more industrial method of continuous distillation. 

Highlands -The more rugged, higher elevation lands in the northern portion of Scotland. For whisky-region purpose, if you draw an imaginary line roughly from east to west across Scotland, running roughly from a little north of Edinburgh to a little north of Glasgow, everything in the entire country north of that line–including most of the islands–is the Highlands. The Highlands is the largest and most geographically diverse whisky region in Scotland, compassing everything from Glengoyne, which lies a stone’s throw from Glasgow, to Wolfburn, in the north coast town of Thurso.

Hogshead -A cask, larger than a bourbon barrel but smaller than ex-fortified wine casks like butts or pipes. In the whisky industry, hogsheads are generally made by disassembling other types of casks and then reassembling the staves to form a new larger (in the case of bourbon) or smaller (in the case of sherry, etc) cask. 

Islands -An unofficial whisky-producing region (technically part of the Highlands) that includes the two distilleries on Arran, all the distilleries in the Hebrides excluding Islay, and the two Orkney distilleries.

Islay -An island in the Inner Hebrides (it is the most southwesterly of the group) lying west and slightly north of the Kintyre peninsula renowned for its distinctive and sought-after malts. Like Campbeltown, its regional designation is largely a function of the concentration of the distilleries there rather than geographic size or overall number of distilleries compared to other regions.

Kiln -A structure, part of a maltings, in which malted barley is dried, typically using either hot air or heat from burning peat. If peat is used, it will generally impart a smoky or sometimes a mineralic character to the finished whisky. Although relatively few Scottish malt distilleries have their own maltings anymore, many continue to have the characteristic pagoda roof associated with the malt kiln. The design allowed for good ventilation of the kiln and less intensity in the peat reek.

Loch -A sizable body of fresh, or in the case of sea lochs, salt water. More or less a Scottish Gaelic equivalent of ‘lake,’ although sea lochs are more similar to fjords.

Lowlands -The region in the south of Scotland, running south from the Highland line to the English border. Most of the population and industry in Scotland–including the country’s two major cities, Glasgow in the west and Edinburgh in the east–lies in the Lowlands. Never Scotland’s most famed region for malt whisky, the Lowlands reached a nadir in the 90s and early aughts with only two operating distilleries; they have since seen a malt whisky boom. The Lowlands are the only Scottish region where triple distillation–a common feature of Irish whiskey-making–has traditionally been widespread.

Low wines -The result of distilling wash a single time. Low wines in Scotch whisky distillation tend to be around 20-30% abv. The low wines are then distilled again (or sometimes twice more) to produce spirit, usually around 65-75% abv.

Lyne arm -The tube that carries vapors from the neck of the still to the condenser, where they are condensed back into liquid form.

Malt -Grain, typically barley, that has been allowed to partially germinate before it is dried to arrest further germination. Malting develops enzymes within the grain that help convert the grain’s starch into fermentable sugars. In the Scotch whisky industry, “malt” is synonymous with malted barley.

Maltings -A facility that processes raw grain into malt. For many years, most malt whisky distilleries in Scotland had a maltings onsite that malted all the barley necessary for the distillery’s output. Most distilleries now get their malt from centralized, industrial scale maltings that supply many distillers and even brewers. A handful of distilleries still malt some (or very rarely, all) of their own barley onsite, typically following highly traditional practices. The malting process demands that the partially germinated grain be dried, and in many parts of Scotland, the most readily available fuel for drying germinating barley was traditionally peat. Drying barley over burning peat imparted a characteristically smoky character to whiskies made from barley malted in this fashion, and although modern methods for malting barley don’t require the use of peat, a significant portion of malt is still prepared in this way–even at large, industrial maltings–expressly to get a smoky or peaty character in the whisky.

Mash bill -The grain or grains used to make wort. For malt whisky, the mash bill is always 100% malted barley. Other types of whisky (and especially whiskey!) have more various mash bills, although due to enzymatic properties, some small amount of barley malt is typically included in many mash bills.

Mash tun -The vessel in which mashing takes place. Mash tuns are usually made of steel or cast iron and are usually classified as traditional, Lauter, or semi-Lauter. The mash tun produces a liquid rich in fermentable sugars called wort, which is then sent to a washback for fermentation.

