A WEE DRAM OF SCOTLAND
May, Clifford D.
a COTLAND IS A SMALL COUNTRY," the artist Ian Gray said over drinks at a pub in Edinburgh recently. "Yet wherever I go around the world I find it is incredibly well known for its kilts, its...
...40 THE AMERICAN SPECTATOR JULY/AUGUST 2006...
...The barley is malted: soaked in water and allowed to germinate...
...CDM For further reading, let me suggest Whisky Magazine (www.whiskymag.com), the Malt Advocate magazine (www.maltadvocate.eom), and the website Malt Maniacs (www.maltmaniacs.com...
...The enthusiasm these days, however, is for single malts...
...The word "whisky"--spelled without the "e" unlike Irish and American whiskey--evolved from the Scottish Gaelic uisge beatha, meaning "water of life...
...His essay, "The Seduction of Cognac," appeared in the November 2005 issue of The American Spectator...
...the length of time the whiskyis aged in casks, which must be made of oak and which previously held other spirits (usually American bourbon) or wine...
...They also needed a reliable source of pure water...
...Somewhat more recently, Vikings settled the Orkneys...
...The latest figures released by the Scotch Whisky Association showed exports up 4 percent last year to $4.34 billion...
...The composition of the peat and the length of time the malt is in contact with the smoke affects the whisky that will be sipped years later...
...Author Christopher Hitchens, with whom I've had the pleasure of knocking back more than a few wee drams, is partial to Lagavulin...
...Among the city's best hotels is the Balmoral, which is within easy walking distance of" Edinburgh Castle, the Museum of Scotland, St...
...Highland Park's distillery is clad in rough stone and overlooks a hilly pasture grazed by cattle, sheep, and Shetland ponies...
...One reason: At various times whisky was outlawed or punitively taxed...
...In the 15th century, the impoverished Christian I, King of Denmark, Norway, an d Sweden, gave Orkney to the Scottish Crown as part of a marriage agreement...
...A "wee dram" is a small amount...
...And a wee dram of their better Scotches will do you no harm...
...This was especially the case following the Act of Union with England in 1707...
...Generations ago, a Scotsman would drink the whisky made by his local distiller and that was almost always made from barley malt...
...The informative website of the Scotch Whisky Association is www.scotch-whisky.org, uk...
...Beyond about 35 years expect diminishing returns...
...Islay, the largest and most southern island in the Hebrides, is home to Caol Ila (pronounced cah-leella), Laphroaig, Ardbeg, Lagavulin, and other distilleries...
...In JULY/AUGUST 2006 THE AMERICAN SPECTATOR 37 A WEE DRAM OF SCOTLAND the U.S., the best-selling single malt is Glenlivet...
...Old Pulteney is produced in Wick, on the northern Scottish mainland...
...Premium expressions" will be at least ten years old...
...Many Scotches are dried over burning peat--vegetation that has been decaying for centuries...
...At a posh cocktail party I attended in Sao Paulo, Brazil, not long ago, =~ only two beverages were on offer: South American wine and Scotch whisky...
...There are those in Scotland declaring a "Scotch renaissance"--as well as those concerned that supply won't be able to keep up with demand...
...Trevor Cowan, a retired master blender, has written: "Malt whisky holds within it the climates and characteristics of Scotland...
...SCOTCHES FALL INT0 TWO blended whis- CATEGORIES: kies and single malts...
...For most of us, wearing a kilt would be a fashionfauxpas...
...The Orkneys were first settled 5,000 years ago...
...Examples would include the Famous Grouse, Scotland's best-selling whisky, Johnnie Walker Black Label, and Chivas Regal...
...In 1940, the first bombs to fall on Britain fell on Wick...
...In second place is France where Scotch is more popular than Cognac...
...Aging in seasoned barrels for a bare minimum of three years is the final step before bott l i n g - Scotch does not mature further once it makes the transition from wood containers to glass...
...Prince Charles thvors Laphroaig...
...But an appreciation for fine Scotch whisky is not difficult to acquire...
...A single malt is an essence," said Sarah Fox, a spokesman for Caol na...
...The distilleries at which these and other fine Scotches are produced welcome the public for tours and tastings...
...the size and shape of the copper pot still...
...A sleepy town these days, in the 19th century it was the busiest fishing port in Europe...
...Connoisseurs may regard even the addition of ice-which restricts flavor and aroma-as equivalent to wearing earmuffs while listening to a symphony...
...Clifford D. May, a former New York Times foreign correspondent, is president of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies...
...It's worth a visit...
