What is teaspooning in whisky production and why is teaspooned blended malt whisky becoming increasingly popular? Those questions, and more, will soon be answered…

By Greg Dillon

Greg Dillon is the founder of GreatDrams.com, an award-winning independent bottler. A whisky writer and author of The GreatDrams of Scotland, his work focuses on authenticity, production, and whisky as something to be shared.

Having been fortunate enough to have enjoyed over a decade in the whisky business, one thing I quickly learned is the fact that there’s a lot of terminology associated with this amazing liquid gold. Much of the whisky lingo used today is associated with the ever-changing rules and regulations associated with whisky production and whisky sales.

Now, I’m sure you’re all familiar with terms like ‘single malt’ and ‘blended Scotch’ whisky, so there’s no need to go over this in more detail. Another form of whisky that I feel is getting a lot more attention these days, is ‘blended malt whisky’, and it’s this very product that I want to talk about with you today.

While sometimes contradictory, and even downright confusing, blended malt whiskies have become somewhat of a law unto themselves. They’re also proving to be fairly polarising amongst the whisky community, all down to a perfectly standard industry practice known as ‘teaspooning’.

But what exactly is teaspooning in the context of whisky production, and perhaps more importantly, why does it really matter to the industry in general? Read on for the answers.

What is Whisky Teaspooning?

Very simply, whisky teaspooning is the practice of adding a very miniscule amount, usually a teaspoon – hence the name, of whisky to a different cask of single malt whisky. Teaspooning is believed to have originated around the 1980s, thanks to William Grant & Sons. They thought outside of the box and came up with this strategy as a way of selling their premium-quality whisky to independent bottlers, while protecting their brand name and reputation in the process.

Here, whisky distilleries will add a teaspoonful of whisky from another distillery to a cask of their own single malt. By doing this, the whisky is no longer legally allowed to be marketed and sold as a single malt under that name. It must now be labelled, marketed and sold as a ‘blended malt whisky’ instead.

While distilleries will of course use different types and sizes of cask, two of the most common in Scotland are 200 litre ex-bourbon American Standard Barrels (ASB) and 220 – 250 litre casks known as Hogsheads. In the case of teaspooning, each cask of whisky, before being sold on, will have a teaspoonful of whisky from a different distillery added to it.

Despite the whisky tasting almost virtually identical (if not completely identical) to the original, the rules surrounding Scotch, as laid out and enforced by the SWA (Scotch Whisky Association) means that it has to be sold under a completely different name. A cask of Macallan whisky, teaspooned with a whisky from a different distillery, cannot legally be marketed as a Macallan single malt.

Perhaps one of the most recognisable teaspooned whiskies is Burnside, created by William Grant & Sons. This is essentially a Balvenie single malt, with just one single teaspoon of Glenfiddich whisky added to the cask. Because of this one, seemingly insignificant teaspoon of Glenfiddich, by law it cannot be sold as a Balvenie. Instead, it has to be marketed under a completely different name. It still tastes virtually identical to the Balvenie base liquid (because it is) it is just labelled, packaged, and marketed differently.

Why Teaspooned Whiskies are Important

As you can imagine, adding a teaspoon of whisky from a different distillery to a cask of single malt is not going to have any real noticeable impact on the flavour of the whisky, so why do it? Adding a teaspoon of a sherry cask-finished whisky from Speyside for example, to a heavily peated dram from Islay will not change the taste at all. You’d still get those well-known smoky, earthy, briny, coastal, medicinal Islay notes, with no real change in taste at all. From a legal standpoint however, it changes everything.

Teaspooning is important because it helps distilleries to protect brand names and reputations, while also making money in the process. If a distillery produced a glut of whisky and wanted to sell on several casks of their whisky to independent bottlers, they may first choose to teaspoon their whisky. This helps to safeguard their brand. If, for example, they were to sell a young whisky to an independent bottler who chose to bottle it too early or finish it in a cask which imparted a disgusting taste and finish, the distillery it originally came from would not want to have their name associated with such an inferior product. Teaspooning helps ensure that the distillery’s name is not associated with the poor-quality whisky released by the inexperienced independent bottler.

Another reason why teaspooning is important is because it ensures that others cannot profit from an established brand name, or overcharge. If The Macallan were to sell a cask to an independent bottler, the independent bottler would almost certainly want to capitalise on this and use the brand name of one of the world’s most prestigious whisky distilleries. They’d also be looking to charge a premium amount. Needless to say, The Macallan would not be thrilled by this. By sourcing a small amount of whisky from a different distillery, and adding it to their cask, this ensures that independent bottlers, or unscrupulous whisky retailers buying from them, are not able to profiteer from their name.

Of course, it isn’t just the distilleries looking to protect their brands, and independent bottlers looking to carve out their own identities that can benefit from this practice. It’s also extremely beneficial for the consumers too.

Teaspooned “blended malts” allow whisky drinkers the opportunity to source a dram that is comprised of more than 99.9% single malt from a well-known and prestigious distillery, for a more affordable price. Again, I’ll stick with The Macallan as an example because, well, for obvious reasons, but essentially it could allow independent bottlers to sell Macallan whisky under their own brand as a ‘blended malt’ for far less than a single malt from The Macallan would cost. This is because, legally, teaspooned whisky cannot be marketed or sold under the original brand label.

How Does Teaspooning Impact the Flavour of the Whisky?

While I’m sure there will be plenty out there who disagree with me here, in my humble opinion, adding a single teaspoon of one type of whisky to a 250 litre cask of a different whisky is not going to alter the flavour profile of the whisky in the slightest as it is such an insignificant amount.

While industry experts believe that teaspooned casks are indistinguishable from the original single malt casks in terms of aroma, flavour, finish, and mouthfeel, from a legal standpoint, the changes are enormous.

Teaspooning is not about flavour, it’s about reputation, creativity, and accessibility. It’s a practice that has come on leaps and bounds over the decades, and as far as I, and many others are concerned, long may that continue.