FERNAND DACQUIN
TH
K O B Y K S I H EW
YO U EVERY THING
DIDN’T KN
HE WATER O W A BO U T T
OF LIFE
PREFACE
AY, F OF CL AN H H IE H C , L L O R QUAIC OF ER BY T H E E A R L F T H E K E E P E R S O F T H E A PATRON O
The author first came to my house in Sandy in 2012. I was told that previously he had been a Flemish travel journalist, with a keen interest in Scotland, Scottish history and, in particular, Scotch whiskies. There were other people invited that day and I noticed that he was not looking to converse right away. He was more interested in exploring my house. He was taking pictures of my collection of antique whisky hip flasks, and of a chessboard where each piece carries the coat of arms of one of my ancestors on its shield. It was obvious that he was looking for little stories. I was only able to attract his attention when I showed him the whisky bar, hidden in the wall of the library. These days there are many books about whisky. That’s because there are countless tales of whisky woven through our history, in the lives of people ordinary and famous, often embedded in small events, many that have never been told. We must cherish those stories. They enrich our whisky tradition. 5
Fernand Dacquin travelled the world for forty years writing for a tourism magazine and for whisky magazines. Wherever he went he collected anecdotes, facts, and stories about whisky. Given its rich whisky heritage, Scotland was a recurrent theme in all of this. From his copious collection of travel notes he distilled about a hundred short whisky stories. They are bundled into this book. When the Dutch edition was published in 2020, Charles MacLean wrote the following in his preface: “The topics Fernand has chosen to write about in this book are staggeringly eclectic and born of his own global travels: entertaining, surprising, informative (I learned a lot!), and opinionated (in a gentle way!).” I don’t know what else can be added to that. It is a bounteous book that you can dip into, starting and finishing on any page. Because of its compact size, an added bonus is that you always have a hand free for a wee dram. I have no hesitation in recommending this book to every whisky lover, and especially to those who love a good yarn.
6
S T N E T N O C
1 Whisky or whiskey? – What a mess
13
2 Lindores Abbey – Thanks to dear old brother John Cor
17
3 Muckle Flugga – The whisky nabody knows
23
4 Du Kang – The god of whisky (and the rest)
27
5 Thou demon drink – Poetry vs alcohol
29
6 Drambuie – Bonnie Prince Charlies’ whisky
33
7 ‘If by whiskey…’ – The famous whiskey speech
37
8 Borvo – Gallic god of whiskey
41
Martin Martin – The father of the first ‘tasting notes’ 9
47
7
10 Charles Doig – And ‘the coronet of the distillery’
51
11 Coburg 1830 – The ‘first’ Belgian whisky
57
W.C. Fields – Drinking for joke 12
61
Biawa Makalunga – The ‘spirit’ of Rothes 13
65
Jessie Cowan – The Scottish mother of Japanese whisky 14
69
David Lloyd George – The man who changed whisky forever 15
73
Warehouse 6 – The smallest in the world? 16
79
Baudoinia Compniacensis – The whisky world full of mould 17
81
SS Politician – A gift from the gods 18
85
Agoston Haraszthy – Beneficiary of the Scottish whisky industry 19
91
Winston Churchill – Alcohol or not? 20
95
Archibald Haddock – No more alcohol for him 21
99
22 “Weel done Cutty Sark” – Whisky and witches
103
Alfred Barnard – The very first whisky tourist 23
107
The quaich – Cup of friendship 24
111
The Pattison Brothers – Whisky and parrots 25
115
Father Mathew – Whiskey hater, whiskey killer 26
119
Robert Bentley Todd – ‘Father’ of the Hot Toddy 27
123
28 Ralph Steadman – Still Life with Bottle
127
Charles II of Navarre – Aqua vitae as a last remedy 29
131
Lagganmore Distillery – Romantic, fake whisky 30
133
Whisky and records – The more the better 31
137
8
32 Carry Amelia Moore – “All nations welcome, but Carry!”
139
33 The Monarch of the Glen – Whisky saves art
143
The Keepers of the Quaich – ‘Water of life forever’ 34
145
The Atlantic Challenge – Talisker Whisky rules the waves 35
147
36 Whisky? – For men only!
151
France’s treasured whisky – Liberté, égalité, Tullamore DEW 37
155
Thanks to Cassis de Dijon – Europe sets the record straight 38
157
The shooglebox – Essential tool 39
159
The Highland Line – Not always very clear 40
161
Light whiskey? – OMG! 41
163
Bakery Hill Distillery – Australia’s ‘last’ and ‘first’ distillery 42
165
The man with the red socks – and Australian whisky 43
169
44 Taiwan – Strong riser
173
63.4 = 111 – The mysterious number 45
177
Japanese nude – Japanese standards 46
181
Sherry butts – A Spanish fairy tale? 47
185
Devil’s share – The angels miss out 48
189
Aircraft tasting – Stay on the ground 49
191
50 Single malt, pure malt – Vatted malt, blended malt, blended whisky
193
51 1494 – Was James IV an alcoholic?
