Whisky in Your Pocket E-Book

Neil Wilson

• Herausgeber: Waverley Books
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Beschreibung

This new edition of Whisky in Your Pocket by Neil Wilson is a simple clear guide to whisky for beginners and a quick reference guide for the expert. It is ideal for those who know what they like and want to try something else like it.

Leseprobe

To the memory of Duncan McGillivray of Bruichladdich1952–2020

Once met, never forgotten

WHISKY

in Your

POCKET

NEIL WILSON

WAVERLEY BOOKS

Published in 2020 by Waverley Books, an imprint of

The Gresham Publishing Company Ltd,

31, Six Harmony Row, Glasgow, G51 3BA, Scotland

www.waverley-books.co.uk

[e-mail]

facebook/pages/waverleybooks

Copyright © 2020 Neil Wilson

First published 2010. This edition published 2020.

The author hereby asserts his moral right to be identified as the author of this work.All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in an information retrieval system, now known or yet to be invented, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright holder.

Excepting pages 25, 84, 88, 105, 113, 119, 121, 124, 125, 128, 129, 134, 144, 154, 159, 165 and 167 (upper) all bottle and distillery images are reproduced by kind permission of the online whisky shop www.masterofmalt.com.The images listed above are the copyright of their respective proprietors.

The publisher accepts no responsibility whatsoever for the accuracy of the bottle illustrations that appear in this book which have been reproduced in good faith in the best effort to represent the most up-to-date images.

Graphics on pages 10–15 are by Doreen Shaw: www.theillustrator.co.uk

All maps are by Robert and Rhoda Burns: www.drawingattention.co.uk

Conditions of Sale:

This book is sold with the condition that it will not, by way of trade or otherwise, be resold, hired out, lent, or otherwise distributed or circulated in any form or style of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without the same conditions being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

ISBN 9781849341974

Contents

Introduction

1What is Scotch Whisky?

2How is Scotch Whisky Made?

Malt whisky distilling

Grain whisky distilling

3Single Malt Scotch Speyside

Active distilleries

The Highlands

Active distilleries: Eastern

Active distilleries: Northern

Active distilleries: Southern

Active distilleries: Western

The Lowlands

Active distilleries

Islay

Active distilleries

Campbeltown

Active distilleries

The Islands

Active distilleries

4Blended Malt Scotch

5Single Grain Scotch

Active distilleries

6Blended Grain Scotch

7Blended Scotch

8Lost malt and grain distilleries since 1960

Index of brands and distilleries

Introduction

THE introduction to the first edition of Whisky in Your Pocket was written by Wallace Milroy in 2010. Sadly he passed away late in 2016 and so the onus of taking on all the writing chores for this new edition has fallen to me. To say that Wallace was a giant in the field of Scotch malt whisky is an understatement and his passing was marked by many prominent members of the industry. The growth of the popularity of the single malt sector owes much to the efforts he and his brother Jack made in central London back in the 1960s and 70s.

But time marches on and the challenges of Brexit now stare the Scotch whisky industry straight in the face. As I write the circumstances of the UK’s future relationship with the EU is simply unknown so I will not make any predictions as to how, over the course of the remaining months in 2020, this will pan out and I will concentrate on what the reader can gain from studying this volume. Its forerunner was Wallace Milroy’s Malt Whisky Almanac, first published in 1986, which evolved over seven editions, reaching 350,000 sales with foreign editions also published in Japan, USA, Canada, Germany and Italy. The seventh edition came out in 1998 and after that Wallace and I decided to rest the project for a while as it was competing in an overcrowded marketplace and had served its purpose well in introducing people to the world of malt whisky.

By 2009 we decided to republish the book under a new title through Waverley Books of Glasgow which brought extra marketing and promotional muscle and very high standards of production quality. A decade has now passed and this new edition comes at a time when the Scotch single malt sector has never been so buoyant with the expansion of a number of established distilleries and many new ones, of various capacities, emerging in almost every corner of the country, a phenomenon which is being matched around the world.

Given this rate of expansion a new edition was necessary and I hope that it will remain the ‘go to’ pocket reference guide to be carried by anyone with an interest in Scotch whisky, whether an old hand or a newcomer. In that latter role it was always Wallace’s intention for the book to quell the nerves of ‘confused consumers’ making their way down the supermarket spirits’ aisle, or venturing through airside shopping areas and being faced with a vast number of differing bottlings. To that end, after the preliminaries, the book remains structured by producing region starting with Speyside, then the geographically vast Highlands which are broken down into Eastern, Northern, Southern and Western, followed by the rapidly expanding Lowlands, then Islay and Campbeltown until we round off with the Islands.

