The Water of Life.... (Part One)

The long and storied history of distilled spirits.

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Samohon
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The Water of Life.... (Part One)

Post by Samohon »

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Thought I would try and give something back to HD before I build my own rig next month.
I am enthusiastic in my planned design and could not have done it without everybody here at HD.
Knowing how to put my project together was a task that required reading, asking, reading, research, and reading again and again and again.
Reading something twice, three or four times is no uncommon for me.
Watching people build their rigs, their problems in fabrication, their first succesfull build, their first sucessful run.
I learned from them all, the expert and novice alike and still, continue to do so.
I, for my own part, am not and expert or historian on scottish whisky. I only know what I have read and been told.
But I do have one advantage, I am a Scot and as such, do know my history.

So here goes, please forgive the spelling.


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A Brief History of Scotch Whisky – Part One.

Whisky will be forever linked to the name of Robert Burns. Scotland's greatest poet considered whisky his "muse" and it seems he had a special liking to whisky from the famous Ferintosh distillery. Many whisky books quote the outcry of the following poem;

Oh whisky! soul o' plays and pranks!
Accept a bardie's gratefu' thanks!
When wanting thee, what tuneless cranks
Are my poor verses!
Thou comes - they rattle in their ranks,
At ither's arses!

Fortune! if thou but gie me still
Hale breeks, a scone, an' whisky gill,
An' rowth o' rhyme to rave at will,
Tak a' the rest,
An' deal't about as thy blind skill
Directs thee best.


Robert Burns - 1759 –1796


I don’t know how to try and follow that but here goes.

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The precise origins of when whisky was first produced in Scotland are lost in the history of Scotland’s national tipple. What is known however is, that the ancient Celts were keen producers, and even more enthusiastic consumers, of the ‘the water of life’. For centuries it has been claimed that whisky has mystical medicinal powers sufficient to cure colic, smallpox and many other common diseases and ailments. Others simply believed it to be an effective Built-in central heating system to help survive those long cold Scottish winter nights.

Wherever the truth lies, and at the same time remembering my own experiences of having had the privilege to grow up around 14 different distilleries, it has certainly shown a comfort to my family. I remember my mother nursing my younger sisters with various common ailments in infancy with a "Hot Toddy". This was typically made from a spoonful of malt or sugar, some hot water and a capful of Whisky. My grandmother, who, in the later stages of her life, contracted respiratory problems, sent me to the local "Whisky Nose", "Shinner", for 1/2 a pint of blend. Typically, whisky blended with single malt and grain. Cheap, but very comparable to some scotch on the market today. So I am told, of coarse. This would last my grandmother a week and without it, she could hardly breath. Indeed, the water of life...

My own experiences are first to observe as a youngster how excessive quantities of "The National Drink", made people do and say things that they really wouldn’t say and do, without the courage of that amber coloured glass in their hand. I remember the first time I tried a sip, 11 maybe 12, running to the water tap in the kitchen, tongue burning, throat on fire. The water of life, no way and they all sit round the table drinking this voluntarily. Great memories. But where did it all begin? I really had to do some research and the following is my case study on a very privileged and patriotic topic.

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The Gaelic "usquebaugh", literally means, "Water of Life", phonetically it became "usky" or rather “yusskiee” and then later became "whisky" as it is pronounced in English today. However it is known, Scotch Whisky, Scotch or Whisky (as opposed to whiskey), has captivated a market that is available to the industry on a global scale.

Just like Cognac in France, Scotland has internationally protected the term "Scotch". For a whisky to be labelled Scotch it has to be produced in Scotland. If it is to be called Scotch, it cannot be produced in England, Wales, Ireland, America or anywhere else. Excellent whiskies are made by similar methods in other countries, notably Japan (Saki), American bourbon, but they cannot label the product as scotch. They are most often referred to as "whiskey". While they might be splendid whiskies, they were not made in Scotland and as such cannot use the term scotch.

It is thought that St Patrick introduced distillation to Ireland in the fifth century AD using knowledge he acquired during his travels in Spain and France. The secrets were brought to Scotland by the Dalriadic Scots when they arrived in Kintyre around 500AD. Many families had their own stills which were found near fresh water and barley supplies, distillation was commonplace in the winter months making use of barley from the recent harvest. The equipment used was often primitive and the spirit produced was potent and sometimes harmful, the spirit was not aged but consumed immediately.