197
The 9.09% rule – Canadian whisky 52
203
Teapot whisky – … for a rainy day 53
205 9
54 Elijah Craig – Father of the charred casks
207
55 Jameson Whiskey – Irish whiskey?
209
Von Liebig versus Pasteur – The secret of fermenting 56
211
57 Excisemen – The man with the second key
213
Maillard reaction – Delicious but mysterious 58
217
The Maker’s Mark case – You spoke. We listened! 59
219
Ah, those Scots! – Never satisfied 60
223
Towser and Shortie – Hardworking four-legged friends 61
227
Shaken or stirred? – Ask James 62
231
Tongue twisters – Gaelic for beginners 63
233
64 Campbeltown – Whisky capital of the world
235
Zero point zero zero zero zero… – Caramel and whisky 65
239
66 Holy water – Three drops is enough
241
Hide a case – Playing hide and seek 67
247
Tennessee whiskey – The Lincoln County process 68
249
Bottle decomposition – Nice little fragment 69
251
The battle of the crows – Not every crow is an old crow 70
253
Gan bei – And see what happens 71
257
72 Ernest Shackleton – Whisky and ice
259
The Queen and her units – 14 or 21 or 56? 73
263
Royal whisky – The Purveyors to the Royal Household 74
267
The royal crash – Good news for Laphroaig 75
271
10
76 The water of life – Aqua vitae is good for you
275
77 The seven-drops principle – What we all throw away!
277
Keep walking … – Left? Or right? 78
279
Glencairn glass – Not all glasses are created equal 79
281
Loch Ewe Distillery – Scotland’s smallest distillery 80
285
Mekhong Whisky – The pride of every Thai 81
289
Glenmorangie helps – Forget the emergency number 82
291
Macallan’s secret room – The sound of bottles 83
295
Fake whiskies – No one is safe 84
299
Copper beauty – Scratches and dents included 85
303
86 11.11.11 – First drop of Japanese whisky
305
Paul the Apostle – ‘Stop drinking water…’ 87
307
88 Dufftown – Whisky capital of the world
309
Whisky, a man’s world? – The lady of the house speaking 89
311
Diet whisky – Don’t worry about Weight Watchers! Drink! 90
313
Whisky mathematics – To lose count 91
315
Cricket and whisky – And a South African girl 92
317
Faraday Still – All-in-one 93
323
94 Dr. Jim Swan – The Einstein of whisky
325
My property on Islay – Wonderful investment 95
327
Dornoch Castle – Whisky castle hotel 96
331
Lomondian confusion – Still x and still y 97
333
11
98 Ode to the nose – But don’t exaggerate
337
99 Per mil – To spit or not to spit
341
100 Tommermænd – No, nay, never no more
343
Bluff your way – Practice makes perfect 101
345
Epilogue
349
12
1
WHI
? Y E K S I H SKY OR W WHAT A MES
S
Long ago, everything was much simpler. There was a rule that was easy to remember: countries with an ‘e’ in their name wrote ‘whiskey’ with an ‘e’; countries without ‘e’ in their name stuck to ‘whisky’, without the ‘e’. Ireland? Whiskey. Canada? Whisky. United States? Whiskey. Scotland? Whisky. Simple. But today you have to travel across the entire world map to find a country where no one produces ‘whiskey’. Or ‘whisky’. And those newcomers apparently really enjoy writing ‘whisky’ today and ‘whiskey’ the next day. They don’t care at all! 13
Not all whisky is whisky.
But I’m in trouble: how can I write a book about whisky if I don’t know whether it’s ‘whisky’ or ‘whiskey’? And who is responsible for this nonsense? Time for a serious investigation. Bring out the musty history books. By 1965, we read, the Irish whisky industry had fallen to such a low level that only a handful of distilleries remained. They united and founded the ‘Irish Distillers’. The Irish Distillers opted for the slogan ‘Strong together’, and to make this clear they introduced a few ‘specialties’ that would surprise the Scots, who were still doing well. From now on the Irish Distillers would distill three times instead of twice (the Scottish way), they would never use peat, and they would write ‘whiskey’ everywhere instead of ‘whisky’. So that’s where it all started. But wait, not too fast! Let’s go further back in time. Around 1900, there was a lot of controversy around the whole ‘whisky’ business in the United Kingdom. 14
First of all: there was no law which offered a real definition of the product ‘whisky’ and a lot of questions arose regarding those names that were used: for example, was blended whisky also ‘whisky’? So King Edward VII set up a commission. On March 2, 1908, the committee issued a report and minutes entitled ‘Inquiry on Whiskey and other Potable Spirits’. Everyone in the UK was required to follow those guidelines. Whiskey was written with ‘e’ throughout the whole text. Waw! Whiskey, with an ‘e’. In Scotland and in Ireland! One year later a new release was published, and the annoying ‘e’ had disappeared everywhere. Everywhere ‘whisky’. No ‘e’ in Scotland and no ‘e’ in Ireland. And since then, things went completely off track. Some Irish kept using the ‘e’. Some emigrated to America where they introduced the ‘e’. But there were others already doing without ‘e’ because they had taken it over from the Scots and the Canadians, who adhered to the Scottish spelling: without ‘e’. The ‘e’ slowly became more common in the States, but there are still American distillers who don’t use an ‘e’. And believe me, not all are consistent in Ireland either. Paddy for example: sometimes with an ‘e’; sometimes without. And then there are some distillers in Canada... Enough! Stop! We will stick to ‘whisky’ but switch to ‘whiskey’ where it is more convenient. In Dutch, there is even a word for a small whisky: ‘whiskytje’. But that is complete nonsense. Every whisky lover knows that there is no such thing. All whiskies are small whiskies.
