Blended malt whisky

A blended malt, formerly called a vatted malt, or pure malt, is a blend of different single malt whiskies from different distilleries. These terms are most commonly used in reference to Scotch whisky, or whisky in that style, such as Japanese whisky.

Blended

The legally anachronistic term vatted was used to describe the blending process but does not automatically equate to creation of a vatted malt. Likewise, the use of the term "blended" did not necessarily refer to the creation of what is typically referred to as a blended whisky. A blending of different casks or batches of single malt whisky produced from the same distillery is still considered a single malt whisky.

Malt

The "malt" part of the term refers to the use of a malted grain to make the whisky. In Scotch whisky, this grain is required to be barley. Outside Scotland, whisky is produced from other malted grains, such as malted rye, and the term "rye malt whisky" is specifically recognized along with (barley-based) malt whisky in the code of federal regulations for whisky in the United States. Moreover, in much of the world, whisky is often made using grain that is not malted (for example, using a corn mash). In practice, unless a different grain is specifically mentioned, a malt whisky is assumed to be made from barley.