Why is scotch so good

The study also found that those who drank the aged whisky as opposed to the wine were able to absorb more phenols, a beneficial chemical that helps protect against heart disease. Other types of alcohol have also been found to protect against heart disease, the researchers noted in their study, but the news about whisky is nevertheless exciting.

Hanson in discovered that people who drink one to two servings of whiskey every day halved their chances of having a stroke in old age via Canadian Pharmacy King. And as scotch is a type of whiskey, we can assume these benefits extend to scotch. According to Healthline , there are three main types of strokes with subcategories of each. Despite their differences, though, most strokes have the same cause: blood clots.

It makes sense then that scotch would be able to help. According to the North American pharmacy Canadian Pharmacy King, scotch "acts as a natural blood thinner. Although this health benefit is not unique to scotch, scotch is particularly helpful in preventing strokes.

In the United States, cancer is the second leading cause of death among men and women, according to the American Cancer Society. The organization highlights a number of things a person can do to reduce their risk of developing cancer, such as exercising daily and eating well, but there may be something else worth trying.

Although drinking alcohol has been linked to certain types of cancer and the American Cancer Society advises limiting your alcohol intake, scotch could just play a unique role in preventing cancer, too.

According to Dr. Jim Swan, who consults with the drinks industry, single malt whiskies contain high levels of ellagic acid, as reported by The Telegraph. Although red wine does as well, the content in whiskey is much higher. That doesn't mean you should look to scotch as a medicinal elixir, though. Ellagic acid is also found in some fruits, she explained. Thanks to advances in medical science, people are living longer.

As of March , some 5 million Americans over the age of 65 were living with Alzheimer's dementia, a report by the Alzheimer's Association revealed. Sadly, the majority of primary care doctors expect this number to keep on growing. Interestingly, though, a study conducted by Dr. David J. Hanson, a sociology professor emeritus at the State University of New York SUNY at Potsdam, revealed that people who consumed anywhere from one to two drinks of whiskey had a 50 percent reduced risk of developing dementia in their elderly years, as reported by Canadian Pharmacy King.

Although scotch may be the best man for the job, Canadian Pharmacy King quoted Hanson as saying that all alcoholic beverages have the power to "significantly [reduce] the risk of Despite its complex flavor profile, scotch contains no carbohydrates, sugar, salt, or fat , making it one of the lowest-calorie alcoholic drinks one can have and thus a drink that's not going to ruin any attempts you may have to lose weight.

Rebecca Lewis, a registered dietitian at HelloFresh, told Self that scotch happens to be her personal drink of choice. Although Lewis likes her scotch " neat ," meaning it's poured straight from the room-temperature bottle to a glass with nothing else added, scotch is also commonly served with calorie-free add-ins, like water or ice. Whiskies aged in sherry-seasoned casks are extremely popular in Asia, which makes the region a perfect export target for Tamdhu. She says that three of the whiskies she helps to produce fit the expectations of three distinct markets.

The rich tone of BenRiach Peated, for instance, appeals to consumers in northern Europe. And one emerging market there is Poland. Its producers noticed this back in , when cases of the whisky were sold to Taiwanese buyers in just 15 days. But what is the origin of these distinct flavours that have such varied appeal in different countries? Barrie, whose background is in chemistry, says it has lots to do with cask-aging.

Different substances in the wood, such as lignin or cellulose, get broken down gradually as the cask and whisky interact. This brings out specific compounds that impart aroma and flavour. Lipids in the spirit, fats from the barley, degrade during maturation to release this compound over time. It occurs commonly in Speyside casks more than in the casks of other regions, but why that is remains a bit of a mystery. It could, for example, be something to do with microbes in this area that act on the chemicals in the casks or the spirit ageing within them.

At Tamdhu, the whisky casks come exclusively from Spain. Oak from the north is transported south to Jerez, where the wood is made into barrels and then treated with sherry. Scotland is far from the only home of whisky-making. Ireland, the US, Japan — all have long traditions of distilling the spirit. Plus, some countries you might not expect to make whisky are now producing case after case, including Denmark, Australia's Tasmania — which has a world-beating whisky — Wales and even England, which today has 14 distilleries.

But Scotch whisky can set itself apart, not just in image, but legally. It has special protections enshrined in a l aw that was introduced in the UK in How Scottish is Scotch, though? Almost all of the things needed to make it are locally sourced, says Graeme Littlejohn, from the Scotch Whisky Association.

That means that those billions of pounds in exports are only offset by a small amount, a couple of hundred million, in imports that are needed to produce Scotch. But there is one crucial element that often does arrive from further afield. Those are the hefty casks in which the spirit is matured. Some are treated with wine from France or South Africa.

Others with bourbon in the US. Marsala in Sicily. After winning the battle, the promise was quickly forgotten, and the company that would later be rebranded as Diageo remains headquartered in west London. It can also boast an impressive stable of other spirit brands ranging across Smirnoff Vodka and Gordon's Gin, alongside newer acquisitions that put it in a strong position, with local grain spirits from Vietnam to Turkey.

The other big growth company is Pernod Ricard, which bought much of the Canadian-based Seagrams in Although Scotch whisky must be made in Scotland, only about one fifth of the total output is made by distilling companies which are based in Scotland. The three sisters who used to own it set up the Robertson Trust to be the beneficiary of Edrington's profits. That trust disperses the funds to charitable causes, mainly in Scotland. New into the market are smaller distillers. Some saw an opportunity to buy mothballed production with bonded warehouses of stock, and they have seen their investment handsomely rewarded.

That is at least in valuation. It can take a lot of patience to see cash flow. It is now worth about three times that, and his company has bought the Glendronach distillery as well. Mr Walker says: "There's a market out there that's very interested in the top end and, frankly, pricing is not an issue.

It is availability and having something different and something special. With single malts increasingly differentiated through maturation in sherry and Madeira casks, prices can reach into hundreds of pounds. Mr Walker says: "We have to have year old expressions, but we have to be outside that.

We try to create expressions - 16, 20, year olds - that take us out of the clutter. Companies such as BenRiach are thriving in the slipstream of big players such as Diageo, with their marketing push. For all the dominance of the big players, and control of the industry from headquarters outside Scotland, there's a recognition that - for now, at least - everyone in whisky is winning from its growth.