During the course of the 15th century better still design contributed to an improvement in the quality of the spirits produced and the knowledge of distilling quickly spread to others. The year 1494 was a milestone in the history of whisky. Found in the then Exchequer Rolls of that year is recorded a purchase of ‘eight bolls of malt to Friar John Cor wherewith to make aqua vitae’, “the water of life”. This is the first time that written proof of whisky production in Scotland existed. It did not take long for this, at that time still very old, craft to spread outside of the monasteries, and eventually the ‘water of life’ came to be produced on almost every farm, croft and mountain bothy in Scotland.

Back in the fifteenth and sixteenth century, whisky tasted very different from the drink we all know and enjoy today. At that time whisky was not matured and so was consumed very young, had a brutal, raw taste and by all accounts, made for a very unpleasant experience. During the middle of the eighteenth century it was discovered that whisky improves and mellows to a very great degree if it is allowed to mature. As is the case with nearly all major breakthroughs, the finding was made by accident. Legend has it that an old forgotten cask was found by its owner. The proprietor soon discovered after having a wee nip, that the whisky inside this miss-placed container had in fact not been ruined by the process of time spent lying in oak, but that it indeed tasted a lot better than it had when it had just been distilled. This practice is still in use today. A day, a year, a decade, a century. The longer it stays in the barrel, the better it becomes. Today, in Scotland some bottles of whisky are sold for thousands of pounds/dollars. Some barrels for hundreds of thousands.

But it all has to start somewhere, the ingredients, mash, still design and ageing, are what we will look at in part 2.

Thanks Guys

Regards… Samohon

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♦♦ Samohon ♦♦

Beginners should visit The New Distillers Reading Lounge and the Safety and Related Issues among others...
stock doc
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Re: The Water of Life.... (Part One)

Post by stock doc »

I enjoyed reading that.

Thank you
blanikdog
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Re: The Water of Life.... (Part One)

Post by blanikdog »

Eagerly awaiting Part 2. :)

blanik
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rednose
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Re: The Water of Life.... (Part One)

Post by rednose »

Nice read, thanks for that, can't await part 2.

I'm wondering where the harmful part is coming from?

Too high uncontrolled ABV?


Samohon wrote:
The equipment used was often primitive and the spirit produced was potent and sometimes harmful, the spirit was not aged but consumed immediately.

Regards… Samohon
Licensed Micro distillery "Bonanza"; fighting the local market
Samohon
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Re: The Water of Life.... (Part One)

Post by Samohon »

rednose wrote:Nice read, thanks for that, can't await part 2.
I'm wondering where the harmful part is coming from?
Too high uncontrolled ABV?
Not so many copper mines in Scotland, i am thinking tin. I do know that tin and lead were used to fashion stills together, they still exist in some distillary museums and were very primitive. No hygene, no doubler(Thumper), but one thing they did have was plenty of clean mountain water. Indeed Royal Speyside, in the north east of the country sports some 36 distilleries and are fed with water from the Cairngorm plateau. I am a MacEwan from Argyll, Campbeltown, (South West), another famous whisky region, at its height some 40 distileries existed, serving the community not only in booze but livelyhood too. Now it has depleted to only a handful, the coppersmiths, coopers, blenders and mashers, all resigned to the annals of history. Sad, but, they call it progress.

If not, then maybe the harmful part arises from mass production, over indulgence, or a pot run where everything was taken, fores, heads, hearts, tails, cut with water to the required proof and drunk(literally).

Image

I'll let you decide rednose.

Thanks guys. Putting part two together as we speak. Should I just continue this thread or start a new one..., Let me know?

Regards, Samohon...
♦♦ Samohon ♦♦

Beginners should visit The New Distillers Reading Lounge and the Safety and Related Issues among others...
rednose
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Re: The Water of Life.... (Part One)

Post by rednose »

Thanks for the reply, it could be the total of all possible reasons here mentioned, who knows?
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cluey
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Re: The Water of Life.... (Part One)

Post by cluey »

A Great Story and Lesson. Thank you for taking the time to share it.
Slow & Steady
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Re: The Water of Life.... (Part One)

Post by Slow & Steady »

Loved it!

S&S
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Re: The Water of Life.... (Part One)

Post by northcountry »

Enjoyed the read. Water of life-life is reverence. Thanks for sharing. The greed mongers don't get it.
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