Whisky’s in Scotland
Hello Folks,
Today is the 10th of October. We have been back in TorreMirona for about 10 days. So far we have played a lot of golf, mostly in great weather. Where we will go next – nobody knows.
At least it gives me time to write about the whisky aspect of our Scotland tour.
The idea was to taste as many local whiskies as possible and learn more about what whisky is all about. Including drinking it.
May I add: I am not a whisky connoisseur or whisky drinker – but I wanted to give it a try.
The following is what I learned
Overall, there are so many brands and I find it difficult to taste the big differences between one or the other. There are differences, but as long as we are talking about the Malt whiskies from the different brands and districts, differences are not that big.
One of the reasons is that to be able to call a whisky, a Scotch whisky, the producers have to follow a strict set of rules. For example it is only allowed to be called a Scotch, if the alcohol percentage is 40% or over. There are also rules for the production process including that no chemical additives are allowed, except caramel for colouring.
Scotch is a big business
As of 2018, there were 133 Scotch whisky distilleries operating in Scotland.
The Scotch Whisky Association estimated that Scotland’s whisky industry supported 40,000 jobs and accounted for £4.37 billion in exports in 2017. Of that total, single malt Scotch accounted for £1.17 billion in exports.
Exports in 2018 increased 7.8% by value, and 3.6% in number of bottles. Exports grew to a record level, £4.7 billion.
Most malt distilleries sell a significant amount of whisky by the cask for blending, and sometimes to private buyers as well. That is; more and more private people buy their own barrel of whisky for personal consumption.
International business
A 2016 report stated that only 20% of the Scottish whisky was made by companies owned in Scotland.
Distilleries owned by Diageo a London-based company, produce 40% of all Scotch whisky. We passed one of their productions unit in the Spey area close to Nairn. And I can tell you folks: that was huge. Another 20% of the product is made by distillers owned by Pernod Richard of France, including brands such as Glenlivet, Chivas Regal and Ballantine’s.
Glenfiddich is the best-selling single malt Scotch in the world. Roughly 14 million bottles of Glenfiddich are sold annually. Glenfiddich is owned by William Grant & Sons Ltd that is an independent, family-owned Scottish company.
Our first formal introduction to whisky
It was during our 3 days in Oban that we visited a whisky distillery – the Oban distillery.
The distillery was established in 1794. They are producing about 670,000 liters of whisky per year. Today the distillery and the brand is owned by the aforementioned company Diageo.
Our visit was a fine introduction to the art of tasting and evaluation whisky. Unfortunately, due to Covid19, we were not allow into the production facilities. But so much more time for the tasting.
We started with the following map.
Lowest in the left hand corner you will find “Glen Spey 12 Yr Old”. That is, as you can read, a whisky evaluated to have the most delicate and light taste of all Scotch’s whiskies. I have tasted that whisky previously, before we got to Oban.
Interestingly, this is the whisky I liked the most. At least until that time. Maybe – now I know why. Delicate and light is my favourite taste.
Before the tasting started 4 glasses of whiskies was placed in front of us.
At the tasting we were told that we should not start by smelling the whisky, but by sipping a few drops on the tongue (the tongue being the biggest taste organ) and let the brain register the taste.
This way you get the taste of the different tastes that the whisky is composed of.
If you get the chance to taste 4 different whiskies in a row, then you (or at least I) can taste the small differences. But if you give me one of the four whiskies some days later, I wouldn’t be able to tell you which of the four is which.
Good to know.
Now I must say, after having tasted around 30 different whiskies the only real difference I can taste is whether the whisky is smokey or peaty and if it is one with more than the normal 40% alcohol or higher. As more alcohol the sharper the taste. You cannot have a whisky over 40% that is both light and delicate. Or maybe you can?
To learn more, let us go to the expert:
Get yourself a Malt Whisky Almanac
Or if you are more into action learning go to a pub.
The pub is more fun. Here you are in good company.
Just remember one thing. Don’t ever put water or ice cubes in a single malt whisky. At least not if one of the locals can see you do it. That is only accepted if it is a blended whisky like Johnny Walker or a Scotch with more than 40% alcohol. But only a little drop at the last mentioned. And never, never blend it with Cola or the like.
Regarding tasting whisky
From the expert Wallace Milroy’s Almanac we can learn about the taste of whisky, from the north to the south. The following is what he writes about a broad spectra of Scottish Whiskies.
Highland Park, Kirkwall, Orkney. The left one in the picture. Experts evaluation: Nose: Full of character – Pleasant lingering and smokey. Taste: Medium, well balanced flavour finishing with a subtle dryness. Comments: An excellent after-dinner dram from Scotland’s most northerly distillery.
Glen Scotia, Campbeltown, Kintyre Peninsula. Experts evaluation: Nose: Faint touch of smoke. Intense aroma, but still delicate and sweet. Taste: Light for a Campbeltown. Hint of a peat with a good finish. Comments: Pre-dinner dram. In fact, a good drink any time.
I liked both, maybe the Scotia the best.
Isle of JURA, Craighouse, Jura, Argyll. Expert evaluation: Nose: Smooth with subtle traces. Dry. Taste: Well matured, full but delicate flavour. Good lingering character. Comments: An almost Highland-like malt for drinking anytime. Acquired at the same time as Glenallachie. Always worth visiting the distillery.
