Single malt scotch may get all the accolades, but the truth is that the best-selling whiskies coming out of Scotland are actually the blends. Still, single malts better speak to the character of a particular distillery from a specific region of Scotland, for obvious reasons. Everything from the water to the still size to the barley affects the distillate, and from there the barrel type and size, and the location of the warehouse, determine what the whisky will actually taste like once it’s mature and ready to be bottled. A blended scotch, however, diffuses the characteristics and flavor of the whisky by combining liquid from various distilleries, and often with grain whisky or neutral grain spirits.