Carlo ReltasIn Search of theSOUL OF WHISKYScottish Travel Impressions
Carlo Reltas
In Search of the
SOUL OF WHISKY
-
Scottish
Travel Impressions
CARE Publishing
Offenbach
Cover:
The Old Bridge over the River Livetnear the distillery The Glenlivet
All photos (also inside the book): C. Reltas
© Copyright by CARE of Sattler, Offenbach 2022ISBN: 978-3-756559-85-5
Original edition in German: Auf der Suche nach der Seele des Whiskys, 2020ISBN: 9783-7529-4543-0
Publisher: CARE of SattlerAugust-Bebel-Ring 22, 63067 [email protected]
Distribution: epubli – a service of Neopubli GmbH, Berlinwww.epubli.de
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Cover
Title
Imprint
PROLOGUE
"Where shall I look for it, the soul?"
SPEYSIDE - SINGLE MALT COUNTRY
Over Hill and Dale - Over Bens and Glens
Glenlivet - Hidden like Hobbit's Home
Glenfiddich - In the Valley of the Stags
On the Road in a Roadster as a Local Hero
INVERNESS AND THEE ISLESAt the Mouth of the Ness - InvernessThe Orkneys – a Highlight deep down
So Close to Heaven - Isle of Skye
Isle of Mull - Ice, Fire and Floods
Home of the Peat Smoked Uisge- Islay
SUMMER IN THE CITIES
Along Lochs to the City on the Clyde
Glasgow - the Big City
Edinburgh - the Royal City
EPILOGUE
The Soul – Fleeting like the Angels' Share
Maps with tour stops
By same Author
About the Author
PROLOGUE
"Where shall I look for it, the soul?"
What a big word - the soul! When Karl finally decided to put into practice the old dream of a trip to Scotland, which he had begun to dream about in the 1980s after being enchanted by the cult film "Local Hero", it was clear to him that whisky would play a major role. Not only had Burt Lancaster, alias US oil company boss Felix Happer, dropped all plans in the film to have a romantic seaside town swallowed up by a new refinery to be built, after a boozy whisky evening with hermit Ben Knox, but more importantly, Karl had learned to appreciate the subtleties of Single Malt Scotch Whiskies1 in the decades that followed.The "water of life" from Scotland - the Scottish-Gaelic word Uisge beatha means nothing else - may even have become something quasi-sacred for some aficionados, especially if they have paid hundreds of Euros for a bottle. Karl's devotion to the single-malt spirit does not go that far. And yet, it was clear to him that he would visit not one, not two, but many distilleries during his visit to Scotland in order to discover the secrets of the so many different nuances of taste. And there it was, the question of the soul of whisky: What makes it? How does the characteristic taste come about, which appeals to the connoisseur's senses so much more intensively and yet more delicately than most other spirits? The latter word has multiple meanings, it signifies also the first product of the distillation process. Another meaning of "spirit" is "soul". So he had reached a quasi-religious level, Karl had to admit to himself - although nothing is further from his mind than worshipping a bottle. "Well, the true whisky lover gets so much pleasure from the spirit he releases from the bottle that I take the liberty of speaking of the soul of whisky in a poetic - not religious - sense," the future Scotland traveller decided when planning his route. Just one more sip of the peaty 16-year-old Lagavulin, of which he had placed a 20-centilitre bottle next to the map, and the motto for the trip popped into his head: "In search of the soul of whisky!""But where should I look for it, for the soul?", Karl asked himself. His electronic map gave him the answer. A search for "distillery" on the map of Scotland reveals a clear picture. On the eastern slopes of the Highlands, especially on the banks of the River Spey and its tributary the Fiddich, the single malt distilleries are concentrated. And then there was the remote valley of the Livet, a tributary of the Spey tributary the Avon. The Glenlivet, the valley of the Livet, is home to The Glenlivetx, the whisky that King George IV was already enthusiastic about on his state visit to Scotland in 1822, although the product was actually still illegal at the time. Karl discovered an old mansion house on the map in the middle of the Livet and Fiddich valleys, the latter home to the now equally world-famous Glenfiddich, which offered its services as a Bed & Breakfeast, The Old Manse in Glenrinnes. His mind was made up quickly: This would be the first place he would stay to explore Whiskyland.But even though the county of Moray, where the famous Speyside region lies, dubs itself "Malt Whisky Country", it is the heart, but far from the whole of Whiskyland. Scottish single malt distilleries can be found in all directions, from the Hebridean Islands in the west with such "whisky lighthouses" as Lagavulin on Islay or Talisker on Skye to the traditional distilleries Glendronach and Glen Garioch in Aberdeenshire, the country's easternmost region. Auchentoshan on the outskirts of Glasgow and Glenkichie a few miles east of Edinburgh border Whiskyland to the south, so to speak2. 2. Scotland's northernmost whiskies, on the other hand, are distilled on the Orkney Islands, in the distilleries of Highland Park and Scapa.That is where Karl wants to go next, to the Orkneys, when he leaves Moray after an eastern detour to the Dronac Burn. He is not addicted to the mania of visiting all distilleries, but how could he omit Glenmorangie near Tain on the Dornach Firth on his way north! On the Hebrides, in addition to the scenic attractions of the Isle of Skye, he naturally wants to enjoy the sea-air infused Talisker there at its place of origin, Cabost. And on the rugged island of Islay, he has written the triumvirate of peat-smoked whiskies into his itinerary: Ardbeg, Lagavulin and Laphroaig. Mmh, just the sound of these names gives his tongue a pleasant, tangy peaty taste.He is just as much looking forward to the finale in Scotland's two largest cities. On the outskirts of Glasgow, the Auchentoshan distillery continues the tradition of triple distillation to achieve a particularly smooth whisky. And if Karl still hasn't discovered the soul of the "water of life", he might find it at a Uisge tasting in one of the elegant bars of the capital Edinburgh.