Wallace always felt that the regional classification created by the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA), the official trade organisation body, was in need of revision. The SWA includes the Islands in the Highlands region and it was always a source of amusement to him as to how Highland Park on Orkney and Glengoyne in Stirlingshire were considered to be in the same producing area. Historically only two producing ‘regions’ used to exist, the Highlands and the Lowlands, separated by an imaginary line, drawn up in the Wash Act of 1784, from Greenock to Dundee, either side of which was subject to differing excise regulations. In the Highlands the small-batch, pot-still process was employed whereas the Lowland distillers used the high-volume, large-batch, flash-distillation technique. With the rise of blending in the mid-to-late 19th century, malt distilleries were ranked by blenders into classes from Top, through First, Second and Third Class and generally speaking all the top-ranked whiskies were Speysides. Thus regional styles were applied and have tended to stick largely because the big distillers needed to manage large amounts of stock for blending in a comprehensible manner.

If there is one overriding factor that has driven the many new expressions to have been created over the last decade, it is flavour. No longer is the industry tied to the geographical, terroir-based, limitations nor to the traditional age-specific releases. Now, management of stocks is all tied to how to drive the flavour of a whisky. There are now so many available no-age-statement (NAS) expressions available that it is impossible to cover them all in the compass of this slim volume. For that reason the whiskies detailed herein refer to the main UK trade bottling, whether age-related or not.

The tasting notes used in this book are those of the proprietors where available (or the independent bottler) and describe the whisky after water has been added, unless stated. Any set of notes is subjective, but these are here to help, not to hinder, and have been rendered as simply as possible. The addition of water is to your taste but some malts do not require them and can be treated like a fine cognac or armagnac after dinner. All cask-strength single malts and grains should have some water added (bit by bit ... you can always add water but never take it away!) but you can taste a small amount at full strength first. All the notes refer to 70cl bottle volume unless otherwise stated and the acronym STR refers to casks that have been ‘shaved, toasted and re-charred’.

As alluded to earlier, a large number of new distilling operations have sprung up since the start of the millennium and one very small operator, the Loch Ewe Distillery at Aultbea has closed. (Another to disappear was the short-lived Deeside Distillery at Banchory which undertook a short season of distilling in order to create 100 casks, 88 of which were for private customers. The proceeds are hoped to underwrite a larger distilling operation nearby.) Many of the ongoing works are still at the planning stages or are continuing a very lengthy gestation period such as Falkirk Distillery, but others are now operational after relatively short periods. As I write a distillery in my home town of Moffat, Dumfriesshire, has had its planning application granted and construction should start soon. I have tried to include all of the newer distilleries that have actually laid down whisky stocks or have plans to do so, although tasting samples may not have been available. Companies that are distilling or rectifying purely for the production of gin, with no plans for whisky production, are excluded. Similarly rum distillation is not included although I believe this will be a growth category for distillation in Scotland. Another notable development has been the announcement from Diageo to reinstate distilling at Port Ellen Distillery on Islay and Brora in Sutherland. Similarly Rosebank at Camelon, Falkirk is set to start production soon under the new owners, Ian Macleod Distillers.

The industry can be described as still being driven globally by blended Scotch sales, with a healthy but still relatively small single-malt category and a growing artisanal craft-distilling sector which is showing the most innovation in terms of how whiskies are distilled and matured. In June 2019 the SWA altered the regulations which determine the type of wood in which Scotch whisky can be matured including those previously used to age agave spirits (including Tequila and mezcal), Calvados, barrel-aged cachaça, shochu and baijiu, as well as some other fruit spirits. The possible effects of these changes are some way off, but should increase the appeal of Scotch whisky to a wider market.

New-make spirit is now something that is no longer considered solely for onward maturation to legal whisky status at three years, but can be found being sold commercially such as Lindores Abbey Aqua Vitae and Annandale’s Rascally Liquor. These young, characterful spirits are increasingly popular with mixologists as the base alcohol in new cocktails.

The other educational issue which was introduced in the last edition is the question of what actually constitutes ‘Scotch whisky’. This book clearly defines the five types of Scotch that currently make up the sector: single malt, blended malt, single grain, blended grain and blended Scotch. Chapter 1 deals with this in greater depth and it is not as confusing as it sounds once the production processes for single malt and single grain are understood, as described in Chapter 2.

