 Whisky has been distilled in Scotland
for hundreds of years. There is some
evidence to show that the art of
distilling could have been brought to
the country by Christian missionary
monks, but it has never been proved that
Highland farmers did not themselves
discover how to distil spirits from
their surplus barley.
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The earliest record of distilling in Scotland
was in 1494, when an entry in the Exchequer Rolls
stated "Eight bolls of malt to Friar John Cor
wherewith to make aqua vitae" (Latin for
'water of life'). This was enough malt
to produce 1500 bottles of whisky, and
clearly indicates that distilling had
already become a well established
practice in Scotland.
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The basic equipment used in these times and
the lack of expertise meant the whisky
that was produced in those early days was
most likely potent, and sometimes extremely
harmful. Distillation methods improved
immensely over the years, and
considerable advances were made.
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The term "whisky" evolved originally
from the Gaelic "uisge beatha", meaning
'water of life'. Gaelic is the branch of
the Celtic language spoken in the Highlands of Scotland
and still is today in many areas of the
Highlands of Scotland. Over time the
word "uisge beatha" became
abbreviated and corrupted to become
known as whisky.
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Whisky soon became an intrinsic part of
Scottish life and was frequently used for medicinal
purposes or as a reviver and stimulant
during the long cold harsh Scottish winters,
and it began to feature more in everyday
social life in Scotland.
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It can only be called Scotch if it has
been distilled and matured in Scotland.
This most celebrated of spirits is
distilled in a country of natural beauty
and is produced with nothing more than
what nature will not readily replace.
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The craft of distilling and maturing
Scotch has evolved over hundreds of
years, and has been passed from
generation to generation in a continual
process of improvement and refinement.
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 Until the advent of the patent still in
1831, all the whisky produced in
Scotland was of the malt variety. Now,
there are two kinds produced, malt and
grain. Malt whisky is used primarily to
create the popular blended whisky of
today, this is done by combining malt
whisky with grain whisky. A small amount
of malt whisky which is produced is
bottled as Single Malt.
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Blended whiskies and malt whiskies are
both produced differently. Although both
are produced in the distilleries of
Scotland, near to the natural
ingredients which gives them their
unique flavour. For more information on
how both these whiskies are produced
continue to the next page of this guide.
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Whisky Guide:
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