The distinction between single malt and blended whisky is precise in law and often misunderstood in conversation. In the Scottish tradition, a single malt is the product of a single distillery, made only from malted barley and water, and distilled in pot stills. A blended Scotch whisky combines one or more single malts with grain whisky, which is typically produced in continuous column stills from a mash that may include unmalted grains such as wheat or maize.
A further category, less discussed, is the blended malt: a combination of single malts from more than one distillery, containing no grain whisky. Blended grain whiskies also exist, though they are rarer.
Historically, the single malt is the older form. Blending as a formal practice emerged in the second half of the 19th century, made possible by the column still and driven by a commercial need for a lighter, more consistent style of whisky that could travel and appeal to a broader public. The great blending houses — Walker, Chivas, Dewar, Ballantine — built the global reputation of Scotch whisky in the Victorian and Edwardian eras.
A single malt is a voice. A blend is a choir. Neither is greater than the other; they are simply different music.
Single malt remained largely a component of blends until the second half of the 20th century, when a series of decisions by producers, including the Classic Malts selection of 1988, gave single malt a distinct commercial identity. The rise of single malt as a category in its own right is a comparatively recent phenomenon.
It is a common misconception that single malt is inherently superior to blended whisky. In reality the two styles serve different purposes. A well-made blend expresses the skill of the blender, offering a harmony that no single distillery can produce alone. A well-made single malt expresses the individuality of its place of origin. Both are legitimate expressions of the craft.
The finest single malts are frequently used as key components in the finest blends. Understood in that light, the two styles are not rivals but partners in the same tradition.