...Connoisseurs will tell you there are between 12 and 26 identifiable aromas...
...Once you get it right," I was told by one Scotch maker, "you alter nothing...
...Scotch has been made in Kirkwall since the 18th centurywhen Magnus Eunson, the local pastor, stored whisky under his pulpit to hide it from the taxman...
...It's now a museum with tour guides who knew and revered tier Majesty and thus are more than happy to tell you what she drank (not Scotch: gin with Dubonnet) and how she sat (a lady never leans back in a chair...
...Occasionally, it is said, he transported it in coffins...
...The result is "wash," essentially a beer that is then distilled in copper vessels...
...The best-selling single malt in the world is Glenfiddich...
...Artist Ian Gray agrees, as you can see from the paintings illustrating this article and by visiting his website: www.iangray.de...
...Other parts of the world--Spain, Korea, Taiwan, India, China, and Russia, for example--have been drink- _~ ing increasing amounts as well...
...I was particularly taken with the Highland Park distillery in Kirkwall, the main town in the Orkney Islands-outcroppings north of the Scottish mainland with a proud Viking heritage...
...True, at the low end are blends that are 80 or even 90 percent grain alcohol, flavored with minimal quantities of malt...
...In 1822, King George IV arrived and asked for a sample...
...A distillery is a kind of factory, but I've found that in Scotland they somehow manage to be congenial and picturesque...
...Next, the toasted malt is ground into grist and mixed with water, turning it into "wort...
...Each one is a distillation of its locality...
...The degree of smokiness can be precisely measured in continued on page 40 38 THE AMERICAN SPECTATOR JULY/AUGUST 2006 CLIFFORD D. MAY 3 JgLJlCl W INSTON CHURCIIILI, I)tL-MNK Johnnie Walker (whether Red or Black is a matter of some dispute...
...S COTLAND HAS FIVE main Scotch-producing regions: the Highland s , the Lowlands, the Isle of Islay (pronounced aye-la), Speyside-a sort of Napa Valley of Scotch along the fast-flowing River Spey--and around Campbeltown, a peninsula on Scotland's west coast...
...Orkney's main town is Kirkwall, population 7,000...
...Today, it is a thriving commercial hub...
...Each single malt comes from a particular distillery in a particular corner of Scotland...
...The Glenlivet, a Speyside Scotch, is produced in an emerald valley near Keith that even today can be difficult to find...
...HM Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, purchased and restored the 16th-century Mey Castle after the death of her beloved husband, King George VI...
...Not far away is Airth Castle, now a hotel, with dinner and ghost stories told by a raconteur wearing a kilt...
...Your father s Scotch almost certainly was a blend: think Dewar '-s White Label or Johnnie Walker Red, brands that combine spirits from as many as 40 Scottish distilleries...
...Such whiskies are still the most popular and are commonly consumed in cocktails or on the rocks with plenty of soda or water...
...This caused some consternation because while plenty was available, it was being produced illicitly...
...Glenlivet, for example, has been produced legally since 1823 (illegally longer) in the same hidden valley atop a deep natural spring...
...Accommodations, meals, afternoon teas, entertainment, golf, and fishing are included...
...a cobalt-blue harbor glistens in the distance...
...Occadians-as residents of the islands are called-are proud of their Scandinavian heritage and grumble about the Scots much as the Scots grumble about the English (and, of course, everyone grumbles about the Americans...
...Yet wherever I go around the world I find it is incredibly well known for its kilts, its monsters, and its whisky...
...JULY/AUGUST 2006 THE AMERICAN SPECTATOR 39 A WEE DRAM OF SCOTLAND phenyl parts per million, e.g., 1 ppm for Glenmorangie, 35 ppm for Laphroaig, and 50 ppm for Ardbeg...
...Scotsmen have been making Scotch for over 500 years, and Scotch can only come from Scotland...
...Each of these places is unique--as are the whiskies they produce...
...In 1995, only 6.3 million bottles of single malts were consumed in the U.S...
...As in centuries past, single malt whisky contains only three simple and natural ingredients: barley, water, and yeast...
...It is what it is...
...You can't overnight at Cawdor Castle, the home of the Dowager Countess Cawdor, but letting visitors tour the rooms and grounds for a fee is one way a royal makes ends meet these days...
...For example, Glenmorangie is only lightly "peated...
...Giles Cathedral, and I tollyrood-Scotland's new $800 million Parliament...
...It says: 'Take me or leave me.'" These days, serious d r i n k e r s - I mean that in the best s e n s e - a r e increasingly taking single malt Scotches, preferably with just a splash of water...
