Asia is on the ascent in the world of whisky, following on from Jim Murray’s declaration that the 2013 Yamazaki sherry cask was the best whisky in the world in his 2015 Whisky bible, whisk magazine has just announced another surprising winner. The Kavalan Solist Vinho Barriquewas took the title of world’s best single malt beating competition from Scotland, Japan, Ireland, France, Sweden, South Africa, Australia and the US.

The World Whiskies Awards

The World Whisky Awards are the product awards of the highly regarded of Whisky Magazine, running since 2007 the awards cover a range of some 300+ whisky expressions in a variety of categories including but not limited to the:

1. World’s Best Single Malt Whisky
2. World’s Best Blended Whisky
3. World’s Best Blended Malt Whisky
4. World’s Best North American Whiskey,
5. World’s Best Grain Whisky
6. World’s Best Whisky Liqueur

The highly coveted top award the World’s Best Single Malt Whisky had changed hands between Scotland and Japan since the awards inception in 2007 until last year when Australia’s Sullivans Cove French Oak Cask took the title. Previous Winners were: 2007: Talisker 18 Year Old 2008: Yoichi 20 Years Old 2009: Highland Park 21 Years Old 2010: Ardbeg Corryvreckan 2011: Yamazaki 1984 2012: Yamazaki 25 Years Old 2013: Ardbeg Galileo 2014: Sullivans Cove French Oak Cask The 2014 champion from the island state of Tasmania marked the first transition away from the traditional Scottish and Japanese heartlands and many had viewed this as a fluke but the craft of whisky creation has truly gone global with the new Champion coming from Taiwan.

World’s Best Single Malt Whisky

The Kavalan Solist Vinho Barrique expression produced by Taiwanese King Car distillery has taken the prestigious title of world’s best single malt whisky. The distilleries limited run, cask strength offerings are labelled Solist, these are young, high strength whiskies with bold and complex flavours make the case for adding water, in this instance the expression clocks in at 59.2% ABV. Using re-toasted red and white wine casks the whisky expression is described as being bold, with a berry plum and notes of caramel. My sample is in the post so I’ll put up a review as soon as possible though coming in at a whopping this is a whisky that makes the case for adding water.

Other Whisky Awards

A Number of other surprises, can be found in the complete list of winners: World’s best grain whisky: Darkness! North British 18 Year Old Oloroso Cask Finish (Scotland) World’s best pot still whisky: Redbreast Pot Still 15 Year Old (Ireland) World’s best flavoured whisky: Master of Malt 40 Year Old Speyside Whisky Liqueur (Scotland) World’s best American whiskey: Thomas H Handy Sazerac Straight Rye (USA) Best scotch blended malt: Wemyss Malts Velvet Fig (Scotland) World’s best blended malt: Nikka Taketsuru Pure Malt 17 Year Old (Japan) Best African blended whisky: Three Ships Bourbon Cask Finish (South Africa) Best European blended whisky: Black Mountain Whisky Selection BM No1 (France) Best Irish blended whiskey: Tullamore Dew Phoenix Best Japanese blended whisky: Suntory Hibiki 12 Year Old World’s best blend: That Boutique-y Whisky Company Blended Whisky #1 (Scotland) Best African single malt: Three Ships Single Malt 10 Year Old (South Africa) Best American single malt: Balcones Texas Single Malt Best Irish single malt: Teeling Single Malt Best Australian single malt: Sullivan’s Cove French Oak Cask Matured Best European single malt: Mackmyra Iskristall (Sweden) Best Japanese single malt: Suntory Yamazaki 18 Year Old Best Lowland single malt: Highland Harvest Single Malt Sauternes Wood Best Highland single malt: Glenmorangie Extremely Rare 18 Year Old Best Campbelltown single malt: Longrow 11 Year Old Best Speyside single malt: Benriach 16 Year Old Best Islands single malt: Ledaig 10 Year Old Best Islay single malt: Ardbeg Kildalton

If you’ve not already read our previous article on the downfall of Irish Whiskey you might want to do so before continuing. Where the previous post covers the tragic cataclysm for Irish whiskies fall from the pinnacle and spotlight of the global whiskey stage by conspiracy of politics, dedication to the craft (some might say stubbornness) and technological innovation to a historic low in the 1970’s, today’s post celebrates Saint Patrick’s and the rise again of Irish Whiskey.

A Third Irish Distillery

In 1978 when the Coleraine grain distillery closed its doors for the last time Ireland was left with a handful of brands but only two distilleries, one producing malt, the other producing grain whiskey, both were part of a single company the Irish Distillers Group. Single malt production was centred in Northern Ireland within the Bushmills distillery, (registered in 1784 but claiming lineage back to 1608) and the New Midleton Distillery which produces such iconic brands as Jameson, Powers, Midleton, Redbreast, Tullamore Dew and Green Spot distilling both grain whiskey and Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey (made in part using unmalted barley). Then in 1987 John Teeling converted the state owned potato schnapps distillery in Louth into a whiskey distillery founding Cooley Distillery Public Limited Company.