Diageo remains the giant in the industry with 28 malt distilleries, followed by Pernod-Ricard, operated by Chivas Brothers (13). The other main operators in alphabetic order are Angus Dundee Distillers (2), Beam Suntory (5), BenRiach Distillery Co, owned by Brown-Forman (3), Burn Stewart Distillers Ltd, owned by Distell Group Ltd (3), Edrington (3), Inver House Distillers Ltd, owned by ThaiBev (5), John Dewar & Sons Ltd, owned by Bacardi Ltd (5), Whyte & Mackay Ltd, owned by Emperador (4), William Grant & Sons Ltd (4), Loch Lomond Group, owned by Hillhouse Capital Management (2), Glenmorangie PLC, owned by LVMH (2), Isle of Arran Distillers Ltd (2), Ian Macleod Distillers Ltd (2), Campari Group (1), Signatory Vintage Scotch Whisky Co Ltd (1), Takara Shuzo Co Ltd (1), J&G Grant (1), Rémy Cointreau (1), Gordon & MacPhail (1), Ben Nevis Distillery (Fort William) Ltd, owned by Asahi Group Holdings (1) and La Martiniquaise (1). A further 34 companies are operators of an active single malt whisky distillery, taking the current total to 125.

The grain whisky sector is represented with seven distilleries controlled by Diageo (Cameronbridge), William Grant & Sons Ltd (Girvan), Lothian Distillers Ltd trading as North British Distillery Co Ltd (Edinburgh), Whyte & Mackay Ltd (Invergordon), Loch Lomond Group (Loch Lomond), La Martiniquaise (Starlaw) and Chivas Brothers (Strathclyde).

It is from this range of malt and grain distilleries that the entire output of Scotch whisky is distilled and then sold on at home and abroad, in bottled and bulk form, contributing some £4.7 billion to the UK exchequer.

Enjoy your journey with Whisky in Your Pocket!

Neil Wilson, Moffat, May 2020.

1. What is Scotch Whisky?

WHEN you buy Scotch whisky it will come in a bottle. You can buy it in bulk in a cask, but very few people have the means to do this. There are five types of Scotch whisky which were redefined in November 2009, exactly 100 years after a Royal Commission had defined what Scotch whisky was following a scandal involving the adulteration of whisky being sold in pubs. At that time whisky was distilled in two ways: in batches using pot stills and in a continuous method using the large, industrial patent still. Prior to the 1909 ruling, the Highland pot-still malt whisky distillers considered their whisky to be the true Scotch while the larger patent-still grain distillers were accused of passing off their less reputable whisky as the real thing. The commission settled the matter by stating that Scotch whisky was spirit distilled in Scotland from a mash of cereals which had been converted into soluble sugars by the action of the enzyme diastase contained within the malted portion of the mash. Effectively that meant that the produce of both distillation techniques was Scotch whisky.1 The finding was a victory for the Lowland patent-still producers and from that point onwards the industry evolved into what it is today: a worldwide, multi-million dollar success story.

The bottle you buy will therefore contain one or other of these two types of whisky or a mixture of them. Under the definitions the most common of the five forms of bottled whisky is blended Scotch.

The graphic shows a typical bottle of this type of Scotch, made up of 40% malt whisky and 60% grain whisky but these proportions will vary from producer to producer. One popular blended Scotch, Teacher’s Highland Cream, has a 45% malt whisky proportion. More commonly, the malt proportion is likely to be around 25%. The portion of malt can consist of as many individual malt whiskies as the blender decides to use, while the grain portion can also consist of more than one grain whisky, but as there are only seven grain distilleries in Scotland blenders tend to choose from a much reduced palette. Anyone shopping in a supermarket will see perhaps a dozen blended Scotch whiskies for sale including Johnnie Walker, Teacher’s, Bell’s, Whyte & Mackay, High Commissioner and The Famous Grouse. None of these brands carry an age statement on the label, but many of them issue aged expressions which are more expensive. The minimum legal strength for all five types of bottled Scotch is 40% abv (alcohol by volume) and any age statement on the label will refer to the youngest whisky in the bottling, irrespective of whether it is within the malt portion or the grain portion.

