Instructions: Ah, bonnie Scotland-where men in skirts spend hours whacking little dimpled balls with metal or graphite sticks. Where ponies no bigger than a dog roam the moors and the celebrated Loch Ness monster has mystified many around the world. But ask any Scotsman what his native land is most renowned for and youll hear a story about a spirit as old as its originating braes and burns- Scotch whisky.

Produced only in Scotland, Scotch whiskies fall into two primary categories: single malt and blended. While blended Scotches are the most familiar and have long been popular in the United States, single malts have been gaining aficionados rapidly in recet years.

Single malt Scotches are tbe product of more than 100 distilleries, each of which produces its own distinctive spirit. Though each distillery uses malted barley for the base for its Scotch, variants in the water, peat, atmospheric characteristics, shape of the pot-still, and the aging casks are factors in determining the uniqueness of the resulting spirit. Most single malts are aged at least 8 years, some considerably longer. Generally, characteristics of single malts are best described by those of the region in which they are produced.

Highland malts are smokey and smooth, the dryness from the peat balanced by the sweetness of the barley malt. Island malts are influenced by their proximity to the salt-laden atmosphere of the Atlantic, producing a whisky with a powerful peatiness in both the bouquet and taste. Islay malts are distinguished by peat, which, affected by the sea atmosphere, lends its quality to the local water, which runs off the peat moor, and the malted barley, which is dried by burning peat. Lowland malts, the mildest of all, lack the smokey, pungent taste of peat but have many subtle flavors of barley malt. Speyside malts are produced by distilleries on the banks of the river Spey, where pure, soft water from the granite mountains runs over massive peat bogs imparting a firm-bodied taste with a hint of malt sweetness and a smokey character. Western highland malts, produced where the highlands come down to the sea, are a balance between pungent Island malts and smoth Highland Malts.

The six Classic Malts cover all the main regions, providing a unique journey of discovery into the world of single malts, presented in a minature pack. Single malts are best when cut with a dash of cool water and savored in a brandy snifter.

Blended Scotch whiskies derive their individual personalities from the single malts comprising them. All Scotch blends contain malt whisky and grain whisky, similar to American neutral grain spirits. Anywhere from 20 to as many as 40 different whiskies may be part of a blend. The age of the blend refers to the age of the youngest whisky included. All blended Scotch imported into the U.S. is at least 4 years old and is usually the standard 80 proof.

Blended Scotch traces its root to the merchants who perfected the art of blending, creating their own brands, and set out to market their product to the world. One of the founding fathers of the Scotch whisky industry, John Dewar, had established a reputation for the quality of his blends by the late 1840s. He was also one of the first to introduce another innovation-selling his whisky in labeled bottles, which had both his name and personal guarantee. Today, Dewars White Label is sold in more than 140 countries and has been the number 1 blended Scotch in the U.S. for more than a decade.

Johnny Walker Red Label, the worlds best-selling Scotch whisky, and Johnny Walker Black Label, the worlds leading 12 year-old deluxe Scotch, are named after John Walker, a retailer who created exclusive brands for his valued customers. Both brands are blends of more than 40 whiskies, with Cardhu, a superior Highland malt, at their heart.

The blended Scotch with perhaps the most unusual package is Dimple. In 1893 George Ogilvy Haig conceived the idea of bottling Haig Scotch Whisky in a unique, 3-sided, pinched decanter with a hollow or dimple in each of its sides. Such was the eye-catching appeal of the bottle that the name Dimple was subsequently adopted for Haigs blend. The first bottle ever to be patented in the U.S., it eventually became the brands legal trademark.

Scoresby Scotch, introduced in 1964 specifically for the preferred American taste profile, is lighter but has a higher percentage of malt, delivering a full malt flavor. Originally introduced in California, Scoresby has grown in popularity to become the best-selling Scotch in the western U.S. and ranks 4th among Scotches in the entire country.

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