Ireland’s First Independent Distillery

Cooley distillery, the first Irish distillery founded in over a hundred years adopted the more traditionally Scottish distillation approach for its range. Both the Connemara and Tyrconnell ranges being double rather than triple distilled as favoured by the larger Irish brands. The approach was a clear success allowing the opening, or re-opening of Locke’s distillery in County Westmeath . Founded in 1757 and closed in 1925 Locke’s had been converted in a whiskey museum by the local community, but in 2007 (the distilleries 250th anniversary) it was acquired by Cooley Distillery PLC and refurbished. The newly opened Kilbeggan distillery became fully operational in 2010 with the installation of a mash tun and fermentation vats, and interestingly what is reported to be the worlds oldest working pot still. 

Whiskey Accolades

It would not be unfair to say that Cooley distillery has helped change the perception of Irish whisky on the global stage, as the distillery has taken some 300 awards most notably becoming the first Irish distiller to earn the International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC) accolade “Distillery of the Year” in 2008. However the founding of Cooley was only the beginning of an upward surge for Irish whiskey.

Global Brands In Ireland

1988 saw Pernod Ricard acquire the Irish Distillers, this perhaps more than any other changed the landscape of Irish whiskey. This sudden access to the giants distribution network saw the groups exports rise by 13% within the year. While the centring of so many brands might have seen even further reductions in variety with only a core few being supported Pernod Ricard drove the opposite direction distributing the Irish brands. Jameson was transferred to Ricard, Bushmills was adopted by Pernod while champagne specialists Besserat de Bellefon tok charge of Powers. Paddy was granted to Sovedi and Tullamore Dew was transferred to Cusenier. This redistribution each with its own specialist teams saw a diversification of marketing strategy and resulted in a wider array of expressions being crafted. Diagio entered Ireland in 2005 with its purchase of Bushmills and 2011 saw Beam, Inc which produces Jim Beam acquire Cooley Distillery and it’s brands (Beam Inc is now owned by Japans Suntory). While the arrival of so many foreign owned groups has not been universally popular, and it has closed the door for many smaller suppliers, their championing of the traditional Irish Single Pot Still whisky, their advancement of aged blends and the drive in popularity of triple distilled whiskies has dramatically changed the market.

Ireland On the Rise

The Irish Whiskey Association reports that whiskey exports have grown by 220% since 2003, and while only four distilleries have been active long enough to bring their spirits to market a number of new distilleries are now actively producing;

1. Dingle Distillery in County Kerry turned on its stills in 2012
2. Echlinville Distillery in County Down was sprang to life in June 2016
3. Alltech Craft Distillery in County Carlow (planning a move to Dublin)
4. West Cork Distillers (actively distilling since 2008)
5. Tullamore DEW Active since September 2014
6. Teeling Whiskey Distillery in Dublin (expected to barrel its first whisky St Patrick’s 2015)

and there’s a lot more planned

1. Great Northern Distillery expected to come online early 2015
2. Alltech Dublin (Awaiting permission)
3. Walsh Whiskey Distillery (status unknown)
4. Crumlin Road Gaol (status unknown)
5. Niche Drinks Derry Distillery (building anticipated to start in Q2 2015)

So Irish Whisky fans have a lot to celebrate. Sláinte

Find out what your Whisky actually costs

Because duty is calculated based on ABV we need both the alcohol content and the price to calculate the tax Update: The Campaign was successful seeing the 2015 budget reduce tax by 2% down to £7.74 on a standard 70 cl bottle. The Calculator has been updated accordingly

SWA Call for 2% cut to Whisky duty

In case you missed my article on whisky tax, the Scottish Whisky Association is calling for a 2% cut in the alcohol duty in the next budget. It will probably come as no surprise to most that British alcohol duties, the so called sin taxes are incredibly expensive when compared to much of Europe. Personally I’m a big fan of lowering the duty for the simple reason that with any flat rate tax the people hit the hardest are those least able to afford it, still the charge that we’re paying around 80% seems to be more than a little disingenuous.

A Disproportionate Whisky Tax

Because VAT is static at 20% and the duty on Scotch whisky is calculated based upon Alcohol percentage the duty level is disproportionately high for cheaper spirits and comparatively lower as whisky price increases. For a £13 whisky tax makes up around 77% of the total cost of the bottle, by the time you’re buying a £40 bottle tax reaches as low as 37% of the total cost.

A Campaign Worth Supporting

The reality is that no-one is being entirely genuine about the cost of whisky tax, the figures quoted by the SWA reflect the cheaper end of the blend spectrum. Nonetheless this is a campaign worth supporting, a tax which impacts so heavily on the least able to afford it is regressive, while some will argue that distilleries are simply looking to make more money (this is of course true) or that lowering the tax on the cheapest whisky will lead to alcoholism (this is debatable but not entirely without merit) the simple fact of the matter is that these levels of taxation pricing higher quality spirits out of reach for many, spirits which are already (due to the costs of maturation) far more expensive than lower quality alternatives such as vodka. Shaving 2% off the cost won’t change much but it’s a step in the right direction.

For the first time whisky drinker it can be hard to break away from the mistaken beliefs and prejudices we’ve acquired from the fringes, bourbon isn’t whisky, bourbon is inferior, whiskey originated in Ireland, women can’t appreciate whisky, and the ever famous you shouldn’t add water. I’ve heard every single one of these, sometimes from so called whisky connoisseurs with expensive collections and the one about bourbon quality, that was me once upon a time. Unfortunately all of these myths are commonplace and can prevent people from fully exploring the world of whisky, so here at Uisce Beatha we’ve compiled a list of whisky myths and the facts behind them.