Mashing -The process of extracting fermentable sugars, especially maltose, from grains to create a malty liquid called wort. Mashing involves extracting sugars from the milled grains by adding heated water to them.

Maturation -A key stage in whisky-making in which new make spirit is allowed to rest for a period of months or years in oak casks. A significant portion of the flavor and character of whisky is developed through maturation. In Scotland, spirit must rest in oak casks for a minimum of 3 years before it can legally be called whisky.

Methyl alcohol/methanol -A dangerous form of alcohol that can cause blindness, organ failure, and, potentially, death when consumed in noticeable quantities. Because methanol changes state from liquid to vapor at a lower temperature than its near cousin ethanol, it is a by-product of the first part of a distillation run (known as heads, or foreshots).

Neck -Also known, rather more poetically, as a swan neck, the neck of a pot still is the portion of the still above the pot that channels alcoholic vapors upward to the lyne arm.

Oak -A type of tree, of the genus Quercus. Oak trees are widespread across the Americas and Eurasia. It is legally required that Scotch whisky be matured in casks made of oak wood, typically American or European oak. 

Peat -A soil composed of partially decayed organic (especially plant) matter; over geologic timescales, peat may eventually become coal. Peat is plentiful in Scotland and, when dried, it can be burned as fuel. Because of the relative scarcity of trees across large tracts of the Scottish Highlands, peat was the traditional source of fuel and was typically used during the kilning process to dry malted barley. Using burning peat for kilning imparted a variety of smoky flavors to the resultant spirit, depending on the type of peat being used. Although modern kilning can dry barley without using peat, peat fires are still used to impart flavor.

Phenol -Also known as carbolic acid, phenol is an aromatic compound that finds its way into malted barley through the barley being dried over burning peat. Phenols are measured in parts per million (ppm), and modern distillers typically measure the intensity of peat smoke in malted barley via phenol ppm, with unpeated malt having zero or negligible ppm phenols, lightly peated malt usually registering around 2-4ppm, medium peated malt around 15-16ppm, and heavily peated malt at 30-40ppm or in some cases much higher. Sometimes whiskies made from very highly peated malt are described as “phenolic”. 

Pot -The wide base section of a pot still, into which wash or low wines are pumped for distillation; that is, the portion of a pot still which holds liquid.

Pot still -A type of copper still used in batch distillation. For the production of single malt whisky in Scotland, only pot stills may be used. A pot still consists of a broad, rounded base, typically completely flat on the bottom, into which a charge of wash or low wines is introduced and then gradually boiled, using either direct fire (now uncommon) or indirect heat via steam coils or some similar. As the liquid in the still boils, vapors climb up the neck, or more poetically, the swan neck, of the still before being directed along the lyne arm, which runs typically at a slight downward angle, to a condenser which converts the vapors back into a liquid form. Pot stills come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and some have a constriction or a ball-shaped section (called a boil ball) in the neck just above the pot. A handful of distilleries have very unusual stills or configurations; Pulteney distillery has a still with a lyne arm that curves around in an unusual way, while Dalmore has several flat-topped stills. A handful of distilleries have what is known as a Lomond still, which has a straight neck to which rectifying plates (as in a column still) can be added, and a handful of distilleries have stills whose necks can be removed and interchanged with different shaped necks. As a general rule, smaller stills produce a heavier and more characterful spirit while larger stills produce a lighter, cleaner spirit, however, as with almost everything else in the Scotch whisky industry, there are many exceptions to the rule, and other factors such as the shape of the still, and the way the stillman runs it can lead to a still producing against type. 

Presentation -The packaging and design for a bottle of whisky, including the label, the cannister/box, etc. Also, commonly used to denote the technical aspects of the whisky, e.g. as in “natural presentation” which refers to whisky bottled without added color, chill-filtration, and generally at or above 46% abv.

Reduction -The process of adding still water to spirit (prior to casking) or whisky (prior to bottling) to lower its alcohol by volume (abv). See also dilution.

Saladin box -A now mostly obsolete method of malting barley using a long, rectangular metal container fitted with screws which serve to turn the germinating grain.

