Scottish Single-Malt Whisky: The One-Bottle Solution

Bottles of Scottish single-malt whisky are often collected for their quality and rarity, sometimes costing hundreds of dollars on the retail market, and much more in auctions.

This particular whisky is also a great ingredient in cocktails. So is it possible to have one bottle of single malt that you can sip and savor but also use for making cocktails when guests come calling?

And to do so without feeling guilty – something reasonably priced for both purposes? That’s the question we asked Stuart Baxter, global spirits ambassador for the International Beverage Group’s portfolio, which includes Scottish single malts Speyburn, Old Pulteney, Balblair and anCnoc.

The conversation has been condensed for the sake of brevity.

What are the requirements for a good “sipping” single malt? 

An enjoyable whisky will be different for everyone, a personal thing, so it is important to continue to try new whiskies to help shape your opinion of what a good sipping whisky is to you. But to answer this from a more analytical perspective, I would always look for something that has layers of complexity to it on the nose and palate – a whisky that reveals something new every time I put my nose to the glass or take a sip, a whisky that keeps you going back in for more is a good sipping whisky.

How do you decide when a single malt is too rare to be used in a cocktail? 

Rarity of a whisky is an interesting point of discussion, as it may not be very old or even expensive. Often it’s just that there is a finite amount of liquid available on earth of that specific dram. For example, earlier this year Old Pulteney launched its rarest whisky yet – Old Pulteney “Bow Wave.” This was a one-of-a-kind, 45 year old single malt created especially for the Distillers One of One charity auction [In Edinburgh]. It sold for £68,750 or about $83,000.

Obviously, you would not want to waste that on a cocktail – so how does someone decide?

Ultimately there is a line in the sand for everyone. Rare whisky may have a unique combination of flavors and aromas that have developed in the cask that can lend themselves very well to the correct cocktail – especially to “booze forward” cocktails where the spirit is the champion of the drink, as is the case with a Manhattan, Old Fashioned or Boulevardier.

We’ve often heard that you should cook with the same wine you serve at the table – that is, a good table wine. Are there certain cocktails that especially lend themselves to enjoying the tastes of a good single malt more than others?

Single malt whisky, specifically, can be said to be more intense than blended Scotch or even blended malt. Even within the category of single malt we can produce such a variety of flavors depending on a number of factors like maturation. Has it been matured in sherry casks, bourbon casks, wine casks, and so on? These different factors will really help dictate what cocktail is suited best. The best way to find out? Experiment! But one of my favorites for a good quality single malt is a whisky sour using Speyburn 10 Year Old.

How do you determine when it makes sense that a single malt can be reasonably used for both? 

Once you have gotten the taste for making drinks and understand your own palate and flavor profiles of certain whiskies and cocktails, you will be able to come up with that answer yourself. As mentioned, all whiskies are different and will be able to provide wonderful profiles that are unique to that distillery.

But let me take two examples of good sipping single malts that are also good for cocktails – Speyburn and Old Pulteney – and each is different. Speyburn has a very fruity and floral approachable character, and our older age statements have a deep richness to them that has developed in sherry casks. Old Pulteney has this impressive coastal character alongside vanilla and bright citrus and develops into salted caramel in our 18 Year Old.

Exploration and broadening your palate is key to the answer of this question – along with what you can justify to your bank account.