Bourbon isn’t a Whisky

Technically this is true, bourbon is a whiskey, not a whisky, the Americans adopted the Irish spelling not the Scottish so bourbon is a whiskey. A whisky (or whiskey) is a spirit distilled (using either a pot or continuous still) from malted grain, in the case of Scotch single malts that grain is barley, for blended whisky this may mean a variety of grains such as rye, barley, corn or wheat. Bourbon must legally be made in America with at least 51% corn, though this is usually higher at around 70%. Regardless a bourbon is a type of whisky, one which is due to the popularity of offerings like Jack Daniels or Jim Beam more often associated with underage drinking and mixers, regardless both are types of whisk(e)y. That’s not to say the two are identical their are major difference between a high quality bourbon and a fine Scotch, they use different ingredients, Americans generally favour the continuous still over the pot still, American’s are legally required to use new casks and of course each country has its own legally protected terms.

Bourbon is an Inferior Whiskey

Again this one has more to do with marketing than anything else, Bourbon being made with corn rather than malted barley means it’s far sweeter than Scotch, the use of new rather than reused barrels imparts darker colour and more aromatic notes faster and of course the climate variety in America means their spirits mature faster. Personally I lean more towards smoked, peated whisky and have only a few bourbons in my collection but at least at the lower end of the market, pound for pound you can get a better quality bourbon than you can a Scotch. Don’t believe me go grab yourself a bottle of Buffalo Trace Bourbon, it’ll set you back around £20, about the price of a bottle of Bells or Famous Grouse. It’s a no age statement straight bourbon meaning that by law it needs to be aged a minimum of 4 years, though most reviewers place this closer to 7. Bourbon is not necessarily a cheap alternative to whisky, just as you wouldn’t judge a Scotch based on a supermarket blend, don’t judge a bourbon based on J.D.

Whisk(e)y Originated in Ireland

The reality is that we have no idea where the whisky (or whiskey) we drink today originated, Malachy Magee insists it is almost certain that whiskey, uisce beatha or water of life was first made in Ireland though he gives no evidence to back this claim. The first possible reference of uisce beatha is found in 1405 in Ireland in  The Annals of Clonmacnoise. which reports that “Chieftain of Moyntyreolas, died at Christmas by taking a surfeit of aqua vitae” unfortunately with no further information there is little agreement among academics as to whether this referred to whisky, brandy or another distillate.  The first definitive record we have was found in Fife in 1494 who was granted “eight bolls of malt where within to make aqua vitae by order of the King James IV”. This is not to claim that Scotland was the first country to produce whisky, after all distillation dates back to at least the time or Aristotle, however anyone who claims to know definitively should make him or herself known to the academic community at their earliest convenience.

Women Can’t Appreciate Whisky

Or its popular variation that whisky is a man’s drink. Apart from being truly ridiculous and more than a little insulting women are actually better placed to appreciate the subtleties of whisky than men are! Why? Because enjoying a good whisky is all in the nose and at least during their reproductive years women seem to be far better at detecting subtle odours than men. There are also enough female members of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society to throw female only tastings, female brand ambassadors, blogger and authors who all know more about whisky than the average male. I fact i’m about to reference one of them now:

You can’t Add Water To Whisky

One of the most controversial topics in the world of whisky, adding water to whisky is fiercely debated but honestly there is nothing wrong with adding water if that is your preference, in fact for cask strength offerings adding a little water is sometimes necessary to unlock the aromas and flavours. Sometimes known as ‘releasing the serpent’ adding water to whisky results in an exothermic reaction raising the temperature by  approximately 2°C/3.5°F unlocking the flavour-bearing congeners in the whisky. This results in “Viscimetric whorls” or legs appearing in the whisky, releases volatile aromas and makes our palate more receptive to salty and fruity tastes, rather than sweet and spicy. 

Ice In Whisky

While ice makes the whisky more refreshing and calms the burn of the alcohol creating a more gentle almost creamy taste it also inhibits the aromas and flavours. Consequently I’m never going to recommend anyone put ice in a good whisky or serve it on the rocks, but if you are going to use ice you might want to consider a cheaper blend whisky which has been produced for this very reason. Ultimately even this though is a matter of preference, there are no hard and fast rules. You can find out more in the below video with the fantastic Heather Greene:

Drinking Glenfiddich

Older Whiskies Are Better

That the age of a whisky is an indicator of quality is perhaps the most commonly held misconception and goes some way to explaining the hostile attitude to No Age Statements. The age statement on a whisky tells us exactly one thing, the age of the youngest whisky in the blend, thus two 18 year old whiskies might have wildly different qualities. Fuji Gotemba distillery for example has two 18 year old expressions Fuji Sanroku and Fuji Gotemba, the former contains a 24 year old whisky, the later only 18 year olds. This also draws no distinction between whisky matured in new oak, and one matured in rejuvenated sherry casks which will age very differently, nor even the region which produced the whisky – different climates alter the rate of maturation. The age of a whisky is at best one factor which will determine what a whisky tastes of, leave a whisky in the barrel too long and it will come out bitter and burnt, take it from the cask too soon and it will never reach its full potential, blend a great whisky the wrong way and you’ll flatten it out destroying the subtle flavours and aromas imparted by the oak. There are great young whiskies just as there are bad old ones, as always in the world of whisky it’s more complicated than just checking the age. Have you found a myth that needs debunking? Let us know in the comments below!

