Scotch Whisky Association - History of Scotch Whisky
According to the Scotch Whisky Association, Scotch whisky evolved from a Scottish drink called uisge beatha, which means "water of life". The earliest record of distillation in Scotland occurred as long ago as 1494, as documented in the Exchequer Rolls, which were records of royal income and expenditure. The quote above records eight bolls of malt given to Friar John Cor wherewith to make aqua vitae over the previous year. This would be enough for 1,500 bottles, which suggests that distillation was well-established by the late 15th century.
Whisky production was first taxed in 1644, causing a rise in illicit whisky distilling in the country. Around 1780, there were about eight legal distilleries and 400 illegal ones. In 1823, Parliament eased restrictions on licensed distilleries with the "Excise Act", while at the same time making it harder for the illegal stills to operate, thereby ushering in the modern era of Scotch production. Two events helped to increase whisky's popularity: first, the introduction in 1831 of the column still; the whisky produced with this process was generally less expensive to produce and also less intense and smoother, because a column still can perform the equivalent of multiple distillation steps in a continuous distillation process. Second, the phylloxera bug destroyed wine and cognac production in France in 1880.
Scotland was traditionally divided into four regions: The Highlands, Lowland, Islay, and Campbeltown.
Speyside, encompassing the Spey river valley in north-east Scotland, once considered part of the Highlands, has almost half of the total number (approx. 105 as of 2013) of distilleries in Scotland within its geographic boundaries; consequently it is officially recognized as a distinct region.
The Islands is not recognized as a region by the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) and is considered part of the Highlands region.
Although only five regions are specifically described, any Scottish locale may be used to describe a whisky if it is distilled entirely within that place; for example a single malt whisky distilled on Orkney could be described as Orkney Single Malt Scotch Whisky[26] instead of as a Highland whisky.
Lowlands are single malt whiskies distilled in Scotland's lowlands. Traditionally Lowland single malts are triple distilled (though this has not been true of all of them), often giving them a lighter taste.
Speyside single malts are single malt Scotch whiskies, distilled in Strathspey, the area around the River Spey in Moray and Badenoch and Strathspey, in northeastern Scotland. Speyside has the greatest number of distilleries of any of the whisky-producing areas of Scotland. These can generally be classified as light and grassy (e.g. Glenlivet) or rich and sweet (e.g. Macallan)
Highlandsare single malt Scotch whiskies produced in the Highland region of Scotland. This categorization includes the whiskies produced on the islands around the perimeter of Scotland (the Island single malts), except for Islay. Incongruously, the area also includes certain lowland areas in the North-East of the country such as Banffshire and Aberdeenshire.
Campbeltownare single malt Scotch whiskies distilled in the burgh of Campbeltown, on the Kintyre peninsula in Scotland. Once a major producer of whisky with as many as 28 distilleries, and claiming the title "whisky capital of the world", its production has markedly declined. Most of the distilleries have gone out of business and little trace of them remains.
By 2010 only three distilleries continue to produce whisky in Campbeltown: Springbank, Glengyle, and Glen Scotia.
Islay is Scotch whisky made on Islay or Ìle in Gaelic, one of the southernmost of the Inner Hebridean Islands located off the west coast of Scotland. Islay is one of five whisky distilling localities and regions in Scotland whose identity is protected by law. There are nine active distilleries and the industry is the island's second largest employer after agriculture. Islay is a centre of "whisky tourism", and hosts a "Festival of Malt and Music" known as Fèis Ìle each year at the end of May, with events and tastings celebrating the cultural heritage of the island.
The whiskies of the distilleries along the southeastern coast of the island, Laphroaig, Lagavulin, and Ardbeg, have a smoky character derived from peat, considered a central characteristic of the Islay malts, and ascribed both to the water from which the whisky is made and to the peating levels of the barley. Many describe this as a “medicinal” flavour. They also possess notes of iodine, seaweed and salt.