The Singleton

I enjoy sipping at a small glass of Scotch near the end of the day.

If you are not a Scotch drinker, I can tell you most of what you need to know about Scotch in one sentence.  Here is the sentence: Scotch is expensive.

I might mention a couple other details as well.  For one thing, Scotch is a “whisky,” not a “whiskey.”  No “e” is required here.   Aging is another important detail.  The longer Scotch is finished (aged) in wooden casks, the smoother and more flavorful the end product.  And, as luck would have it, the longer the whisky is aged, the more expensive the purchase price.

Additionally, there are five types of Scotch: single malt, single grain, blended malt (formerly called "vatted malt" or "pure malt"), blended grain, and blended.  I don’t want to wander out into the weedy details here.  Let’s simply say (for today) the taste varies greatly between and within each category of Scotch.  Each distillery has its own twist on flavor.  Some offer distinctly “smoky” flavors.   Others are earthy or “peaty” in taste.

I am a fan of well-aged single malts.

Today, I bring you The Singleton, an 18-year-old, single malt Scotch.  For the first years of the finishing process, this whisky is aged inside casks previously used for aging Bourbon.  The second stretch of finishing is done inside ex-Sherry casks.  This latter stretch of aging makes for something very near a sweet taste at the very end of each sip.

This is my first bottle of The Singleton.  I am not opposed to a second bottle.

—Mitchell Hegman