The difference of flavour between Malt and Blend whiskies can largely be traced to three factors, the grain used, the way it’s distilled, and the way the alcohol is matured. While the influence of the later is cited as high as 70% (by the Scottish Whisky Association) or around 50% by US Bourbon makers the type of still used has historically, and every distillery places emphasis on the quality of its grain the type of still has arguably changed the global face of whisky more than either. Ironic for a country associated with malt whisky production it was among other political considerations, the early adoption of the continuous still over the pot still, which put Scotch to the forefront of whisky making at the expense of Ireland.

Distillation

Distillation is the process by which lighter and heavier molecules are separated by means of temperature manipulation, this is typically achieved by heating, though freeze distillation is also possible. Distillation is generally used for the purposes of purifying or concentrating the desired molecules from the undesired, simply put because heavier molecules have lower freezing and boiling temperatures than lighter molecules it’s possible to either freeze the lighter molecules and remove them or vaporise and re-condense the heavier molecules leaving the lighter ones behind. As freeze distillation is illegal in most countries, due to difficulties in separating out the now concentrated toxic properties found within the alcohol, distillation is generally understood to refer to the heated method – the English word distillation is actually taken from the Latin de-stillaire or “trickle down”.

From Beer to Whisky

For the first few days of production, with the exception of hops, beer and whisky production is virtually identical. The grain, malted barley in the case of a single malt, is dried and ground into ‘grist’ in a malt mill before being transferred to the mash tun where hot water is added converting the starch into sugars. The resultant liquid now referred to as the ‘wort’ is combined with yeast and allowed to ferment, the process by which sugar is broken into alcohol, in a washback. As the yeast breaks down the sugars in the wash the alcohol concentration of the liquid increases until it kills off the yeast cells, this generally occurs between 7%-10% though higher limits around 17%-18% are possible. The resultant liquid now called “wash” is ready to for distillation.

Pot Still Distillation

While the design of the pot still used today varies wildly, from the “curiously small stills” used by Macallan coming in at just over 12 feet to the 26 feet and 10 inch variety used by Glenmorangie, these all operate on the same basic principle being akin to a giant kettle which is heated from beneath. In Scotland the method of heating has changed considerably over time, from coal in the 1970s to indirect steam heating with a number of distilleries moving towards biomass boilers regardless the basic principle remains virtually identical to the distillation of Alexander of Aphrodisias in 200AD.

The “wash” is transferred into the pot still (shown to the left) where the alcohol which vaporises at 78ºC (or 173ºF) is separated from the water (which vaporises at 100ºC or 212ºF). The spirit vapour travels through a water cooled copper pipes or ‘worms’ and re-condensed.

Double or Triple Distillation

The first run is conducted in a larger wash still which produces a highly impure low alcohol liquid of between 10%-20% the so called low wines, this is then transferred to another smaller spirit still for further distillation to produce whisky. Irish whisky is typically distilled three times before being matured, while in Scotland the whisky is generally done only twice, though this varies from brand to brand. Bruichladdich X4 is the only quadruple distilled I’m presently aware of.

Copper Stills

Although a still can technically be made from any number of heatproof non-porous materials such as aluminum, iron, brass, or stainless steel whisky stills are almost exclusively made of copper to reduce the naturally occurring sulfur compounds such as DMS, DMDS & DMTS which are formed during the heating of grain mashes. Although the process is not well understood contact with copper results in the formation of less odorous compounds. Further information on the role played by copper can be found on Whisky Science.

Continuous or Patent Stills

The continuous or patent still, sometimes also known as the Coffey has a contentious history, while the invetion is often attributed to Aeneas Coffey who’s patent most closely resembles the continuous still of today in reality this was simply a further evolution of a basic designs already used by French, Irish, and Scottish distillers. In his book A Short History of the Art of Distillation (1970) Robert Forbes attributes the concept of the first continuous still to Edouard Adam & Jean-Baptiste Fournier, the first patent was granted to Sir Anthony Perrier the operator of Cork based Spring Lane distillery in 1922. Perrier’s design was improved upon by a Scotsman, Robert Stein in 1928 who added a still to feed the “wash” through the still while allowing for the transfer of heat from the re-condensing spirit to the remaining wash. At this point Aeneas Coffey added two additional pipes allowing for the creation of higher proof whisky without the need for receiving vessels to be repeatedly changed. His patent was granted in 1930.

Grain Whisky & The Patent Still

While the creation of spirits using grains other than malted barley, such as corn, wheat or rye, has always been possible the lightness of these spirits and the necessity of using the same batch stills meant their was little motivation to do so. The patent still changed this, as Coffey’s refinement allowed for twenty-four hours a day production of considerably higher concentrate (around 190 proof or 95% ABV) and was quickly adopted for the creation of everything from rum, gin, vodka and of course grain whisky across much of Europe and the America’s. The notable exception to its adoption was in Ireland, which in large part lead to the downfall of the Irish Whiskey industry.