The next category our supermarket shopper is likely to find is single malt Scotch. This whisky is produced in batches using the pot-still distilling process employed at all of Scotland’s 125 active malt distilleries. Malt whisky is made from 100% malted barley, unlike grain whisky which is made from a mixture of cereals. Brands include Glenfiddich, Laphroaig, Macallan, Dalmore, Talisker, Highland Park, Jura, Bladnoch, Springbank and The Deveron amongst many others.

The contents of the bottle you purchase will contain pure malt whisky from the distillery named on the label which may, or may not, carry an age statement. If it does then the age of the youngest malt within the bottle will be the age stated on the label. This is sometimes a confusing issue for the consumer but it shows that in order to produce a consistent product distillers will marry aged vintages of malt from the same distillery. So a bottle of single malt may contain malts distilled at different times from the same distillery. Rarer malts from single casks will carry an age statement and sometimes the number of the cask or bottle and the year of distillation. These will also be bottled at a higher strength than usual as these whiskies are not diluted down to the minimum legal strength of 40% abv.

The remaining categories represent altogether rarer types of Scotch whisky. Blended malt Scotch is a blend of two or more single malt Scotch whiskies from different distilleries.2 Brands that fall into this category include Big Peat, Monkey Shoulder, Johnnie Walker Green Label and Spice Tree.

Blended grain Scotch is a blend of two or more single grain Scotch whiskies from different distilleries employing the patent-still distillation process. The Snow Grouse was the only readily available brand but has been discontinued. The rarer and more expensive Hedonism from Compass Box is available from specialist retailers and other independent bottlers have also ventured into this category, such as North Star Spirits.

Single grain Scotch is whisky from one grain distillery only. Cameron Brig is the most prominent trade bottling but is only available in Fife and from specialist retailers. Bottlings from defunct grain distilleries are available from independent bottlers and are generally very rare and very expensive.

Now that we know what Scotch whisky is, we can look at how it is made.

1 After the 1909 ruling some changes were made in 1915 requiring whisky to be matured in casks for at least three years. The strength at which whisky can be distilled must be no more than 94.8% alcohol.

2 Previously this was referred to as vatted malt Scotch whisky.

2. How is Scotch Whisky Made?

WE know that Scotch whisky exists in two forms: malt and grain. Now we need to look at how both are produced. Up to the point of distillation, the processes are very similar in that a low-alcohol beer is produced, called wash. Malt whisky wash is made from only malted barley, whereas grain whisky wash consists of some malted barley, but is predominately wheat-based with maize.

In both cases the cereals used contain energy-rich starch which will be used to produce alcohol, but first it must be converted into soluble sugars. For malt whisky, the barley is malted by steeping in water for a couple of days, after which it is allowed to germinate over four days. This can be done on traditional floor maltings which used to exist in all distilleries but which are now confined to a few including Laphroaig, BenRiach, Bowmore and Balvenie where a proportion of the total malt requirement is made this way.1

The modern-day equivalents to floor maltings include the industrial drum maltings which operate in a number of locations around Scotland such as Glen Ord, Burghead and Port Ellen. Other ways to create malt are the Saladin Box process (as once seen at Tamdhu Distillery), the Wanderhaufen system and Tower Maltings, but these last two are more prevalent on the continent. The processes of all these types of maltings might differ, but the result is the same.

Once the starch content has been converted it must be dried to stop further germination and maximize the sugar content. Distilleries that operate floor maltings do this on site by drying the barley in kilns topped by distinctive cupola roofs. Depending on the flavour profile of the whisky, peat is used in varying quantities to aid this process and impart ‘peatiness’ to the malt which is measured as the phenoliccontent in parts per million (ppm). Many malt distilleries use unpeated malt while others like Laphroaig, Ardmore and Kilchoman, use peated malt at varying phenolic levels. Commercial maltings produce malt to the precise specifications of each individual distillery in large, efficient kilns employing the latest heat-reclamation and drying techniques. Kilning usually takes a couple of days. The grain distillers also use a proportion of this malt in the cereal mash they use as the enzyme, diastase, which is contained within the malt, and diatase is key in breaking down the starch content of the wheat and maize.

Once the malt is ready it will be crisp, toasted and friable and is ready for milling. This is done by passing the mash through a dresser/destoner to remove undesirables before it is ground in a roller mill to a floury grist. In this state it is ready for mashing. In the mash house, it is piped into the mashtun with hot water and stirred to create a sweet, sugary liquor called wort. In the grain whisky process the ground wheat and maize portion of the mash is placed in a pressure cooker and made into a porridge which is then added to the mashtun. Once conversion is complete the mashtun is drained and the wort is processed via a vessel named the underback to the wort cooler and then transferred to the fermentation vessels in the tun room, known as washbacks, where yeast is added. The residue from the mashtun is processed into animal feed.

