LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Scotch: Scotch Whisky
built 614 days ago
Scotch whisky has been an integral part of Scottish cultural traditions for centuries. Scottish culture is hard to separate from the celebrations and festivals which Scotland enjoys annually and which almost always are accompanied by Scotch. One cultural celebration in particular that involves Scotland's most famous drink is the Scottish New Year Celebration. This New Year celebration, called Hogmanay is world reknown, and as most other national new year celebrations, invovles a significant amount of alcohol. In this particular celebration, boys band themselves together in groups, each with a leader, and all are clad in sheepskin, carrying a sack. These bands of boys go from house to house reciting Gaelic chants and carrying a bottle of Scotch to each house to celebrate.
Source:
Scotch is an adjective meaning "of Scotland", now usually considered pejorative by Scots. Common contemporary usage is Scottish or Scots, but 'Scotch' is still in contemporary use outside Scotland without being considered archaic or pejorative. Many Scots consider that the word "Scotch" should only be applied to specific products, usually food or drink, such as scotch whisky, scotch pie, scotch broth or scotch eggs.
Source:
For purposes of comparing the processes of Scotch whisky production versus whiskey production in other countries, one can look at the production of Jack Daniels Whiskey in the United States. Jack Daniels is one the United States' most famous spirits, which began production in 1866 in Lynchburg, Tennessee, USA. Jack Daniels found "pure spring water" in a cave in Lynchburg and began making his famous whiskey, which today still claims to use the same spring water as its founder. The first step in the process is the mixing of corn, rye, and barley malt with the spring water into mash, then it is cooked and fermented with yeast and placed into 100-foot deep copper stills. The mixture is then filtered drop by drop into huge "mellowing" tanks, which takes approximately 12 days and then roasted with charcoal made from sugarmaple trees burned in the open air. After distillation, the liquid is placed into white oak barrells where it expands/contracts with temperature changes and gains its color.
Source:
Blended Scotch whisky constitutes over 90% of the whisky produced in Scotland. Blended Scotch whiskies generally contain 10–50% malt whisky, blended with grain whisky, with the higher quality brands having the highest percent malt. They were initially created for the English market, where pure malt whiskies were considered too harshly flavoured (the main two spirits consumed in England at the time being brandy in the upper classes, and gin in the lower ones). Master blenders combine the various malts and grain whiskies to produce a consistent "brand style". Blended whiskies frequently use the same name for a range of whiskies at wildly varying prices and (presumably) quality. Notable blended Scotch whisky brands include Dewar's, Johnnie Walker, Cutty Sark, J&B, The Famous Grouse, and Chivas Regal.
Source:
The Excise Act of 1823 reduced taxes on Scotch whisky to a tolerable degree. This act coincided with the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, and entrepreneurs were soon building new, state-of-the-art distilleries. The local moonshiners (called smugglers) did not go quietly. Some of the first licensed distillers in rural locations were threatened by their illicit peers, but in the end production efficiencies and the rule of law won out. The whisky that came from these distilleries was made primarily from malted barley that had been kiln-dried over peat fires. The smoke from these peat fires gave the malt a distinctive tang that made the Scottish product instantly identifiable by whisky drinkers all over the world.
Source:
Scotch whisky labels contain the exact words “Scotch whisky”; “Whisky” is sometimes capitalised. If the word “Scotch” is missing, the whisky is probably made elsewhere. If it says Scotch “whiskey” or “Scottish” whisky, it might well be counterfeit.
Source:
MORE ABOUT
Scotch Whisky