A blended malt, formerly called a vatted malt, or pure malt, is a blend of different single malt

whiskies Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden cask ...

from different

distilleries Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heat ...

. These terms are most commonly used in reference to

Scotch whisky Scotch whisky (; sco, Scots whisky/whiskie, whusk(e)y; often simply called whisky or Scotch) is malt whisky or grain whisky (or a blend of the two), made in Scotland. All Scotch whisky was originally made from malted barley. Commercial disti ...

, or whisky in that style, such as

Japanese whisky Japanese whisky is a style of whisky developed and produced in Japan. Whisky production in Japan began around 1870, but the first commercial production was in 1923 upon the opening of the country's first distillery, Yamazaki. Broadly speaking, t ...

Blended

The legally anachronistic term ''vatted'' was used to describe the blending process but does not automatically equate to creation of a vatted malt. Likewise, the use of the term "blended" did not necessarily refer to the creation of what is typically referred to as a

blended whisky A blended whiskey (or blended whisky) is the product of blending different types of whiskeys and sometimes also neutral grain spirits, colorings, and flavorings. It is generally the product of mixing one or more higher-quality straight or single ...

. A blending of different casks or batches of single malt whisky produced from the same distillery is still considered a single malt whisky.

Malt

The "malt" part of the term refers to the use of a

malted Malting is the process of steeping, germinating and drying grain to convert it into malt. The malt is mainly used for brewing or whisky making, but can also be used to make malt vinegar or malt extract. Various grains are used for malting, most ...

grain to make the whisky. In Scotch whisky, this grain is required to be

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley p ...

. Outside Scotland, whisky is produced from other malted grains, such as malted rye,Old Potrero Single Malt Straight Rye Whiskey
''Anchor Brewing Company''. (Accessed December 2010.) and the term "rye malt whisky" is specifically recognized along with (barley-based) ''malt whisky'' in the code of federal regulations for whisky in the United States. Moreover, in much of the world, whisky is often made using grain that is not malted (for example, using maize in a corn mash). In practice, unless a different grain is specifically mentioned, a ''malt'' whisky is assumed to be made from

Scotch whisky

In the case of Scotch whisky, blended malts do not contain any whisky made from grains other than barley or spirits distilled using

continuous distillation Continuous distillation, a form of distillation, is an ongoing separation in which a mixture is continuously (without interruption) fed into the process and separated fractions are removed continuously as output streams. Distillation is the sep ...

, unlike products labelled as "

". For the Scotch whisky industry, the terms ''vatted malt'' or ''pure malt'' have been reclassified as "blended malts" per the Scotch Whisky Regulations of 2009, and it has become unlawful to label Scotch Whisky using the prior terminology. When an age statement appears on the label of a Scotch blended malt whisky (or any other Scotch whisky), it refers to the amount of time spent in wooden aging

casks A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, u ...

for the ''youngest'' (i.e., the least aged) whisky used in the product.

References

Malt whisky {{whisky-stub

Blended

Malt

Scotch whisky

See also

References