In search of
SCOTCH WHISKY Over four million visitors a year beat a path to Scotland's distilleries for an authentic taste of the country
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HERE ARE MANY REASONS to visit Scotland, but its whisky industry is by far one of the best. Unlike many major manufacturing sites, the average Scottish distillery is almost always located in the countryside. Because they draw their water from the purest springs and streams, whisky-makers tend to work in clean, unsullied rural locations. And most of these tend to be picturesque. Often you’ll find the famous drink being distilled inside idiosyncratic old buildings that have evolved over time, many of them with distinctive pagoda-like wooden rooves. Step inside and you’ll invariably be met with a cocktail of highly distinctive smells: old wood, grain, yeast and spirit. You’re also likely to be met by an enthusiastic team who love sharing their commitment to Scotland’s uisge beatha (the Celtic words for water of life). The whisky industry is thriving today – with the result that the names of lots of tiny Scottish villages are famous all round the world – so it can be hard to believe that in the 1980s “Scotch” was verging on the unfashionable. A drink that had evolved over centuries had become the tipple for old men and many distilleries were on the brink of closure. The reasons for whisky’s subsequent recovery are many and complex. Clever marketing, astute management and increasing affluence in the east may have had something to do with it but the resurgence within a generation is extraordinary.
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BritishTravelJournal.com
Today whisky is not just one of Scotland’s major exports, but one of the reasons people from all over the world come to visit. Uisge beatha began in feudal times as a crofter’s spirit brewed and sold locally and used to provide a powerful kick-start to the day. Not diluted as it is today (to around 40% alcohol) this original “water of life” probably actually shortened life expectancy. Invigoration or anaesthesia against the cold Scottish mornings was probably the main benefit of whisky in those early days. In the nineteenth century however the first enterprising Scots merchants began buying up raw local whiskies and blending them to create a predictable – and enjoyable – taste in every bottle. The rapid improvement in the quality of blended whiskies like Johnnie Walker, Famous Grouse and Dewar’s had the knock-on effect of encouraging individual distilleries to improve the quality of their own single (unblended) malts. These days, although there are still great blended whiskies out there, it is the single malts that sell for thousands of pounds at auction and it is the individual distilleries that attract pilgrims from all over the world who come just to pay homage to the home of their favourite dram. ________________________________________________________ Just as French wines rely on the individual terroir where the grapes are produced, so Scots whisky is an embodiment of the landscape over which the water flows before going into each à
© VisitScotland / Peter Dibdin
Words | Adrian Mourby
