Scotch can only be made in Scotland. The first written record of Scottish whiskey production is in 1494. There are three main types of Scotch: malt, grain and blended. Malt whisky is made only from malted barley. Grain whisky is made from malted or unsalted cereal grains, such as wheat, corn, and barley.
The other distinction in Scotch is blended whiskies or single malt or grain whiskies. A single malt or single grain whisky is made at a single distillery; blended whiskies are made at multiple distilleries and mixed together. Scotch fans typically prefer single malts, but there are plenty of good blended whiskies produced.
When it comes to single malt Scotch each region and distillery have a distinctive character. The variations in the world of single malts are wide, from lighter, fruit- or grain-forward drams to aggressive, peaty expressions heavy on salty and medicinal flavours. The list of most expensive whiskies in the world is always dominated by single malt Scotch.