"Given the diversity of flavours available across the Classic Malts range, it’s incredible that single malts are only made from three ingredients: barley, water and yeast."
The Art of Making Whisky
As an experienced team of Distillery Managers, we've all seen fashions come and go in whisky-making, but not in our distilleries. We take great pride in following the processes and techniques laid down by those who came before us.
It’s this attention to detail that means we always produce a great dram.
Come with us now as we take you on a simple guide through the process of whisky making. From malting to mashing, from distillation to maturation, each part of the process is introduced by one of our Classic Malts Distillery Managers.
Donald Renwick. Distillery Manager, Royal Lochanagar.
Ingredients
So, what is it that actually goes into a bottle of Single Malt Scotch Whisky?
Given the diversity of flavours available across the Classic Malts range, it’s incredible that single malts are only made from three ingredients: barley, water and yeast.
It is through the craft and skill of the Master Distiller, and subtleties in the production process, that these different flavours are achieved.
Malt whisky production is not an exact science. Instead, there is always an element of magic that happens in the process, leading to a lot of superstition amongst us Distillery Managers that even the tiniest change at the distillery might somehow affect the taste of the whisky.
Take Royal Lochanager for example. When the distillery re-opened after the Second World War, the new Distillery Manager was so terrified of somehow changing the flavour characteristics of the whisky, that he instructed the cleaners not to move a single thing… including all the cobwebs.
