single malt

A whisky which is distilled at a single distillery, and which is made completely from a single type of malted grain (usually barley). This is generally considered the best type of whisky. The most popular varieties are from Scotland although there are a few from Japan. Some are bottled at cask strength, but most of them are watered down before bottling. The age of the whisky is the whole number of years that have passed between distillation and bottling (during which it was kept in the cask).