Banging the drams

Hands up who likes whisky. No? Considered a dark, potent drink which guarantees a sandpaper-and dog-saliva mouth the next morning, it's not the most popular night-time toddy.

But for a city that can divide our wines and even our beers with finesse, it's odd that we lump one of our most carefully crafted tipples into the 'old man's' category without thought.

With this in mind, it's probably no major revelation that the finest strain hasn't even touched most lips. Sean Connery has been known to assert that 'only a single malt will do' and yet, despite the demands of Bond himself, most of us don't even know what one is.

Single phial

Essentially a whisky that comes from a single distillery, single malt is the product of a process that is time-consuming and expensive.

Once malted barley has been semigerminated, mashed with hot water, had yeast added to it and gone through distillation, the spirit collected gets moved to sit in a cask. Over the years (a legal minimum of three, but most sit for at least ten), the wood - usually oak that used to hold sherry or bourbon - infuses flavour and colour.

The spirit loses its sharpness in the barrel, adopting the mellow, mature flavour the wood provides. Compare this with the blended whiskies we see behind every bar - mixtures of various single malts and a grain spirit (developed much more quickly and cheaply than the real deal) - and the reason why the drinks are considered that little bit special becomes clear.

A warm drink

The temptation to 'do a Rat Pack' and suavely add ice to the finished product defeats the object - single malts are made to be drunk warm. Because of the complexities in production, they are considered 'sipping' drinks; with a choice of inviting a little water to the party, or supping neat. And the options don't stop there - whisky experts still fail to agree on a definitive answer to which is the better product: Irish whiskey or Scotch (see taste test box, right). It comes down to a lot more than the former spelling their concoction with an 'e'.

The Irish tend to distil three times, the Scots just twice. Those westwards argue it shows they take better care, while Scotch-makers claim they simply get it right second time round. The fact is the Irish method produces a more delicate flavour, while the Scottish route is more likely to put some hairs on your chest.

As well as this, the Irish don't usually burn peat to dry their malt, creating a more defined perfume and a less 'masculine' taste by doing so. The Scottish pride themselves on it: their typically smoky aftertaste is bred into the drink by the smell formed, known as 'peat reek'.

So, if you're going to expand your horizons and fork out on a single malt which do you go for? 'I prefer Irish,' says Colum Egan, master distiller at Bushmills, Northern Ireland, the oldest licensed distillery in the world. 'Triple distilled Irish whiskey is much smoother. Also, when you don't smoke the barley, you don't have to fight through it to get to the flavours - they are immediately on your palate.'

Dr Bill Lumsden, master distiller at Glenmorangie, one of the oldest and most traditional Highland distilleries, disagrees: 'I would always side with Scotch. The Irish claim a smoothness, but triple distilling results in a less flavoursome product.