xMulti-part company, brand or restaurant names and the like are written in italics in the following.1 Single malts are the crown of whisky production. In contrast to the more common blends, several whisky varieties may not be used in their production. They therefore come from a single distillery. In addition to water and yeast, only malted barley (malt) may be used as a raw material, i.e. no other grain. American bourbon, on the other hand, has a corn content of at least 51 per cent and also contains rye and barley to a lesser extent. Rye whiskey, i.e. a distillate based purely on rye, which was predominantly drunk in America until Prohibition, has also recently come back into fashion. By the way: Scotch whisky also differs in the way it is spelt, namely only with a Y after the K, while Irish and Americans tend to insert an E.2 Only one distillery distils its malt whisky even further south, and that is in the far southwest of Scotland, almost on the border with England, the small Bladnoch Distillery in the village of the same name near the Irish Sea.
SPEYSIDE – SINGLE MALT COUNTRY
Glenlivet – Hidden like Hobbit's Home
An international community of whisky lovers has gathered at The Old Manse. In the living room, the breakfast table is set for three couples from France. Karl had already marvelled at their heavy motorbikes the day before on the forecourt of the country house when he discreetly parked his non-motorised two-wheeler against the wall of the house. He had met the six mid-forties again that evening when they had just stopped off at the Seven Stills in Dufftown. He had just been able to shout a "Bon appétit" to them before they disappeared into the restaurant named after seven distillers and he himself moved on to "A Taste of Speyside", where he had reserved a table. He will not be sharing a table with them this morning either, as the Old Manse host Ossie leads him through the open door of the living room to the back of the kitchen-living room. In its front part, another long table is set. Karl joins Geneviève and Alain from Belgium. The next day he would be chatting with a couple from Denmark at this international meeting place.
A lively conversation quickly develops between the two whisky friends from the "United Kingdom of Walloons and Flemings" and the German about their travel stops and much more. The two have already visited several distilleries. On this day, they want to finish off with a visit to the Speyside Cooperage, Scotland's largest whisky cask-maker. Karl hasn't even heard of it. Alain reminds him how important the casks are for maturing the whisky. "When you get to the Glenfiddich Distillery, just keep driving up the road over the hills to Craigellachie. Just before you get to the town, you'll see them, the giant piles of old barrels stacked up to be reprocessed," he describes the route. Karl doesn't need much convincing. "Good tip. I'll take a look at that. For sure! The soul of whisky, which is what I want to research, is certainly also formed in the casks. Glenlivet is on my agenda today. But tomorrow I'll combine the cooperage with a visit to Glenfiddich."
Between Livet and Fiddich: The Old Manse
Geneviève, meanwhile, is spooning her porridge and is apparently delighted. She calls out "Fantastic!" to Diane, the innkeeper, who is baking piles of oatmeal dough into scones on the hot plate of the coal-fired cooker a few metres away from them. "What's so fantastic about it?" the sceptical Karl wants to know from his neighbour at the breakfast table. The Belgian sitting next to him smiles meaningfully. After a pause, she tells him the special feature: "Well, there's a strong shot of whisky mixed into the porridge. What's more, Diane - look! - Diane has also added lots of apple pieces," she says, lifting her spoonful of the notoriously warm British oatmeal. Sure enough, apple slices peek out from the almost colourless mass. "Mmm, maybe I should try the porridge tomorrow too?" he says. "You should!" Genevieve's husband Alain encourages him from across the table. Karl had refused Diane's offer of "Porridge?" at the beginning of breakfast, to her astonishment, with a rather brusque, decisive, curt "No". Now he is sorry. "I'll make it up to her tomorrow," he decides.
