How Scotch Whisky Came To Be

Authored by Gerry Bowler via The Epoch Times,

A single line in a royal financial account leads us into the fascinating history of Scotch whisky. On June 1, 1495, a secretary penned the following: “To Friar John Cor, by order of the King, to make aqua vitae, VIII bolls of malt.” This is the earliest mention we have of the manufacture of distilled spirits in Scotland—eight barrels of malt to make aqua vitae, “the water of life” (“usquebaugh” in Gaelic.)

The use of intoxicating beverages is as old as civilization itself; humans have been drinking beer and wine for thousands of years. These drinks were safer than local water supplies and provided valuable nutrients to men, women, and children on a daily basis. The average Englishman of the Middle Ages drank anywhere from 250 to 400 gallons of beer a year.

However, taking advantage of the powers of distillation to increase alcohol content and purify the liquor is much more recent. It seems to have developed, perhaps surprisingly, in medieval monasteries where monks who were the chemists and physicians of the day used their knowledge of herbs, fermentation, and alchemy to make useful medicines. Friar John Cor seems to have belonged to the Dominican Order. By the 15th century, these monks had mastered a complicated process of several steps to produce Scotch whisky.

First, barley—a hardy grain able to be grown in northern climates—is malted, that is steeped in water, allowed to germinate. and then dried. The grain is mashed in water, and yeast is added which ferments the sugars into ethanol.

Then, the liquid is poured into a still where it is heated. The alcohol evaporates before the water, and this vapour rises and condenses again into a liquid. It undergoes a second distillation which separates the “heart” (clean, desirable alcohol) from less desirable elements. Each distillation increases the percentage of alcohol to a very high level. The liquid is now diluted, poured into oak casks, and allowed to age for a number of years, taking on the flavour of the wood, changing colour, and becoming a more complex beverage.

The Protestant Reformation in Scotland and England destroyed the monastic system, leaving alcohol innovation and production in the hands of private individuals. Hundreds of stills were set up, serving a growing public taste for Scotch. But a complication arose when first the Scottish and then (after the Union of 1707 joined the Scots and English) the British government sought to tax the production of whisky. This created a steady demand for the product of illegal, unlicensed (and thus cheaper) distilleries that operated relatively free from official harassment, hidden in glens and sheltered by fog, remoteness, and tolerant locals in the Highlands.

Triple cask single malt Scotch whisky aged for 16 years from the Balvenie distillery in Dufftown, Scotland. Adilson Sochodolak/Shutterstock

The legal trade emerged triumphant, however, in the 19th century after the tragic Highland Clearances when lairds started evicting their tenants to make way for more profitable sheep farming. Coupled with easier government regulation of the trade, new techniques that produced a smoother whisky, and disastrous vine diseases on the Continent that cut back on the availability of wines, a class of prosperous Scottish distilleries emerged, many of which still exist today. By the late 1800s, whisky was rivalling brandy as the preferred drink of the wealthier classes around the globe.

In the 21st century, Scotch whisky is a carefully defined product that ensures high standards and distinguishes it from imitations and foreign rivals. Methods of production, ingredients, alcohol content (at least 80 proof), and aging (at least three years) are strictly controlled, and wise consumers can tell by the labelling just what they are buying.

Single malt Scotch is made from 100 percent malted barley in old-fashioned pot stills at a single distillery. This is the most expensive and prestigious variety, some costing many thousands of dollars a bottle. Single grain Scotch is made at one distillery but contains barley and other grains. Blended Scotch is a mixture of malts and other grains made from the product of different distilleries. This is the sort that is the most commonly encountered. Blended malt Scotch consists of malts from different distilleries (appealing to those who want the malty experience but don’t want to pay high-end prices), while blended grain Scotch is a mixture of grains from different distilleries.

Whisky connoisseurs have their own terminology and can rival wine snobs in their alleged ability to distinguish regional variations and describe tastes. Be prepared to hear talk of “smoky,” “peaty,” briny,” or “complex,” and listen to arguments over the virtues of Scotch from Islay, the Islands, or the Highlands.

Slàinte Mhath!