Whisky is the world’s favourite drink. Whisky has many types, there’s Scotch whisky, which is probably the most well-known whisky, and then there is single malt whisky and single grain whisky. The difference between the two can have even a whisky connoisseur biting his nails. But it’s not that complicated. Let us explain to you the difference between single malt and single grain whisky.

The root of all confusion lies in the simple word ‘single’. The word simply means from a single distillery in both cases and has nothing to do with the ingredients used in making them. A single malt whisky is nothing more than the product of a single distillery. Not the product of a single batch or a single barrel, but a single distillery. Malt means that the whisky is made entirely from malted grain. Practically speaking, it’s almost always malted barley, but there’s no reason you couldn’t make a single malt rye, or another grain.

A single-grain scotch whisky varies only in that it contains barley and one or more other cereal grains, usually wheat or corn. Again, single is misleading here: it refers not to a product made from a single grain, but a product made at a single distillery.

These whiskies are originally from Scotland but were brought to India in the early 1900s. Both these countries, India and Scotland are very different in climate. Single malt Indian whisky matures way faster that the same made in Scotland. That is why it’s difficult to find well aged single malt Indian whisky. Indian single malt whiskies are known for their fruity, malty character.

The production of Indian whiskies saw a boost in the 1990s and 2000s when the grain production increased considerably in India. A lot of new players entered the Indian market. The pioneer of this saga for Vijay Mallya started acquiring distilleries across Scotland. These distelleries created some of the top Indian whisky brands available to us today.