Historical development of whisky Flashcards
Define distillation.
Distillation is the act of purifying a liquid by a process of heating and cooling. Liquid is heated to boiling point. It then evaporates, forming a vapor. Different compounds have different boiling points and chemists use distillation to purify compounds in solution or to separate mixtures of solutes.
Where is distillation likely to have originated from?
China and travelled West via Arabia.
When did knowledge of the distillation of alcohol reach Europe?
11th or 12th century; passed on by the Moors or by soldiers returning to Britain from the Crusades.
What & when was the first written record of Scotch whisky?
In the Scottish Exchequer rolls from 1494.
“Eight bolls of malt to Friar John Cor wherewith to make aqua vitae.”
Who was Friar John Cor?
He was a friar at the Benedictine Order’s Lindres Abbey in Fife.
What does aqua vitae mean?
It is Latin for “water of life.”
What was distilled before alcohol?
Perfume
Between the Irish and Scots, who were the first to make whisky?
Probably the Irish, but the Scots took to distilling whisky with great enthusiasm.
When was duty imposed on whisky for the first time?
In 1644; from then on the development of whisky has been inextricably linked to legislation aimed at maximizing government revenue from the trade.
What was the consequence of high levels of duty levied on legal spirits?
Illicit (illegal/unauthorized) distilling became widespread.
What did the 1784 Wash Act introduce?
A geographical line between the Highlands and Lowlands.
Lower rates of excise duty were applied to small-scale distilleries north of the line, though their product was banned from being exported into the Lowlands to protect the more powerful vested interests of the Lowland distillers (much of whose product was shipped south for gin rectification).
What kind of whisky was historically produced in the Highlands?
The small-scale stills in the Highlands produced a comparatively high quality product and some of the most highly regarded whisky was made in the Glenlivet area, now known as Speyside.
It was a hotbed of illicit whisky-making and Glenlivet was synonymous with quality.
When did King George IV visit Edinburgh?
In 1822; where he drank copious amounts of ‘Glenlivet’. It is said “the king drank nothing else.”
Why did the Highland lairds (landowners) turn a blind eye to illicit distilling?
This trade was often the only way their tenants could pay their rents.
When were the Illicit Distillation Act and the Excise Act introduced? What was the benefit of their introduction?
In 1822 & 1823; they dramatically cut the cost of a distilling license to make it more attractive to producers.
The number of licensed distillers doubled in the two years after 1823 and illicit distillation fell dramatically during the next few years.
What was Glenlivet before it became the name of a single distillery and brand?
This was a secluded glen (valley) in rural Banffshire which was once the home of hundreds of small distilleries. This small area has had an influence on the grand course of Scotch whisky history.
What topographical features contribute to the name, “Glenlivet?”
Glen is named for the valley.
Livet is named for the River Livet that runs through it.
Where does the River Livet run through?
This river is formed high in the Ladder Hills, foothills of the Grampian Mountains, in an area known as the Braes of Glenlivet.
It flows for nearly 9 miles north through the glen to which it gives its name, past the gentler slopes of lower Glenlivet, and joins the River Avon (a tributary of the Spey) near Bridgend.
What is the name Livet derived from?
This name is derived from the Gaelic liobh ait (roughly translated as the smooth or flowing one) is generally pronounced ‘livit’ today, but it was traditionally pronounced ‘leevit’ by the Gaelic-speaking inhabitants.
Until the mid-19th century it was often spelled Glenlivat.
When was Glenlivet’s first road built?
In the 1820s, connecting Bridgend in the north with the village of Tomintoul in Strathavon but by-passing the great natural bowl of the Braes.
What geographical reason allowed Glenlivet to emerge as a famous centre of whisky production?
The remoteness of the area and of the Braes in particular.
It was often challenging to reach and to travel through this area, especially in winter when the snow fell for longer and lay deeper than in surrounding glens.
Who was William Gordan of Bogfoutain?
He was the earliest known distiller in Glenlivet.
It was recorded in 1790 that he ‘acquired a considerable fortune, chiefly by his industry as a tenant and by distilling and retail of whisky’ at his farm at Auchorachan.
How active was whisky making in Glenlivet by the 1820s?
There’s said to be over 100 small stills at work in the town with a population of approx. 2,000.
One old smuggler said later that “I suppose there were not three people in Glenlivet in those days who were not engaged directly or indirectly in the trade.”
How were illicit stills used in Glenlivet in the 1820s and by who?
Copper stills (small & light enough to be carried manually to and from their hiding places) were purchased in the market town of Keith.
They were often worked by women of the house, using the ale they brewed from the local crop of a four-row barley, known as bere.
How were illicit distillers in Glenlivet able to operate undetected by authorities?
The Excise authorities were unable to mount surprise raids to search for and destroy illicit stills because of the difficulties in accessing the glen.
What were the Glenliveters?
Gangs of smugglers who bought and carried the whisky south, usually in pairs of small 10 gallon casks called ankers which were slung across the backs of sturdy ponies.
Why did the smuggled ‘Glenlivet’ fetch higher prices than the products of licensed Lowland distilleries?
Lowland whisky was often criticized for their harsh flavours and for the severe head- & stomach-aches suffered after drinking them.
Smugglers claimed an anker of Glenlivet could fetch at least 1 pound more than one of another make.
What did John Stein have to say about Glenlivet whisky in 1822?
This leading distillery owner told a government inquiry: “I believe that there are some people in the higher stations of life who prefer the Glenlivet whisky [sic], and who would almost pay any price for it… There is only a limited quantity of it to be got, and those who can afford to purchse it will pay almost any price, rather than not have it.”
Where else did Glenlivet smugglers also buy illicit whisky from?
‘Sma stills’ in the Cabrach, Glen Nochty and other remote areas of Banffshire.
What is the significance of the ‘Glenlivet’ name for Scotch whisky?
This name became the popular generic name for the pot still ‘style’ of whiskies made in and around the Spey valley.
(Just as ‘Cheddar’ came to be the name given to popular style of cheese and ‘London’ to a style of gin.
