LCBO Food & Drink Holiday 2022

A Beginner’s Guide to Scotch When it’s time to shop for a Scotch lover, where do you start? Classic, bold or blended? Follow this expert advice to select a bottle with confidence. BY VICTORIA WALSH | PHOTOGRAPHY BY DARREN KEMPER 101

SCOTCH BASICS

on site and only by adding yeast. The Scotch Regulation Act of 2009 even requires that all Scotch tastes, smells and looks like (no surprise here) Scotch. These standards help retain an internationally recognized quality and make an excellent starting point for appreciating Scotch. And yet even within these unifying standards and laws, there is vast variety of Scotch styles to explore.

What makes a whisky a Scotch? Beyond the obvious— being made in Scotland—there are unique elements protected by laws and regulations that earn this style of whisky its designation. For example, a proper Scotch is bottled at a minimum of 40 per cent alcohol by volume (ABV) and spends more than three years in oak barrels. It is made only from water, malted barley and whole grains or cereals, which must be fermented

FOOD STYLING BY MICHAEL ELLIOTT; PROP STYLING BY CATHERINE MACFADYEN

FOOD & DRINK HOLIDAY 2022 115