...At Skarra Brae, the oldest Neolithic village in northern Europe has been excavated...
...Personally, I enjoy many Scotches but generally find a lightly peated single malt aged at least 18 years most satisfying...
...That's not an uncommon derivation: In French, ' ~ they speak of eau de vie and in Scandinavia of aquavit...
...In Scotland, it's Glenmorangie...
...Loch Ness can accommodate additional monster-seekers...
...Some Scotches taste of heather and honey...
...Also in Kirkland is Highland Park, the northernmost Scotch distillery in the world...
...The next year, the taxes on whisky were reduced and Glenlivet became the first distillery to receive a government license...
...B ECAUSE SINGLE MALTS contain only the malt whisky produced at a single distillery, each one is distinctive...
...executive at Dewar's, told me...
...You can reach the Orkney Islands by plane but it's more fun to go by ferry from John O'Groats, on the northern tip of the Scottish mainland...
...Even the air can have an effect: Whisky produced and aged in salt air by the sea differs from whisky made and matured by a rushing fresh-water river...
...Older whiskies tend to be smoother...
...The growing appeal of single malts can be seen as a back-to-the-future phenomenon...
...Years ago, Glasgow was a bleak city...
...For years thereafter it was her summer residence...
...Scottish whisky pioneers would set up their pot stills in places hard for the "revenuers" to find...
...Yeast is added to cause fermentation...
...I f there's a cobweb-just leave it...
...The peat is cut from Scottish bogs and when it burns it produces a pungent smoke...
...The malted barley is then heated and dried...
...But over the past few years, there has been a surge of interest in the single malts: distinctive whiskies made only from barley-no other grains need apply...
...The population of Islay--natives are called Ileachs~is just 3,000 but also resident on the windswept island are 60,000 geese and more sheep than I would want to count...
...And don't discount its economic importance: Scotch is among Scotland's most important p r o d u c t s - a f t e r North Sea oil, of course...
...But beginning in the 1830s, distilleries began to sell their products by the cask to blenders who were using a new kind of still to produce less intense spirits made from a variety of grains...
...Good single malts deserve to be appreciated neat or with just a splash of pure water...
...The aromas and flavors depend on a multitude of factors: the qualities of the barley and water useld to make the malt...
...Glenmorangie offers "Malt Whisky Weekends" at its "Highland home" about 33 miles north of Inverness...
...Which is why we hate the English," Nell Boyd, an In 1822, King George IV arrived and asked for a sample...
...There maybe no other beverage in the world as intimately linked with a culture, history, and identity as Scotch is with Scotland...
...But there also are premium blends made mostly of malts, with just a little grain whisky added to lighten the taste...
...Kilts can be woven faster...
...Nessie is elusive...
...Last year, the number was up more than 100 percent to 12.7 million bottles...
...More Scotch is sold in the United States than in any other country...
...how small is entirely subj ective...
...Scotch generally has been produced in remote locations...
...Dewar's World of Whisky in Aberfeldy, about an hour and half north of Glasgow, is the most informative and elaborate...
...And there are now"vatted malts" such as Johnnie Walker Green Label and Monkey Shoulder that orchestrate several single malts, with not a drop of grain alcohol added...
...This caused some consternation because while plenty was available, it was being produced illicitly...
...But no matter how quickly Scotsmen alchemize barley into spirits, it still requires 15 years to make even a wee dram of 15-year-old Scotch whisky...
...Travelers may also want to note the Malt Whisky Trail, www.maltwhiskytrail.com...
...Others evoke spices, flowers, fruits, and nuts...
...Yet I never really understood the concept until a s 8 distiller in the Highlands described how, in earlier times, farmers would come in from their fields dead tired, imbibe a "wee dram," and feel miraculously by C l i f f o r d D. May 36 THE AMERICAN SPECTATOR JULY/AUGUST 2006 reinvigorated...
...Distillers who create a quality whisky are not just re]uctant to move--they are loath to change anything...
...Nonetheless, the king was accommodated and, evidently, His Majesty was pleased...
...Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is an unusually beautiful city, with many exceptional restauranLs and pubs featuring extensive whisky collections...
...I don't mean to suggest that a blend is always bland...
...By contrast, Laphroaig (pronounced la-froyg) and Ardbeg have been described as "liquid smoke...
...Its narrow, cobbled streets are surprisingly lively and the local cuisine is remarkably good thanks to the islands' lush pasture lands and the proximity of the sea...
Vol. 39 • July 2006 • No. 6