Fermentation usually lasts between two to five days and creates a low-alcohol beer with a strength of 7–8% abv and a lot of carbon dioxide which is lost to the atmosphere in most malt distilleries, but is of such significant volume in the grain whisky process that it is captured and processed. Once the wash is ready to be distilled the processes involved in creating malt and grain whisky diverge, so we will deal with malt whisky distillation first.

Malt whisky distilling

IN the still house, all malt whisky distilleries employ at least one pair of pot stills and sometimes an odd number of them. These are generally onion-shaped at the bottom with a rising, tapering neck section that then turns into a long pipe that carries the distillate away. The stills are generally heated with internal coils charged with steam; the rare exception being direct-fired stills with a gas burner beneath them. The principle of this technique is to distil the low-alcohol wash in the first still (the wash still) and to process that distillate (now around 21–23% abv) in the second still (the low wines or spirit still) to redistill it into spirit between 67–72% abv. The distillate condenses by passing through the coil of copper pipe immersed in cold water in a worm tub, or more commonly, through a modern water-cooled jacket condenser.

Distillate from the wash still is captured in the low wines and feints charger before being used in the second distillation. The run of spirit from the spirit still is monitored and diverted back to the low wines and feints charger until the correct strength is obtained when it is diverted into the spirit receiver.

The first part of the distillate that is discarded is called the foreshots, the important portion that is captured next is the middle cut and the last part, when the alcoholic volume starts to tail off, is called the feints which are again diverted to the low wines charger and redistilled in the next batch. The stillman makes the decision as to which part of the spirit run to collect by checking its strength as it flows through the spirit safe.2 The middle cut is diverted into the spirit receiver tank before being piped to the spirit store.

The residue in the wash still is known as ‘pot ale’ and is processed into cattle food and usually mixed with the draff from the mashtun to form cattle cake. This process usually takes place at a ‘dark grains’ plant offsite, but some larger distilleries have their own facilities onsite to undertake this. The other by-product of the distillation process is the residue left in the spirit still which is known as the ‘spent lees’ and has to be discarded.

Some oddities have occurred in pot-still distilling practices, the Lomond Still probably being the most well-known. These were pot stills with stubby, steam-heated column heads giving a thicker, heavier spirit and were first developed at Hiram Walker’s Dumbarton complex in the 1950s. They have been used at Inverleven, Glenburgie (to create Glencraig malt), Miltonduff (Mosstowie) and Scapa where a variant of the still is the last one still in use in Scotland. The Inverleven still has ended up at Bruichladdich where it is used to make The Botanist gin.

Grain whisky distilling

ALTHOUGH only carried out at seven locations in Scotland, this process produces by far and away the largest proportion of Scotch whisky distilled each year in Scotland. The distilling process employed at these huge distilleries is a continuous process which operates over a period of weeks and months, rather than hours and days. It was invented by Robert Stein of Kilbagie, Clackmannanshire in 1826 and then further developed and refined in 1831 by Aeneas Coffey, whose name is most closely related to the technique.

In its traditional form the still consists of two, tall, interlinked copper and stainless-steel columns, the analyser and the rectifier, which sit side-by-side. The basic principle is that pressure-fed steam enters the analyser at the base and rises up through a series of compartments separated by perforated sieve plates. As it does so, hot wash is fed in at the top of the analyser and descends through the compartments. The steam strips the alcohol from the wash and carries it over into the base of the rectifier, where it again ascends through another series of compartments. As it does so it comes into contact with the cold wash supply pipe which is routed through the rectifier in a series of loops and coils.3 This acts as a surface on which the alcohol vapour condenses and the strength of the condensate increases as it rises up the rectifier until it is gathered on top of the unperforated spirit plate in the topmost compartment, the spirit chamber. The spirit this process produces is relatively flavourless compared to malt spirit, but is of a very high purity at around 94% abv.

Any uncondensed vapour is redistilled via the wash charger as is the fluid known as the hot feints which are piped away from the bottom of the rectifier and pumped back into the upper section of the analyser and redistilled. Once the spirit has been collected the process returns to the same one as employed in the rest of Scotland’s distilleries, the only differences being those of scale and location as some malt distilleries tanker their spirit offsite to facilities that are more suitable for cask-filling, maturing and warehousing.

