MALT WHISKY - BLENDED AND ROASTED

Born to exceed the individual merits of each individual malt, a blended malt combines malt whiskies from more than one distillery: in short a blended malt contains a number of single malts. This style was known as a vatted malt, as malts were combines in a vessel. 

Cladach is the name of a blended malt that includes two from the island of Islay: Caol Ila and Lagavulin. It was launched in 2018 as part of Diageo's annual Special Releases of rare whiskies. The aromas of this blended malt whisky are like a seafront stroll; on the palate, sea spray provides a constant note, while vanilla sweetness, toffee and light oak ebb and flow. 

Malt whisky has an extraordinary range of flavours and distillers are on a constant quest to find ways to tailor the result. There is now increasing interest in the other end of the production process: how the barley is malted and the kilning regime.

Kilning usually results in malt that’s all set to deliver, with a biscuity, malty flavour, all of the enzymes intact and its own natural colour. 

The malt can also be transferred to a roasting drum, set at 200°C (392° F) to achieve varying degrees of roasting. This changes the flavour of the malt progressively from biscuity to nutty and then to a medley of chocolate, coffee and mocha. A change in colour also occurs in this type of malt whisky, from pale to brown, which explains the usual reference: chocolate malt. 

Roasting brings the malt close to combustion, and compromises the starch within the malt.

This means roasted malt is supplemented by “unroasted” malt.

An example of roasted malt whisky is The Balvenie Roasted Malt, released in 2006, pioneered this approach using a batch of dark-roasted malted barley.

This roasted malt whisky has the characteristic fruity, floral, and honeyed notes of The Balvenie, with subtle overtones of toasted oats, vanilla and spicy oak.