More About Scotch

Lowland whiskies are generally regarded as the most light bodied of the Single Malts. Auchentoshan and Glenkinchie are two examples.

Islay whiskies are generally described heavily peated, oily and even iodine-like and medicinal. Islay is an island off the coast of Scotland proper, and a number of marine characteristics can carry into the whiskies produced here. Ardbeg, Laphroaig and Lagavullin are all Islay whiskies.

Highland whiskies include Oban, Glenmorangie and the Dalmore. Not as light as Lowland whiskies but lighter and more elegant than the bullies from Islay.

The Islands comprise all of the whiskey producing islands in Scotland minus Islay, and are generally considered part of the Highland district. However, with unique offerings from Talisker, Jura and Arran, some argue that it deserves consideration as its own region.

Speyside offers up the most distilleries of any region in Scotland. Considered the most elegant whiskies in Scotland, Speyside is home to the Macallan, Glenlivet, and Glenfiddich.

*info taken from http://cocktails.about.com/od/spirits/a/scotch_regions.htm

Delicate: The whiskies at this end of the axis normally use no peat in the malting process. While movement up the axis sees an increase in complexity, this is without any discernible level of smokiness derived by peat. Towards the light end there is a floral, grassy freshness. Moving towards the richer side of the map, subtler nutty, barley and biscuity flavors start to come through.

Smokey: Single malts found in the two smoky quadrants all contain discernible levels of peat, which is burned in the malting process. Ranging from scented smoke and bonfires, to kippers and lapsang souchong, they're epitomized by Islay malts such as Lagavulin and Caol Ila.

Light: This end of the vertical axis houses whiskies whose characteristics exhibit fresh flavors  green grass, soft fruits, cereal. Such flavors tend to reflect the processes followed by a distillery, such as fermentation or size and shape of the stills.

Rich: Whiskies at the rich end of the axis contain characteristics often derived from the nature of the wood used during maturation. Typical flavors range from vanilla (given by American oak casks) to nuttiness to cigar box, chocolate and dried fruit (from European oak casks). Whether a cask is first fill or refill will make a difference to flavor.

*info taken from http://www.malts.com/index.php/en_us/Choosing-Whisky/A-World-of-Flavour/The-Single-Malt-Whisky-Flavour-Map