In the spirit store the spirit is piped into the spirit filling vat where it is diluted down to the distiller’s required strength (usually around 63.5% abv) before being measured into individual casks. A record of this procedure is carefully logged for HMRC reports to the government. After this the spirit is subject to the producer’s needs in terms of which wood it is matured in, how large the casks are, where it is held for maturing and for how long. The minimum term is three years, after which it can be used for bottling and blending. Almost all of the grain whisky produced in Scotland is released to be used in blending while the malt whisky stocks are carefully monitored and managed to meet the requirements of the master blenders, many of whom have to source malts from other producers to create the blends in their own portfolios. This is when the value of wood management becomes most apparent.

When spirit is first placed in a cask it is raw. From that point onwards the wood has an effect on it as the spirit interacts with the soluble constituents of the cask as it breathes, allowing the release of some alcoholic content which weakens the remaining spirit volume.4 Whisky is always matured in oak of either American or European extraction with most European oak being Spanish in origin. The new regulations of June 2019 also allow maturation in casks previously used to mature agave spirits (including Tequila and mezcal), Calvados, barrel-aged cachaça, shochu and baijiu, as well as some other fruit spirits.

Casks that have previously held bourbon or sherry are common and must be no more than 700 litres in volume and of oak. Casks can be used more than once and can be rejuvenated by replacing old staves and also by using the STR practice.

Many distillers and independent bottlers are now giving maturation details on the bottle labels and packaging so you might see that a malt whisky has been matured for 10 years in ex-bourbon and then finished for 18 months in Oloroso ex-sherry. Blended whiskies tend not to carry any maturation details, but that is changing.

1 Only Springbank in Campbeltown produces its entire malt requirement on its floor maltings as well as that of its sister distillery, Glengyle.

2 Another ‘intermediate safe’ is employed to monitor the strength of the low wines before entering the low wines and feints charger from the wash still.

3 Nowadays the wash is fed pre-heated into the analyser and a cold-water pipe acts as the condensing surface in the rectifier. Vacuum-distilling techniques are also more common in the modern-day patent still.

4 This loss is referred to as the ‘angels’ share’ and amounts to 1–2% per annum of all maturing stocks in Scotland.

3. Single Malt Scotch Speyside

THE malts produced in this area of Scotland are perhaps the most obvious answer to the beginner’s question, ‘What does malt whisky taste like?’ and it is more likely that anyone encountering malt for the first time will probably be trying a Glenfiddich or a Glenlivet. But that should not detract from the fact that malt whiskies are distilled over the length and breadth of Scotland and display a remarkable degree of variation.

This area contains the largest concentration of whisky-making apparatus in the world. In total there are 53 distilleries here of which 49 are active. The dormant four are Dallas Dhu (with ongoing plans to reinstate it if its owner, Historic Environment Scotland, can find a funding partner), Coleburn, Convalmore and Parkmore, all three of which will never produce again. There are three which no longer exist: Caperdonich, Imperial and Pittyvaich. The site of Imperial was redeveloped with the establishment of Dalmunach in 2014. Roseisle Distillery, the fourth-largest in Scotland, is not detailed in this section as it has been exclusively distilling for blending purposes since its inception in 2009. There is a planned venture in the area at Cabrach, historically a place of much illicit distillation, but it is not up and running yet and will be a small operation.

Speyside’s illicit distilling of the 18th and early 19th centuries gained it a high reputation and it was not until 1823 that the government finally grasped the nettle and introduced legislation that encouraged illicit distillers to take out licences. George Smith of Glenlivet was granted the first of these. He later moved the distillery to its current location at Minmore in 1858 where he conducted business with his son, John. Stylistically the malts from this area are medium- to full-bodied, with some sweetness and they mature well between 10 to 15 years. Some producers age them even more but the bulk of them will be found in this age range or with no age statement. Many are matured in ex-sherry casks and this gives them a rich, savoury finish, which is one of the hallmarks of a Speyside.

This area is one of the most beautiful in Scotland and there are good facilities at many of the distilleries for visitors. There is an established Malt Whisky Trail (http://maltwhiskytrail.com) which consists of Benromach, Cardhu, Glenfiddich, Glen Grant, Glen Moray, Glenlivet, Strathisla and Dallas Dhu along with the Speyside Cooperage in Dufftown. Speyside also hosts two whisky festivals, one in the spring and one in autumn, both ideal times to be in the area (www.spiritofspeyside.com).

