The Holy Grail Of Scotch Whisky

[John]

It is without doubt the holy grail of Scotch whisky - the first-ever written reference to whisky distilling in Scotland.

Throughout May and June, whisky lovers were given the rare opportunity to view
The Exchequor Rolls of Scotland for 1494 first hand at an exhibition held by the National Archives of Scotland (NAS) at West Register House in Edinburgh.

The Rolls, which were given their last public outing in 1994, tell of Friar John Cor receiving "eight bolls of malt"?.

Eight bolls (63.5 kilos) is a substantial amount of whisky and, according to the NAS, is evidence that whisky was being produced in Scotland well before 1494.

It is possible, therefore, that an earlier reference to Scotch whisky could still be discovered.

The exhibition, entitled From the Vaults: Whisky and the Scots, was supported by the Scotch Whisky Association, Diageo plc. and John Dewar &Sons Ltd.

If you want to see the "First written record of whisky distilling in Scotland" for yourself have a look at this short video on YouTube:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3E1fa54LrhY&feature=player_embedded

John