Scotch Whisky -A whisky, matured for at least 3 years in oak barrels, that has been distilled, matured, and bottled in Scotland.

Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) – The Scotch Whisky Association is a trade association that represents whisky producers and industry stakeholders, and helps to define terminology and shape legislation affecting the whisky business. 

Sherry -A fortified wine, originating from the region around the coastal Spanish city of Jerez (or Xeres), from whence, via Anglicisation, the term. Scotch whisky has been matured or finished in ex-sherry casks for many years, and although the practice is less common now than it once was, it remains prevalent. 

Single cask -A bottle that contains whisky from only one cask. Casks yield at most several hundred bottles, so a whisky bottled from a single cask is, by definition, rather particular.

Single malt whisky -A whisky made exclusively from malted barley and produced at a single distillery.

Small batch -A vague term used to dupe consumers into thinking they are buying a highly artisanal product. “Small batch” runs the gamut from “single cask” to “whatever we say it is”. 

Smoke -In describing Scotch whisky, smoke, or smokiness, is commonly used to describe whiskies that have been made using highly peated malt. “Smokiness” is often used as synonymous with “peatiness,” although this can sometimes be misleading, as subtle smoky flavors can sometimes manifest in unpeated whiskies, and peat can sometimes manifest as mineralic or medicinal flavors rather than as smokiness.

Sourced whisky -Sourced whisky is whisky from an unidentified distillery. It is usually identified by a brand not associated with any particular distillery, for example Lismore, Shieldaig, and so on. The brand owners source casks of whisky that are readily available, and likely cheap, and bottle them under the brand name, rather than under the distillery name. Highly experienced tasters may be able to discern the source distillery, however, iterative bottlings branded in the same way may come from other distilleries. In the world of single malt, many sourced whiskies identify region, which limits the possible source distiller.

Spirit -In general, any alcoholic beverage produced via distillation, including whisky. In the whisky industry, spirit is often used to distinguish the new make coming off the stills from the mature whisky that emerges months or years later from a cask. The new make that runs off the spirit still after final distillation is called “new make spirit,” “raw spirit” or just “spirit”. Usually around 65-75% abv (sometimes marginally lower or higher in strength), it is not technically whisky–at least in Scotland–until it has spent at least 3 years maturing in an oak cask.

Spirit safe -Also called the intermediate spirits receiver, the spirit safe is an enclosed, typically locked, device used in Scotch whisky distilling. Glass windows in the safe allow the stillman to observe and control the liquid flowing through the safe, which is important in deciding cut points in a run. Via the spirit safe, the stillman directs the liquid coming off the stills for redistillation, collection as new make, or waste. The lock on the spirit safe is controlled by customs and excise.

Spirit still -The spirit still distills low wines of around 20-30% abv into spirit of around 65-75% abv. In some distillation regimens, some proportion of the foreshots and feints collected through the spirit safe are likewise redistilled through the spirit still to impart flavor and extract the maximum possible usable spirit. In triple, or partial triple distillation regimens, the stills running the second and third distillations are generally both called spirit stills, although in some cases, the still running the second distillation is referred to as an intermediate still. Spirit stills are typically, although not always, smaller–and take a smaller charge–than wash stills.

Still -A vessel for distilling. In the production of Scottish malt whisky, only copper pot stills are used. Pot stills come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and distill in batches (see batch distillation): a charge of wash is fed into the wash still, and is distilled an additional 1 or 2 times in a spirit (or, in the case of triple distillation, in an intermediate and then a spirit) still, and only after it comes out the other side as new make spirit is another batch distilled. The upside to batch distillation in pot stills is that due to the intrinsic properties of copper pot stills, the variety of sizes and shapes in which they come, and the idiosyncrasies of the batch distillation process a great variety of rich spirit character can be achieved. In the production of other types of spirit (including other types of whisky), column stills are often used. Column stills use a complex system of plates to continuously convert wash or beer into low wines and new make spirit. They are vastly more efficient than pot stills, able to produce spirit that is much stronger (up to around 95%) alcohol, and do so continuously without breaking for separate batches. The downside is that column distillation–partly due to the relative alcoholic purity of the spirit produced, and partly due to the nature of the process–produces less character in the spirit, and less variety of character in the spirit. Outside of Scotland, some whisky production uses a mixture of pot and column distillation.