From a blending point of view, the Speysides form the backbone of most of the Scotch whisky blends that you will find. So why are they so important to the blender? Richard Paterson, master blender at Whyte & Mackay, draws an interesting comparison between the father of blending, Andrew Usher (1826-98) and Paul Cézanne, the father of modern art. The analogy is a good one in that the master blender ‘draws from a palette of malt and grain whiskies to create his masterpieces. Harmony is his ultimate aim. No one colour, no one malt, must predominate.’ This palette consists of a large number of malt whiskies and a relatively small number of grain whiskies. The Speysides form the largest part of the malt palette as the heavier and more smoky Islays are used sparingly due to their high degree of influence on the finished product. Other robust malts from the Highlands, Islands and Campbeltown make distinct contributions to the blender’s craft depending on their individual character. The floral, aromatic Lowlands help to create balance between these malts and integrate them with the larger grain whisky proportion.

In a word, Speyside is the heart of malt whisky distilling in Scotland and the malts we are now going to look at are the core bottlings which represent distillery character best. Most distilleries issue many more expressions and these can be discovered via the relevant Internet websites for each producer.

Whiskies from lost distilleries such as Coleburn, Dallas Dhu and Pittyvaich have been available occasionally from Diageo’s Rare Malts selection, in the Special Releases ‘Rare by Nature’ and the discontinued (but still available) Flora & Fauna series, or from the numerous specialist retailers and independent bottlers.

MaltAberlourPronouncedaber-LOWERRDistilleryAberlourABERLOURAB38 9PJOwnerPernod RicardVisitorsTel: 01340 881249Websitewww.aberlour.comEstablished1879StatusIn productionWater sourceBirkenbush and other springsMalt sourceCommercial maltstersPhenolsUnpeatedCasksEx-bourbon and ex-sherryCapacity3.8 million litres of alcoholStillsWash: 2Spirit: 2Main bottling12 years old, 40%NoseTrace of cinnamon with preserved fruit.TasteButtery, syrupy with raisins and a trace of charred wood.FinishMedium, fruity, warming.CommentsA popular, award-winning malt from Speyside.Also tryBenrinnes, Benromach, GlenturretAvailabilityEverywherePrice£40

MaltAllt-a-BhainnePronouncedolt-a-VAN-yaDistilleryAllt-a-BhainneGlenrinnesDUFFTOWNAB55 4DEOwnerPernod RicardEstablished1975StatusIn productionWater sourceSprings on BenrinnesMalt sourceCommercial maltstersPhenolsUnpeated and medium-peatedCasksRefill hogsheadsCapacity4.2 million litres of alcoholStillsWash: 2Spirit: 2Main bottlingDistillery Reserve Collection, NAS, 40%NoseSmoky hints of peat, some leather and oak.TasteRoast fruits and honey hints, with cinnamon spice and peat.FinishLong, smooth, gently smoky.CommentsThe first official owner bottling.Also tryArdmore, Highland Park, BowmoreAvailabilitySpecialist retailersPrice£33

MaltAuchroiskPronouncedar-thruskDistilleryAuchroiskMULBENAB55 6XSOwnerDiageoWebsitewww.malts.comEstablished1974StatusIn productionWater sourceDorie’s WellMalt sourceBurghead MaltingsPhenolsUnpeatedCasksMostly ex-sherryCapacity5.9 million litres of alcoholStillsWash: 4Spirit: 4SampleFlora & Fauna, 10 years old, 43%NoseToffee and malt. Sweet pastry and a light fruitiness like tarte tatin.TasteSweet malt with some acidity. Shortbread and spice. Trace of warm wood in development.FinishWarming and long.CommentsOne of Diageo’s rare distillery bottlings.Also tryGlen Keith, Glenrothes, TormoreAvailabilitySpecialist retailersPrice£50 plus

MaltAultmorePronouncedollt-MOREDistilleryAultmoreKEITHAB55 6QYOwnerJohn Dewar & Sons LtdWebsitewww.Aultmore.comEstablished1897StatusIn productionWater sourceAuchinderran DamMalt sourceCommercial maltstersPhenolsUnpeatedCasksEx-bourbonCapacity3.2 million litres of alcoholStillsWash: 2Spirit: 2Main bottling12 years old, 46%NoseSweet pear, vanilla and cut grass.