Much like wine, whisky is a complex subject – particularly for the uninitiated.
Because even though its definition is simple – whisky is a spirit distilled from grain/s, water and yeast and matured in oak barrels – there are different styles, categories, labelling regulations, and even spellings (whiskey is spelled with an 'e' in America and Ireland, and without everywhere else), that come into play depending on the producer and country it’s made in.
Below, we explain the types of whisky most commonly produced or found in Australia, and a couple of terms you’re likely to see on a label.
To learn about these types in much more detail, visit our whisky hub.
Types
Single malt: Whisky produced at a single distilling facility from 100 per cent malted barley.
Try: Morris of Rutherglen Single Malt Whisky
Rye whisky: Whisky produced from rye grain.
Try: The Gospel Whiskey Straight Rye Whisky
Blended malt: A blend of single malt whiskies from multiple distilleries.
Try: LARK Kurio Crimson Jam Tasmanian Blended Malt Whisky
Blended whisky: A single malt whisky blended with lighter, often more industrially produced wheat or corn whiskies.
Try: Starward Two-Fold Wheat & Single Malt Whisky
Bourbon-style: A whisky produced (predominantly) from corn. Only in American can corn-based whiskies be called ‘bourbon’ – in Australia, they are referred to as either ‘bourbon-style whiskies’ or simply ‘corn whiskies’.
Try: Robbers Dog Sour Mash Moonshine
Irish-style: Also called ‘pure pot still’ or ‘single pot still’, Irish-style whiskeys are produced from a combination of malted and unmalted barley, and sometimes, oats. They usually have a lighter, grassier, more grain-forward palate than single malt.
Single grain: Whisky that has been produced at a single distilling facility, but – unlike single malt – not from 100 per cent malted barley. Instead, a combination of malted and unmalted barley may be used, or even alternative grains such as quinoa.
Try: King Island Distillery Martha's Moonshine Whisky
Definitions
Single cask: Whisky bottled from a single barrel.
Try: Sullivans Cove Old & Rare Single Cask American Oak Single Malt Whisky
Small batch: By definition, this refers to a batch of whisky smaller than the largest produced by that brand. But this could be anywhere from one cask to tens of thousands depending on the brand.
Ex-bourbon casks: Whisky that has been matured in American oak casks that were previously used to mature bourbon.
Try: Furneaux Distillery Smoky Wedding Peated Bourbon Cask Whisky
Age: Because whisky matures in the cask only, and is inert once bottled, a whisky's age is measured by the amount of time it spent in barrel. Like wine, age is a huge factor in the character of a whisky. Young whisky tends to be bright, demonstrative and sometimes a little volatile, while older whiskies tend to be less bombastic but more complex, textural and well-integrated.
Try: Hellyers Road Distillery Peated 7 Year Old Single Malt Whisky
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