For those who’re not generally fans or knowledgeable about the world of wine, the term terroir refers to “the characteristic taste and flavour imparted to a wine by the environment in which it is produced.”. While the term has received relatively little coverage in the world of whisky Bruichladdich have conducted a Scotland wide experiment to establish once and for all what difference the terroir makes.

Defining Whisky Terroir

The term terroir has historically been used to describe four factors which shape the taste of a wine:

1. Soil
2. Terrain
3. Climate
4. Tradition

however the term is often heavily overused in the world of wine, so other factors are on occasion counted as well. Regardless when defining whisky terroir the first three considerations are perhaps the most meaningful. The acidity of the ground in which the barley is grown for example, and even mineral density can impact on the barley produced. The elevation that the barley is grown at determines the surrounding wildlife, and plants, tress and groundwater with which the cereal has to compete. Finally the climate at which the barley is grown, sunshine and temperature have a visible impact on the volume and quality produced. You may note I’m not including tradition in this instance as it’s one of the least well defined though this is arguably more applicable to whisky than to wine making as it would include considerations such as use of smoke or peat, still size and material etc. which so thoroughly change a whisky.

Perception of Whisky Terroir

The only poll I’ve been able to discover on whisky terroir  was on the Whisky magazine community forum and while 78 people have thus far commented only 21 actually participated, so common perception will need to wait until my next whisky survey is ready to go. Still the impact of climate is far from new and haslong been associated with the Scottish climate, Shinjiro Torii and Masataka Taketsuru for for example who established Japan’s Suntory and Nikka brands built their distilleries where they felt it most closely resembled the Scottish climate. Still this has traditionally been more closely associated with water softness and the impact on alcohol evaporation.

Wine Vs Whisky

The notion that terroir impacts wine makes sense in a very real way, the acidic quality of the grapes, the amount of sugar they contain which in turn impacts on the alcohol volume. As to whether the concept applies to whisky is another matter entirely however as the impact or terroir will likely be considerably higher for a wine (where less than 20% of the content is alcohol) than a whisky where the spirit may have been distilled to as much as 94.8% ABV before maturation. The concept has also been applied in a limited capacity to cognac as well however Wilson (1998) notes that this is largely not applicable and large scale production is now the norm.

The Heart of Gold Experiment

Bruichladdich have stressed the importance of terroir for sometime, in particular emphasising the impact that altitude has on their Octomore field with the top two thirds ripening before the lower third (Bruichladdich, 2013). Now the distillery is conducting a great experiment on terroir working with farmers in eight segmented regions of Scotland, each tasked with growing 100 tonnes of Concerto barley in exactly the same way for the past four years, they tell me that 

It is far to early to draw qualitative conclusions but there are already quantitative differences apparent. Again it is too early to say whether these differences are due to regional climatic variations or soil types or some other variable, but there is no doubt that these differences are significant with regard to the character of the new make spirit.

As to whether the great experiment means more liquid gold in future for Bruichladdich, well we’ll just have to wait and see.

The Irish whiskey industry has experienced a tumultuous history over the last two centuries, from the most prestigious whiskey in the world with an estimated 2,000 legal and illegal stills in operation to only 2 actively producing distilleries in the 1970s but the resurgence has begun. At this time there are now 10 distilleries either operating, being built or being planned. To understand the downfall of this Whisky producing powerhouse it’s necessary to go back to the 19th century and learn about the miss-steps, political transformations and technological innovations which brought Irish whisky to its knees and centered production into only two distilleries.

Pure Pot Still Whiskey

Irish naming conventions are a little confusing even today, a pure pot still whiskey doesn’t refer to the distillation pot the whiskey is distilled in but rather the mash combination  which contains both malted and unmalted barley. The resultant whiskey is thicker with a spiced liquorice like flavour instantly recognisable to fans of Redbreast single pot still whiskey, this is sometimes referred to as the potstill character.

The Rise of Scotch

In the 19th Century Irish whisky was the dominant player on the world whisky/whiskey stage, Fionnan O’Connor notes that at this time International London merchants were selling three Irish cases to every case of Scotch. Unfortunately three changes shake the industry to its foundations weakening Irish whiskey production and opening the door for the coming Scottish dominance:

1. The Irish Temperence Movement saw some 5 million (of a population of approximately 8 million taking “the pledge”
2. The Irish famine of 1845-1852 led to mass starvation, disease and emigration which decimated the countries domestic market
3. The creation of the continuous still paired with the repeal of the protectionist British corn laws in 1946 allowed Scottish whisky manufacturers to import cheap grains, which unlike barley did not require malting

While the Temperence movement was far from crippling to the industry in a religious country such as Ireland the combined weight of the protestant and catholic clergy behind the movement made significant inroads before tailing off in the years of the famine. The artificial famine* devastated Ireland and disease and starvation cut the population by 20%-25%,  large scale emigration did the rest bringing the population down to little over half the pre-famine period. *During the Great Famine Ireland grew enough food to feed the population but the failure of the government to introduce export bans, as had happened during the previous famine, saw food being shipped to more profitable markets.