Stillman -The person charged with operating the stills at a distillery and choosing cut points in the distillation run.

Triple distillation -Most malt whisky in Scotland is double distilled, meaning that the finished spirit has been first converted from wash into low wines in a wash still and then from low wines into spirit in a spirit still before being collected for maturation. Triple distillation adds an intermediate distillation stage into the process, with the end result being a spirit that is purer and has a higher alcohol content. It is common practice in Ireland, and is traditional in the Scottish Lowlands. Several distilleries in other parts of Scotland have sometimes practiced triple distillation or partial triple distillation.

Vatting -Vatting is the process of combining different casks or even different whiskies to produce a finished product. The term is somewhat out of favor due to confusions around its precise meaning. Vatting usually implies that the whisky is all malt whisky, and likely from a single distillery, as opposed to blending, which implies the addition of grain whisky, however, the terms aren’t always used in precisely the same way.

Wash -The low-alcohol (usually around 5-7% abv) product of fermentation, in Scotch whisky production, wash is essentially a pure malt beer (i.e. no hops or other grains added). Outside Scotland, wash is sometimes referred to as distiller’s beer, or just beer. Once fermentation is completed, wash is fed into the wash still for the initial distillation which results in low wines of around 20-30% abv.

Washback -The vessel in which yeast is added to wort and the wort subsequently (over the course of hours to several days) ferments into wash. Washbacks are typically made of either wood (especially Douglas fir), which is the more traditional material, or stainless steel, which is much easier to clean.

Wash still -The still that runs the first distillation converting wash of around 5-7% abv into low wines of 20-30% abv. The low wines are then redistilled in a spirit still to produce new make spirit, usually around 65-75% abv. Typically, wash stills are larger than spirit stills, and take a larger charge, but this is not universal.

Water -An essential ingredient in distilling, water is used at almost every stage of the whisky-making process, from irrigating barley plants, to steeping the barley in the malting process, to mashing, to providing steam to heat stills, to reducing the spirit for casking and bottling.

Whisky Loch -The Whisky Loch is a period in the early to mid-1980s when the post-World War II demand for Scotch collapsed, leaving enough surplus whisky to–figuratively–fill a loch. The vast oversupply of whisky without corresponding demand led to one of the industry’s periodic busts, and to a very harsh contraction of distilling capacity. The result was that many malt distilleries around Scotland were closed, quite a few of them permanently, including distilleries like Convalmore and Glenury Royal that have subsequently gained cult status among enthusiasts. Two much beloved victims of the Whisky Loch, Port Ellen on Islay and Brora, in the eponymous town in the Northern Highlands, looked to be permanently shuttered but have gained a new lease on life, with Brora resuming production in 2021, and Port Ellen planning to commence in 2023. 

Wood policy -A distillery or a firm’s approach to managing how their maturing whiskies are casked. Because of the crucial impact maturation has on flavor, it is important to carefully select high-quality casks in order to create high quality whiskies. A good wood policy carefully selects quality casks that mesh well with the spirit being produced; a poor wood policy selects poor quality (generally exhausted) casks, or, more subtly, attempts to mask poor spirit or poor initial cask selection by the careful use of unusual casks that can overwhelm flaws in the spirit.

Wort -The product of mashing. Wort is a liquid rich in fermentable sugars such as maltose. Yeast is added to wort to begin the fermentation process which will eventually produce a modestly alcoholic malt beer which in Scotch whisky-making is generally known as “wash”. Worts can range from cloudy to clear, with cloudier worts carrying along more of the particulate matter of the base grain left over from the mashing process. The clarity of worts has an effect on the final flavor of the spirit, with cloudy worts generally leading to a spirit with a more pronounced grain character.

Yeast -A fungal organism essential to whisky-making. Yeast is the catalyst for fermentation, the process through which sugar-rich liquids (grain-based, and known as wort, in the case of beer and whisky production) are converted into mildly to moderately alcoholic beverages.