Grain whisky
Grain whisky is any whisky made from at least some grains other than barley, such as wheat and maize (corn). Some grain whiskies also contain malted barley. (Whisky made from only barley is called malt whisky. This can be confusing: both malt whisky and grain whisky are made from grain malt.) The term is especially used in reference to Scotch whisky.
Grain whisky is typically distilled in a continuous column still, also known as a patent or Coffey still, the latter after Aeneas Coffey, who refined the column still in 1831.
Due to the higher alcohol yield from a patent still, grain whisky is generally accepted to have a lighter and less complex flavour than malt whisky, which is produced in a pot still.
Grain whisky nonetheless plays a very important role in the production of Scotch whisky as it is used to create blended whiskies, which account for over 90% of all Scotch whisky sales.
In Scotland, pure grain whisky is seldom bottled and instead is manufactured explicitly for blending with malt whisky to create blends. Their comparative lightness is used to smooth out the often harsh characteristics of single malts. Occasionally well-aged grain whiskies are released as "single grain whisky". The best of these are held in the same league as single malts.
Grain Distilleries
Current
Grain Whisky is currently manufactured at seven Grain Distilleries in Scotland: Port Dundas Grain Distillery in Glasgow and Cameron Bridge Grain Distillery in Fife are owned by Diageo; the North British Distillery in Gorgie, Edinburgh, is jointly owned by Diageo and The Edrington Group; Invergordon Grain Distillery, owned by Whyte and Mackay; Strathclyde Grain Distillery in the Gorbals, Glasgow, owned by Pernod Ricard; Girvan Grain Distillery, owned by William Grant & Sons; and the Loch Lomond Distillery in Alexandria[1].
Former
Former Grain distilleries included: the Dumbarton Grain Distillery (1938-2002) owned by Allied Domecq; the Carsebridge Grain Distillery in Alloa (1925-1983), the Caledonian Grain Distillery in Haymarket, Edinburgh (1855-1988) and Cambus Grain Distillery in Tullibody (1806-1993), which were all owned by United Distillers.