Grain Whiskies

Grain whiskies are the unloved and often overlooked gems of the whisky world. While the bulk of Grain Whisky is used for the creation of blended whisky a small number are released each year often as single cask expressions.

Grain whiskies are generally, though not always distilled using a column still. Grain Whiskies can be made from virtually any grain varietal including but not limited to rye, wheat, millet and even malted barley (such as the Nikka Coffey Malt). As continuous distillation is used to create something closer to a neutral grain spirit the new make produced is lighter and less flavorful. Being the overlooked spirit in the blending process grain whiskies are rarely put in great barrels. Consequently younger gains can be rough, and flavourless, happily this trend is changing.

Older grain whiskies are usually very light, sweet and smooth compared to single malts, they’re also usually a fraction of the cost. Cambus, Carsebridge and Norfolk grain are all great starting points.