The Continuous Still & Cheap Grain

The introduction of Aeneas Coffey still in 1930 took much of the spirit world by storm but its impact in whisky production was muted because of the protectionist British corn laws which made importing cheap American grain prohibitively expensive. In part due to the impact of the Irish potato famine these laws were repealed in 1846. The sudden ability of Scottish whisky producers to create cheap blends using high the high ABV output of the continuous stills with cheaper ingredients saw the market flooded with the lighter grain whisky. The Irish distillers clinging true to their traditional “Pure Pot Still” whisky failed to police the quality of their offering past the factory gate allowing unscrupulous merchants to dilute their spirits with the lighter grain whisky. The four largest whiskey producers John Jameson, William Jameson, George Roe and John Power all campaigned for a strict legal definition of whiskey which excluded all but their own and the pure malts of their Scottish competitors. Appeals to the British government had no impact however as, despite the introduction of the the 1875 Food and Drug act to address concerns over product adulteration, no agreement of how whisky/whiskey should be defined could be reached. It took until 1890 for the Select Committee on British and Foreign Spirits to decide whisky should be “a spirit consisting of alcohol and water”. This lead to the publication in 1878 of the Truths About Whisky by the four whiskey producers which appealed to the public to against “the fraudulent traders by whom silent spirit, variously disguised and flavoured, is sold under the name of Whisky”. Unfortunately the market was about to develop a virtually inexhaustible demand for whisky, which could only be met by the continuous still.

Phylloxera and Whisky Demand

While smart marketing cannot be ruled out no single factor did more to establish Scotch whisky than the arrival in Europe of an American immigrant, the Phylloxera aphid. While American vines were were resistant to the insect European vineyards were devastated, the solution to import more American vines for grafting tragically brought “Downey” Mildew as well. By the 1870’s the result was the destruction of between 60% to 85% of Europe’s vineyards, huge shortages of wine and, of course its own distillate, brandy. The 1870’s and 1890’s saw the surge of Scottish grain whisky, who showing the foresight their Irish counterparts lacked embraced on-premise marketing in particular in London. In 1878 to take advantage of the boom the Distillers Company Ltd (DCL) was formed by six of the most dominant Scottish grain distilleries; Cameron-bridge, Kirkliston, Glenochil, Cambus, Port Dundas and Carsebridge. The resultant powerhouse divided the market between themselves and their output paired with the high return of investment (ROI) which saw continuous distilleries being built across Scotland led to a surplus of the already cheap grain whisky which saw the Leith-based blending and whisky brokering house Pattison’s Ltd declared bankrupt. Despite this backdrop the Irish whisky industry was still impressively stable, amounting to some 25% of all UK output at the turn of the century (Cronin & O’Connor, 2003). The collapse of Pattisons sent ripples through the industry and closed many of the recently opened, and even some of the established continuous distilleries, the sudden surplus of supply meant a downward pressure on prices.

A Legal Definition of Whisky

The impact of even cheaper spirit on Ireland was severe and the law was not on the struggling side of the struggling industry. In 1909 the royal commission appointed to investigate whether it was desirable to curtail, or place limits on the methods and ingredients which could be used to protect whisky/whiskey production concluded:

1. That no restrictions should be placed upon the processes of, or apparatus used in, the distillation of any spirit to which the term whisky may be applied as a trade description.
2. That the term ” whisky having been recognized in the past as- applicable to a potable spirit manufactured from (1) malt, or (2) malt and unmalted barley or other cereals, the application of the term whisky should not be denied to the product manufactured from such materials.

Full details of the commissions report can can be found here. This decision allowed the continuous grain whisky the same legal footing as Irish whiskey on the market both domestically and abroad.

Irish Whiskey Export Led Market

While changes in the 19th century had opened the door for grain whisky, the 20th century almost sounded the deathknell for Irish whisky production as two of the countries most important export markets were about to close. Britain and its commonwealth due to the Anglo-Irish trade war, America as the countries own temperence movement heralded prohibition.

Prohibition & The American Whiskey Market

On  Jan. 17, 1920 America officially became a dry country cutting off Ireland’s most important export market. The “noble experiment” of prohibition would effectively run until 1934, although the 1933 Cullen–Harrison Act formally ended prohibition federal law still prevented the sale of distilled spirits. When prohibition finally ended, or at least largely ended, the Irish whiskey suffered was unable to recover for three simple reasons, two related to production capacity and the third to a damaged reputation.

1. The decision in 1926 of the Irish government to impose a minimum 5 year bonding age prevented the sale of Irish whiskey under this age in the American market, no comparable limitation existed elsewher
2. Irish producers still largely, although not exclusively, used the pot still making production batch based limiting production quality compared to the continuous still. While Scottish grain distilleries were quickly able to scale up production the same could not be said for the handful of Irish distilleries still operating
3. The low quality black market whiskey available in the American market typically carried Irish names, legitimate Irish whiskey would take time to recover its reputation

Whisky After the Rising

Two short years prior to the end of prohibition Irish distillers lost access to their second most important export market. In the wake of the 1916 Easter rising and subsequent Irish War of Independence the newly founded Irish free state refused to continue its reimbursement of “land annuities” to Britain resulting in the retaliatory Anglo-Irish Trade War. Running from 1932 – 1938 and crippling to Irish industry in general the 20% import duty on all goods sold in Britain effectively priced the already less competitive Irish Potstill whisky out of the market. The additional 20% import duty imposed by Britain saw the whisky trade between the two countries virtually dry up overnight allowing Scotch to expand and firmly entrench themselves in both Britain and throughout the commonwealth. Bushmills in an attempt to distinguish itself introduced a lighter, triple filtration offering and managed to survive while other northern distilleries were closed.

