Ode to a Dram of Whisky

I love whisky. Love, love, love. And I love Scotland. So, it’s no surprise that my visit this past weekend to Glasgow ended up pretty much fueled by the liquid gold. My first dram of the weekend was at a local distillery within a few hours of my 8am arrival in the homeland, while my last was at the airport in the final hour before my flight back to London. There were many others in between.

No one knows exactly when Scotch whisky (very different – and superior, in my opinion – to Irish or American whiskey) was first distilled. It is said that the Ancient Celts practised distilling and that the liquid produced was known in Gaelic as uisge beatha (water of life), which later evolved into Scotch whisky.

Its production was first taxed in 1644, causing a rise in illicit whisky distilling. In 1780, there were 400 distilleries in Scotland, only eight of which were actually legal. In 1823, Parliament eased restrictions on licensed distilleries, while at the same time making it harder for the illegal stills to operate, ushering in the modern era of Scotch production.

To be classified as a real single malt Scotch whisky the liquid must be aged in an oak barrel for three years and one day. It also must be made from only three core ingredients: barley, water and yeast.

It comes from five different regions, each of which has its own distinct taste. Covering the largest area of Scotland are two regions: Highland and Speyside. The prior region, which includes Dalmore, Glenmorangie and Oban, has the most variance in character, from dry to florally. The latter region, which includes Glenfiddich, Glenlivet and Macallan, is home to approximately half of the country’s malt whisky distilleries. It is often described as mellow, sweet and fruity.

Lowland whiskies are regarded as the most light-bodied of the single malts. Situated south of an imaginary line drawn from the Clyde estuary to the Tay estuary, the region can only claim three working distilleries, including Auchentoshan, which I tasted for only the second time on this past trip. These whiskies are malty and grassy, with subtle aromas.

Islay whiskies – my favourite region – are heavily peated, oily and smoky. Islay is one of the Inner Hebride islands, on the west coast of Scotland, and also the name of my future daughter. The rest of the island whiskies are often classed in with the Islays, but some argue that the taste of Arran, Jura and Talisker really do deserve consideration for their own region.

Campbeltown is home to my absolutely favourite single whisky, Springbank, which is usually found at 10 years of age. The town, which lies by Campbeltown Loch on the Kintyre peninsula, was once home to more than 30 distilleries, but now there are just three: Springbank, Glen Gyle and Glen Scotia. These have a peaty and salty taste to them, and are more full-bodied then the other regions.

Though I can’t state this unequivocally (due to experimentation in my teens with whatever I could steal from my parents’ liquor cabinet), my first taste of Scotch whisky was Campbeltown’s Springbank. It is my parents’ favourite and is always in the house. While it may have not been the very first taste I had, it is certainly the one I remember and the one that made me actually begin to fall in love with whisky.

I’ve been on the Scotch Whisky Experience in Edinburgh twice, once in my teens on a family holiday, and two years ago while visiting Scotland with my sister Lyl and friend Jill. It is a fun way to learn about the history of the drink and, since it is not affiliated with any one brand or distillery, a great way to learn about the subtle differences of the various regions.

This past weekend, I trekked to the Auchentoshan Distillery, on the outskirts of Glasgow, to learn a bit more about the Lowland region. Favouring the Campbeltown, Islay and Speyside whiskies, I had never tried a Lowland (except a small sip on my Scotch Whisky Experience), but I had been to a whisky tasting event for work a few months back, run by Milroy’s in Soho, and I found myself immediately fond of the unpronounceable (Ock-in-tosh-in) brand. Planning my trip up north, I Googled ‘whisky distillery’ and ‘Glasgow’, and organized a trip to Auchentoshan, the only distillery in Scotland that triple distils its whiskies.

Founded in 1823 and literally translating to “the corner of the field”, Auchentoshan starts with malted optic barley, which is ground up for the tun. The milled barley is fed, along with pure Scottish lake water, into the lauter tun. It is fed through three times then fermented in pine washbacks. The three distillations take the fermented liquid from around 8% alcohol by volume (ABV) up to 81% (double distillation usually reaches 70% ABV). Next comes maturation, and Auchentoshan uses three different types of oak casks for this – bourbon, sherry or wine – each lending its own unique flavour. During maturation, a tiny percentage of alcohol evaporates from the casks – this is known mythically as the “angels’ share”.

It was a very informative tour and I found the whole process fascinating. Best of all, it ended in the bar, where we got to taste the Auchentoshan 12, an easy-to-drink, malty Scotch, perfect for a noon drink on a sunny day.

A couple of days later, I was in for a different type of whisky tour. I had come up to Scotland for work, interviewing the reward team at the whisky distillery William Grant and Sons for our monthly employer profile. The distillery was founded in 1887, when William Grant first distilled the world-famous Glenfiddich. It now has six core brands – Glenfiddich, Balvenie, Grant’s (a blend of the first two), Tullamore Dew (an Irish whiskey), as well as Sailor Jerry’s rum and Hendrick’s gin.

The whiskies here are actually Speyside, and so are distilled up north in Dufftown, where Grant was born in 1839. He worked as a shoemaker, a lime works clerk and then a bookkeeper before he was the manager at Mortlach distillery, but was keen to start his own distillery. Grant and five of his sons virtually built the distillery from start to finish. By the time of his death in 1923, his own blended whiskies were selling in more than 30 countries. Today, the company exports its products to 200 countries and produces 14 million cases of alcohol at its bottling plant in Bellshill, Scotland, which is where I spent the day.

My photographer and I got to tour the bottling plant, learn all about the history of William Grant and Sons, and about the production of some of the most famous alcohol brands in the world. Later, we did a photo shoot with the head of reward and then I interviewed him for the profile. I spent the afternoon working on the feature in the company’s boardroom, complemented with a fully stocked liquor cabinet, but I didn’t get to taste a single drop.

I remedied this later on, when I arrived at the airport. Ordered one of my favourites – Talisker – at the airport bar, along with one last traditional dinner of haggis, tatties, neeps and whisky sauce. Overall, it was a really wonderful weekend. I get so nostalgic in Scotland, owing to my heritage in the country, and that is probably one of the reasons I love whisky. It reminds me of this heritage, of my feisty great-grandmother Bessie (who I like to think I’m very much like) who always carried a flask of whisky wherever she went, and it makes me feel at home.