-=> Quoting Maurice Kinal to Nancy Backus on 13-Nov-2017 04:30 <=-   
      
    NB>> it might have been a way to use up odds and ends   
      
    MK> I believe you are probably right about that.  The more expensive   
    MK> bottlings might be from single barrels or perhaps a number of barrels   
    MK> but of the same age.  The only example I am aware of where they   
    MK> guarentee a single barrel is the 15yo The Balvenie Single Barrel,   
    MK> which is worth over 200 CAD these days. Mind you they also claim that   
    MK> one to be hand bottled but to be honest I don't know if I could tell   
    MK> the difference between that and a regular 15yo The Balvenie ... if   
    MK> there is such a thing.    
      
   Can't tell you on the Balvenie.... that's not one I've paid attention   
   to... :)   
      
    NB>> maybe they got some backlash about blending... not exactly a   
    NB>> single malt if it's blended...  ;)   
      
    MK> Actually it still is a single malt even if blended.  According to   
    MK> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_malt_Scotch the definition is,   
      
   Not that wikipedia is always right, of course....   
      
    MK> and I quote;    
    MK> Single malt Scotch is single malt whisky made in Scotland.  To be a   
    MK> single malt scotch the whisky must have been distilled at a single   
    MK> distillery using a pot still distillation process and made from a   
    MK> mash of malted grain. In Scotland, the only grain allowed to be used   
    MK> in a single malt whisky is barley. As with any Scotch whisky, a   
    MK> single malt Scotch must be distilled in Scotland and matured in oak   
    MK> casks in Scotland for at least three years and one day. (Most single   
    MK> malts are matured longer.)   
      
   So far, so good.... note that there is a difference implied between   
   "Scotch whisky" and "single malt Scotch whisky", though....    
      
    MK> Furthermore the above schpeil states;   
    MK> Bottlings containing malt whisky from multiple distilleries are   
    MK> called "blended malt".   
      
   Which doesn't specifically say that blends have to be from multiple   
   distilleries, only that if they are from multiple it would be a blend...    
      
    MK> From the above I deduce that almost every scotch from Scotland is   
    MK> single malt.   
      
   Which may not be a valid deduction... Admittedly, there are certainly a   
   LOT of single malts from Scotland... :)  My first introduction to Scotch   
   was to top-shelf blendeds, like Pinch and Chivas... and there are the   
   Johnny Walkers from Red to Black to Blue, the latter being not all that   
   bad, but of course frightfully expensive as it is aged more... Black is   
   tolerable, but doesn't compare to the single malts for smoothness and   
   all...     
      
    MK> Most (all?) of the blended I have had are from Canadian distilleries.   
    MK> I have run across single malt whiskies from Canadian distilleries but   
    MK> have never tried any.  An interesting sounding one is "Glen Breton   
    MK> Rare Canadian Single Malt Whisky" priced at ~75 CAD which is more than   
    MK> 12yo Glenlivet.  Care to guess which one I would (will) purchase?    
      
   The latter, of course, being a known quantity for less... ;)  You'll   
   note that the Canadian distilleries produce Canadian malt whisky, not   
   Scotch, though...  ;)   
      
    NB>> you've had help imbibing   
      
    MK> That is putting it mildly.  I suspect that is what will happen with   
    MK> the Macallan.    
      
    NB>> Just don't let any of the usual suspects know it exists, and   
    NB>> you'll have an easier time of keeping it around...  :)   
      
    MK> That is impossible around here.  However only one of my neighbours is   
    MK> aware of the 15yo and knows what hassel/expense etc. I went through to   
    MK> obtain it so he hasn't brought it up.  Also it is stashed out of   
    MK> sight.    
      
   Out of sight, more likely out of mind....  ;)   
      
    MK> Also, also everyone who knows me knows that there normally   
    MK> isn't anything to be had unless it is November to January 1.  After   
    MK> that I am a teetotaller.  It has been that way for around two decades   
    MK> now and a few of the years I've gone without buying any at all.    
      
   I suppose if that is the expectation, they would likely leave you alone   
   after the first of the year....  ;)   
      
    MK> However the January 1 thingy we started pretty well much guarentees   
    MK> that there will be a bottle of single malt available for that.  :-)    
      
   Now you have a purpose for the imbibing...  ;)  And a reason to give for   
   upping the ante a bit when the opportunity presents itself...  ;)   
      
   ttyl        neb   
      
   ... The best Scottish food is the kind you drink.   
      
   --- EzyBlueWave V3.00 01FB001F   
    * Origin: Tiny's BBS - http://www.tinysbbs.com (1:229/452)