A glass of Scotch inside a barrel.
What Is Scotch Made From?

NEWS

By NIKITA EPHANOV
Scotch being poured into a glass.
The base ingredients for Scotch are simple: water, yeast, and grain. By federal regulation, there may be no additives, and distillation and barrel aging must happen in Scotland.
A bottle and glass of The Balvenie Scotch surrounded by barley.
Malted barley is the traditional choice of grain, although wheat and rye are also used. This composition, along with whether it's blended, delineates Scotch into its main types.
Glasses of Scotch beside a bucket of barley grains.
Scotch malt whisky is the most regulated sub-style, necessitating that the spirit is made from exclusively a malted barley mash distilled in a pot still.
A glass of Scotch by a river.
Single malt bottles are among the most expensive due to how it showcases its ingredients. Locally sourced malts mingle with local water and yeast to transmit regional qualities.
Glasses of Scotch on a wooden platter.
In the 19th century, Scotch was opened to more ingredients including rye, corn, and wheat, with malting an optional step. As a result, grain whiskies dominate the Scotch market.