Aberfeldy, Aberfeldy, Perthshire. Highland – Southern. Expert evaluation: Nose: Fresh, clean with a lightly peated nose. Taste: Nice substantial flavour with a good round taste. Comments: From independent bottlers.
My favourite was Aberfeldy, when we left Denmark. Still in the top 10.
Campbeltown and whisky
We also learned about whisky visiting the Ardshiel Hotel in Campbeltown.
Campbeltown is situated in the south of Kintyre and close to the Machrihanish golf courses. The hotel’s bar have won several prices by having one of the biggest variety of scotch whiskies on sale as well as staff with a deep knowledge of the whiskies, its histories and taste.
Here you can find whiskies – from the very expensive per bottle to whiskies on offer – per dram!
If you ever come to Campbeltown, go for the golf courses – they are great, but also go for this Hotel and their bar. This is the facts about the bar:
“With over 700 malts to choose from many which are rare and exclusive it attracts visitors from far and wide. Previous winners of the Wee Dram Whisky Bar of the year and Scottish Field Whisky Bar of the Year.”
Mortlach whisky, to the left above, more than 30 year old, on sale at Ardshiel Hotel, Campbeltown for £684.
The Mortlach distillery is from Dufftown, Banffshire – Speyside. The experts evaluation of a 12 year old Mortlach (not the bottle on the picture) reads like this: Nose: A rich aroma with a faint sweetness. Taste: Full-bodied, a touch of fruit and a good long finish.
Glen Garioch, Oldmeldrum, Aberdeenshire. The whisky on the poster to the right: 10 years. Nose: Delicate and smokey. Taste: Pronounced peaty flavour with a smooth, pleasant finish. Comments: Good introductory malt, award-winning advertising campaign behind it. Distillery utilizes waste heat to cultivate tomatoes and pot-plants!
The Glen Garioch is on offer at the Bar for £3.20 a dram.
Good to know.
Conclusion or end of story
You know: As long as we are talking about whisky stored for a number of years in Sherry or Port oaks or even in Burbon barrels, or talking of some of the Scotch’s, that have been stored in 2 different barrels 5 or 6 years after each other, all of them are (in my humble opinion) good whiskies. But of course, if you are a brand, you have to differentiate from your competitors. That’s maybe one of the ways to do it – at least when it comes to promotion.
Think that it is like with wine. Some days you are more to a wine made from Merlot and some days you go for an Amarone. And sometimes it’s the description on the etikette on the bottle that influence your choice.
So now, see the following pictures of bottles of scotch that I have tasted. Different, but all of them are great. Now it’s your turn – try them out. Be aware that the bottle with the name of Margot, down the pictures in the rights colum, is not a Single Malt but a blended. An assistant in a supermarket told me that it was a local distilled whisky. From that I learned that not all locals are experts in Scotch’s! It’s a whisky blended somewhere in Glasgow.
Amendment
By the way. Whether in according to the experts or not this is the way I enjoy the whisky the most:
Your comments, recommendations or questions are always welcome!
Thanks! This answer is of great help in the moments of reflection. 👍😂
A wonderful essay on Whiskey Finn, thank you ~ you could write a column for the Times. . .
Your Scottish tour will be remembered as a great experience. I have really enjoyed your golf course journal. 👌
Thank you Nina, always nice to know that my writing is appreciated.
Dear Finn and Eza,
Thank you for this lecture on whiskey.
When I was a student, many years ago, I was living in a student house together with 10 guys. I remember that, apart from lots of beer, we sometimes drunk whiskey, a cheap one of course because we were poor students.
But one of the guys had access to his father’s stock and he sometimes brought a bottle of a somewhat better whiskey. Apart from the taste of that whiskey I remember the special shape of the bottle. The whiskey brand was Dimple. The bottle was triangle shaped with a dimple on all sides.
As you will know for sure, a golf ball has a few hundred dimples, more or less the same number of dimples that I have seen in the bottles during my student time. Now, my question for you is: do you think that drinking Dimple whiskey during my student time has influenced my choice for playing golf?
Hello Joep,
Now I have to warn you (and other readers), this is going to be very nerdy.
Most golf balls have between 300 and 500 dimples, which have an average depth of about 0.010 inch. The lift and drag forces on a golf ball are very sensitive to dimple depth: a depth change of 0.001 inch can produce a radical change to the ball’s trajectory and the overall distance it can fly.
So from that you will understand that it is not just the quantity of dimples on the bottle that have an effect on the drinkers trajectory or direction when walking, jumping, crawling or falling. It is also how deep he’s been down in the bottle.
Next. Dimples also affect lift. A smooth ball with backspin creates lift by warping the airflow such that the ball acts like an airplane’s wing. The spinning action makes the air pressure on the bottom of the ball higher than the air pressure on the top; this imbalance creates an upward force on the ball. Ball spin contributes about one half of a golf ball’s lift. The other half is provided by the dimples, which allow for optimization of the lift force.
So, knowing you a little, I think one bottle with dimples – whether average depth or not – would never get you or you ball really flying. Dimples therefor doesn’t seem to have had any effect on your choice of playing golf. You might as well have chosen table tennis (using balls without dimples) or football.
It is more how deep into the bottle you have been looking. As said just a little change in the depth of the dimple can produce a radical change in behaviour – and therefore (I think) to choices.