The Evolution of Single Malt Whiskey

Tracing the roots of America’s single malt whiskey category all the way back to Ireland.

Drinking trends come and go but single malt whiskey is enduringly popular.

How far back does it go? Sometime around 1,000 years ago in Northern Ireland, people began distilling whiskey made from barley.

What happens next is really the story of modern whiskey drinking. Single malt knowledge and technique traveled across the water to nearby Scotland, where distillers there in turn created their own style of single malt. In the 1800s, Scottish entrepreneurs famously combined these locally made malts to create blended Scotch, which, of course, became a sensation around the globe.

Fast forward to today and single malt is made in many different countries, including the U.S. What’s amazing is that each area has been able to create its own version of the whiskey. At the forefront of the American single malt movement is Stranahan’s in Denver, which produces a Rocky Mountain Single Malt.

To explore the fascinating evolution of single malt whiskey, Stranahan’s master distiller Rob Dietrich took the Daily Beast’s Drink + Food editor Noah Rothbaum and Daily Beast columnist Max Watman on an amazing whiskey adventure that starts with a visit to Bushmills in Ireland and concludes with a visit to his Colorado distillery. It’s a video all single malt drinkers need to watch.

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For more information on American Single Malts visit STRANAHANS.COM or AMERICANSINGLEMALTWHISKEY.ORG