But it's also because you don't have the sort of bitterness of the hops balancing the sweetness of the barley and the malt.

NPR: Looking at the World Through Beer Glasses

Over a 15-year period, Shakespeare bought and stored grain, malt and barley for resale at inflated prices to his neighbours and local tradesmen.

BBC: William Shakespeare

The fashion for quality, limited-edition whiskey started in Britain in the 1980s with the rapid expansion in the availability of single-malt Scotches, high-end whiskies made by individual distilleries in Scotland, using only malted barley (see: " Super Single Malts").

FORBES: World's Most Expensive Whiskies