Irish Distillers Ltd.

Having barely survived prohibition and the Anglo-Irish Trade War the Irish whiskey industry suffered further still under the trade reduction of the second world war. Being neutral was out of bounds for combatants from either side and strengthened the pull of Scotch across the Atlantic at the expense of the already struggling Irish distillers. Finally in 1966, crippled with grain duties imposed by the impoverished Irish government and struggling to find a market foothold the three surviving Irish distillers in the south, John Jameson & Sons, Powers & Sons, and the Cork Distillery merged to become Irish Distillers Ltd.

The last two Distilleries in Ireland

In 1972 the group purchased Bushmills which operated the only two remaining Northern distilleries, Coleraine and Bushmills bringing all production under one brand. The group build the new Middleton distillery centering all but Malt production, which would continue at Bushmills, in the new distillery in 1975 making Coleraine distillery which produced only grain became redundant and closed its doors for good in 1978 leaving only two. The tragedy of the loss of so many Irish distilleries over the past two centuries cannot be understated, the diversity of production and quality, the move to predominantly grain based whiskey production and necessity for so many brands to merge under one group is without parallel. To give a comparison imagine that ever distillery in Speyside were to be combined into only two, one single distillery producing malt whiskey, another exclusively creating blends. Fortunately the tide has slowly starting to turn since the Cooley Distillery opened in 1987 and once again Irish whiskey is taking the world by storm but that is a story for a follow-up on the rise of Irish whiskey.

For those Scots lucky enough to find themselves in London, or whisky drinkers this end of the country Glenmorangie have announced their first ever pop-up event in the heart of Soho. Running from the 13th to the 21st of March (excluding the 15th) to promote the brands new quarterly digital publication the pop-up will feature unseen cocktails crafted by expert mixologists, as well as food pairings and the “Glenmorangie vault” featuring the Glenmorangie 1963, the 1970’s collection and the Glenmorangie Pride 1978 so put this one in your diary now!

Glenmorangie Pride 1978

Following on from the success of the Glenmorangie Pride 1981 came the Glenmorangie Pride 1978 one of only 700 bottles ever released. This 34 year old offering crafted by Dr Bill Lumsden the Head of Distilling & Whisky Creation at Glenmorangie was cask matured for 19 years before being double barel matured in French Premier Grand Cru claret casks for a further 15. Lumsden describes the creation as “a luxurious burnished copper with rich, decadent and delicious scents of chestnut, toffee and cherries” Describing it as his “most exquisite expression yet, one that will be savoured by whisky enthusiasts across the globe”.

By The Dram

The prospect of sampling the 1963 and 1978 by the dram is certain to bring out deep pocketed whisky conosiers so these wont last long, as will the chance to take home the 1970s collection. Even if these are a little rich for you blood Glenmorangie unseen will also offer the brands full range expressions available by the dram. For those unable to make it I’ll be reporting back in a future post but you can find out more about the brand in their new quarterly publication “Unseen”  

Jim Murray author of the whisky bible has been exploring the southern hemispheres whisky offering and by all accounts is considerably impressed. The 1988 New Zealand Whisky Collection (25 years) has just been awarded 96.5 (out of 100) and the status of liquid gold. Produced in the now closed Willowbank distillery and bought by the New Zealand Whisky Collection this whisky will be the last of it’s line and the circa £130 price tag is likely to push on up so grab yourself a bottle while you can.

The End of New Zealand Whisky?

Sadly their are no active distilleries in New Zealand, Willowbank distillery in Dunedin was the last to close its doors in 1999 so the future of the New Zealand market is uncertain making this offering considerably more significant than it would otherwise be. The distillery was in operation only 23 years from 1974 to 1997 when it ceased production, it was mothballed in 1999. While it is a stated aim of the New Zealand Whisky Collection to open a new distillery at some point in the future, for now they are running through an inventory of only 443 barrels (some 80,000 litres not counting the inevitable angels share). The only distillery currently planned is the Zecent group, who despite having been approved permission for the creation of a new distillery have yet to secure building approval. By all accounts the company knows how to buy great whisky, its “DoubleWood” won the award for Best Australasian Blend in London, its South Island Single Malt picked up the DoubleGold at the San Francisco Spirits Competition and now the 1988 has taken its place at the top of the southern hemisphere. Jim  Murray commented that this is “proof that the country in which a whisky is made is irrelevant. Great whisky is always great whisky”. Still with no record of actually producing their own the company has large shoes to fill and when these older malts are gone there will be a long wait to find out if they can repeat these past successes

A Magnificent Whisky

Jim Macallan describes it as ”Deft peat forms the most delicate shell imaginable over no less fragile citrus. Soft salt, still a little grist after all these years, background vanilla: almost something akin to a moist lemon drizzle cupcake.”

