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With a heritage that dates back centuries, Beam Suntory, as a world leader in premium spirits, showcases unparalleled expertise in a diverse selection of categories.
Find all you need to know across History, Production and more..
Blended malt whisky is made with only malt whiskies, no grain whiskies. It can carry an age statement, which refers to the age of the youngest malt whisky in the blend.
Blended whisky is the most common type of blended whisky and is made with a combination of malt and grain whiskies from different distilleries.
Blended grain whisky is made with only grain whiskies.
Vodka is said to have originated in either Russia or Poland in the 8th or 9th century, and is now produced in countries all over the world. It can be made from any fermentable ingredient and distilled any number of times – the more times it is distilled, the more pure and less flavoured it becomes.
Gin originated in either Holland or England for medicinal purposes. In fact, the Gin & Tonic was used to help the British troops fight off Malaria during war times. Gin is made all over the world, it’s distilled from fermented grains and predominately flavoured with juniper, although other botanicals (flavours) are also used. Today it forms the base for many classic cocktails including the Martini-Collins, the Bramble and the Ramos Fizz.
In general, liqueurs must contain at least 100g of sugar per litre. For cherry liqueurs, however, the minimum is 70g / litre, and for gentian liqueurs, it is 80 g / litre. Some other categories of liqueur have a higher minimum sugar content. They are bottled at a minimum of 15% alcohol by volume and be created using neutral grain alcohol and/or distillate(s) of agricultural origin.
Scotch is huge - a six-billion dollar industry, it’s one of traditions, stringent regulations, and an incredible scope for flavour differential. Many say there’s a scotch for everyone with the sheer amount of styles and flavour profiles produced.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, Canada’s first European settlers introduced distilling techniques that would later be used to create Canadian Whiskey. For much of the 19th Century Canadian Whiskey outsold America’s Bourbon whiskey, so during the US prohibition era, Canadian Whisky production suffered a sharp decline. The spirit was kept alive however, by bootleggers who devised creative ways to smuggle it across the US border.
Nationally recognized as being significantly important to the United States, it has recently gone through a burgeoning boom. Bourbon is one of the most heavily regulated categories in the spirits industry. Its’ history is rich, and its’ story one of renaissances.
Japan’s whisky industry, whilst being short in comparison to their North American and British counterparts, has well and truly made up lost ground. Japan's whiskies are highly sought after and now regarded as some of the very best in the world. Japan’s whisky story is one of great emergence, experimentation and growth.
