Not to worry though - the old distillery data section of MM should provide
the casual observer with plenty of info which should still be 99% correct.
I’m already hard at work on even bigger & better distillery profiles
but this proves to be a massive undertaking. It’ll take me a few months.

A very WARM welcome to the new ‘distillery data’ section on Malt Madness!
That welcome was extra warm because I need to compensate for the fact that
this new section will be a cold and barren wasteland for a little while longer...

The first step will be “getting my facts straight”. So, I’ve started work on
a Scotch malt whisky distillery fact sheet in PDF - available as a WIP.
The first version of the distillery fact sheet focuses on active malt whiskies
from Scotland, but I hope to add the inactive and foreign distilleries later on.

Figuring out exactly how many active malt whisky distilleries were operating
in Scotland was my first order of business. However, that’s a fairly difficult question.

Before we get to the question of active whisky distilleries, we need to consider what a ‘proper’ whisky
distillery actually is (within the context of the Malt Madness site). For starters, I’ve never considered
grain whisky ‘proper’ whisky. The ingredients and production methods are fundamentally different.

Anyway - the Beginner’s Guide delves deeper into this issue - and there are only a handful of
grain whisky distilleries in Scotland anyway. But is every malt whisky distillery a “proper” one?
Not (yet) as far as I’m concerned. For one thing, according to the SWA, a distilled spirit cannot
be called “whisky” unless it has been matured for at least 3 years in oak casks.

So, while there are actually a bunch of recently built distilleries that intend to release a young
malt whisky in the foreseeable future, I haven’t added them to the distillery fact sheet for now.
The fact sheet was last updated in September 2015 and includes Aisla Bay and Roseisle.

"The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist."
This is one of my favourite quotes from the film ‘The Usual Suspects’ - and I feel that a variation
on it applies to the (Scotch) whisky world. The greatest trick the whisky industry ever pulled was
convincing the world that ‘grain whisky’ is actually whisky. Malt whisky has been produced in
batches & pot stills for centuries while grain whisky production is a relatively recent invention.

WHICH DISTILLERIES ARE “PROPER” WHISKY DISTILLERIES?

The first chapter of this guide deals w

Chaky?

WHAT MAKES A SCOTCH WHISKY DISTILLERY “ACTIVE”?

Like the name suggests, this is a 'BEGINNER'S GUIDE' - I've tried to keep things as concise & understandable as possible.Much more details can be found in the ADVANCED BEGINNER'S GUIDE - but that's not quite finished at the moment.

WHAT MAKES A SCOTCH WHISKY DISTILLERY “ACTIVE”?

For now, the overview below only lists ACTIVE malt whisky distilleries (SEO) The first chapter of this guide deals w

The first chapter of this guide deals w

Chaky?

WHAT MAKES A SCOTCH WHISKY DISTILLERY “ACTIVE”?

Like the name suggests, this is a 'BEGINNER'S GUIDE' - I've tried to keep things as concise & understandable as possible.Much more details can be found in the ADVANCED BEGINNER'S GUIDE - but that's not quite finished at the moment.

WHAT MAKES A SCOTCH WHISKY DISTILLERY “ACTIVE”?