Jim’s Tasting Notes:

Nose: 

deft peat forms the most delicate shell imaginable over no less fragile citrus. Soft salt, still a little grist after all these years, background vanilla: almost something akin to a moist lemon drizzle cupcake … with a few atoms of smoke thrown in .. ;

Taste: 

the adroit citrus mingles with the most alluring malt imaginable. The shadow of smoke acts like a siren while the tannins just up their game slightly. Just so well integrated … ;

Finish: 

long, with a feeble spice buzz. Evidence of the shortage of copper from the cask comes through only at the very death; I’ve not tried it yet, my bottle is still winging its way to me but I’ll report back as soon as it arrives! Sláinte

Annandale distillery re-opened in 2007 has become the first Scotch to put its first cask up for sale, for the eye-watering price of £1 million. In a stroke of marketing genius that will certainly make the world take notice. The restored and refurbished whisky distillery and visitor centre sees the water of life return to Dumfries-shire a long term dream of Professor David Thompson 59 his wife Teresa Church 55. Production began in 2014 and the first fill is expected to be matured for at least 10 years, though it could legally be opened in 2018 after maturing for its minimum of 3 years and still be considered a Scotch

Distinctly Scottish Whisky

The distilleries has two signature lines “Man o’ Words” filling barrels 1-38, and “Man o’ Swords” filling 40-75. The former is a fruity, non-peated expression tipping its hat to Scotland’s best loved son and national poet Robert Burns, the latter is smoky and peated giving a nod to Robert the Bruce, the Scottish king during the Wars of Scottish Independence against England. The distilleries first cask is being put up for £1 million, while barrel 8, the Chinese lucky number has been put up for £880,000 in recognition of the high interest shown by Chinese whisky enthusiasts taken by the distilleries heritage and links with Robert Burns and Robert the Bruce. David Thompson hopes that the opportunity to buy a piece of Scottish history, the first cask of a new distillery will help put the distillery back on the tourist map. The couple who also own MMR Research a global consumer research firm look to be well placed to put the distillery to the forefront of mind both at home an abroad as every aspect of the brands marketing (except perhaps the website) shows considerable care and thought, even the distilleries branding celebrates the regions maritime history with the ‘A’ of Annandale in the image of a tea clippers (the kind historically built in Annan) sail billowing in the wind.

The Distilleries History

Originally established in 1836 Annandale distillery was originally built by George Donald, an excise man from Elgin who ran the distillery until 1883 when it temporarily passed to John Gardener the son of the Liverpool mayor. The distillery was then purchased by Jonnie Walker who mothballed it in 1918, before finally closing it for good in 1921 at which point it passed to the Robinson family. From 1924 until 2007 the family used the kiln and mash house as a drying plant for their “provost” brand of porridge oats, the bonded warehouse housed the families cattle. During that time the distilleries history lay forgotten until 2007 when Teresa Church and David Thompson realised its potential and decided the south of Scotland needed a new distillery. The Distilleries poor state of repair took a four year labour of love and a £10.5 million restoration project production finally resumed in 2014 after a 90 year hiatus. With the exception of master distiller Malcolm Rennie formerly of Kilchoman Islay distillery the entire staff both part and full time are local residents.

What about the Whisky

Well we may be looking at about 10 years before anyone can tell us much about the taste making the £1 million price tag something of a gamble for would be investors, Master distiller Malcolm commented to that “3 yr old bottlings are necessary for new distilleries for all sorts of reasons but obviously lack maturity, so I would say something like 6 yrs old minimum to let the wood give more complexity and maturity”. While he wouldn’t go on record about maximum maturation time he also noted that if left too long the “lower strength alcohol starts to extract more water soluble components giving the characteristic ‘woody’ effect.”  

In addition to being a whisky enthusiast I’m also a digital marketer, and I’ve previously written about my whisky personal pet peeves – which you can find in my marketing article. Every now and again though you come across a site which does it well, reminding you that some brands are embracing digital.

Mobile First Whisky

The new Hankey Bannister website by Equator is one such example. although far from perfect it shows how easy it really is to get it right. both the mobile and desktop experience are quick it’s easily navigable and best of all it looks great. We can only hope that Inver House Distillers which also owns and operates five of Scotland’s active distilleries: Old Pulteney Distillery, The Speyburn-Glenlivet Distillery, Balblair Distillery, Knockdhu Distillery and Balmenach Distillery will adopt the same approach across their other websites. Of these only anCnoc is navigable on a mobile. Always one to nit-pic however I do of course have a few bug bears:

• Navigating the brands history on a mobile requires you noticing it uses a slider, the directional arrows are almost invisible
• The images are larger than they need to be, and due to the use of query strings are unlikely to cache
• The blog URLs use query-string rather than more meaningful permalinks
• The sites headers are far from SEO friendly, in particular the lack of H2s in some instances

Incredibly that’s it! The site is that good, now if I can only source a bottle…

Malt Whisky and the Web

It’s somewhat baffling that the most digitally aware brands are those looking towards overseas markets, the brand view its largest potential growth areas as being mobile traffic from Mozambique, Ukraine, Russia and South Africa. This international outlook may well be reflective of the groups status as a subsidiary of Thai Beverages, more likely though this indicates a level of snobbery still associated with the use of grain whisky in the domestic market. Well while I cannot as yet speak to the quality of the Hankey Bannister offering I’ll be keeping an eye open, any brand making the effort to embrace digital is more likely to end up in my news feed. Let’s just hope their blog becomes more active!