Scotch whisky, called Scotch, is malt whisky or grain whisky made in Scotland. Scotch whisky must be made as specified by law. Scotch whisky is divided into five distinct categories: single malt Scotch whisky, single grain Scotch whisky, blended malt Scotch whisky, blended grain Scotch whisky, and blended Scotch whisky.

All Scotch whisky must be aged in oak barrels for at least three years and one day. There are two basic types of Scotch whisky, from which all blends are made:

• Single malt Scotch whisky is a Scotch whisky produced from water and malted barley at a single distillery by batch distillation in pot stills.
• Single grain Scotch whisky means a Scotch whisky distilled at a single distillery but, in addition to water and malted barley, involves whole grains of other malted or unmalted cereals. “Single grain” does not mean that only a single type of grain was used to produce the whisky—rather, “single” refers only to the use of a single distillery.

Three types of blends are defined for Scotch whisky:

• Blended malt Scotch whisky means a blend of two or more single malt Scotch whiskies from different distilleries.
• Blended grain Scotch whisky means a blend of two or more single grain Scotch whiskies from different distilleries.
• Blended Scotch whisky means a blend of one or more single malt Scotch whiskies with one or more single grain Scotch whiskies.