15
2
Y E B B A S LINDORE THANK
L D B RO T H E S TO D E A R O
R J O H N CO R
‘By order of the king, eight bolls of malt for Brother John Cor to make aqua vitae.’ Had no one ever found that little phrase in the Scottish Exchequer Rolls of 1495 (the King’s annual financial report), Lindores Abbey would likely have been lost in history. By ‘the King’, the writer refers to James IV, who we know was a very moderate drinker. ‘Brother John Cor’ refers to the brewer-distiller at Lindores Abbey, and with eight ‘bolls of malt’, that diligent brother is said to have been able to distill about 250 litres of alcohol (according to experts): aqua vitae. And that aqua vitae, or ‘water of life’, would have been called “whisky” today. Not bad as a stock. 17
Was Brother Cor’s still here?
Founded in the twelfth century, the sprawling Abbey was on the edge of what is now the village of Newburgh in Fife. At that time, this was a wooded area on the little Pow stream which sprang from Lindores Loch and flowed through the Abbey, into the river Tay. There was plenty of water in the Abbey. Fantastic for brewing or distilling. The twenty founders of the Abbey came from Kelso and were part of the Order of Tiron. The Abbey grew fast to just over thirty members. They were the so-called ‘black’ brothers, because of their black habits. In the same ‘Scottish Exchequer Rolls’, John Cor is referred to once more for his ordering of black fabric for making habits. Cor was seemingly important in Lindores Abbey. And not only for the booze. The Abbey was prominent and influential. Important guests such as Kings Alexander III and Edward I stayed there. As did John Balliol, William Wallace, and Mary Queen of Scots. In the sixteenth century, Scotland had a very turbulent history: Reformation supplanted the Roman Catholic faith and the Protestants sacked the Abbey in 1543. The monks stayed in Lindores until 1584, after which the Abbey gradually fell into disrepair. At the very end, even the Abbey bell was sold to the City of Edinburgh. Many houses in Newburgh today are built with the stones of the Abbey, and in the pubs of Newburgh you can find fine examples of these.
18
In 1913, John McKenzie, a diligent farmer, was able to buy the land and farm built on the ruins of the Abbey. Lindores remained in the McKenzie family from then on, eventually falling into the hands of John’s great-grandson Drew and Drew’s younger brother Robbie. While Robbie expanded the farm, Drew had other pursuits. For many years he was the head chef at Glenmorangie House, which belongs to and is located close to the distillery of the same name. For more than twenty years, however, he also worked on the realisation of his dream: bringing the Lindores distillery back to life. The farm, next to the best-preserved part of the Abbey, has now been converted into a beautiful distillery with an attractive visitor centre. Gary Haggart, former distillery manager of Diageo’s Cragganmore Distillery, and his team now take care of production.
ARCHEOLOGICAL FIND? Behind the maturing warehouses, there is a vast area that also belonged to the Abbey. There will soon be new orchards, like the ones the Abbey once had. The Order of Tiron was very skilled in agriculture and fruit growing but was also at home in the world of herbs and medicine. Many remains of the Abbey were found during the excavation work, which was necessary for the construction of the distillery, including a dug and stone-finished ditch to ensure that water was diverted from the Pow to the Abbey. And right there, in the middle of the construction heap, the workers uncovered a large stone and clay-finished pit in the shape of a hemisphere. Drew McKenzie: ‘Archaeologists believe that this pit may have been the home of Brother Cor’s still.’ If this is where Brother Cor made his aqua vitae more than five hundred years ago, then there is no more sacred place in the whisky world than here.
19
www.lannoo.com Register on our website and we will regularly send you a newsletter with information about our latest books as well as interesting, exclusive offers. Text: Fernand Dacquin Graphic design: EHBOntwerp Typesetting: Keppie & Keppie Photography: Fernand Dacquin: all, except Shutterstock: 22, 41, 60, 86-87, 102, 124, 130, 157, 192, 230 / Wikimedia Commons: 30, 33, 37, 40, 94, 98, 113, 114, 116, 132, 144, 153, 167, 198, 214, 217, 256, 259, 260, 276, 311 / Wivine Vernieuwe: 46, 190, 234, 339, 341, 343 / Dr Macro: 61, 62, 64 / Kavalan Distillery: 176 / Buena Vista Winery: 92, 93 / Hergé-Moulinsart 2013: 100, 101 / Shannon Tofts: 110, 145, 146 / Ralph Steadman: 126, 129 / Lost Clock Productions: 148 / Firmin Lemaître: 151, 163, 338, 345, 349 / Stefaan Lesage: 168 / William Grant & Sons: 196 / Glenfarclas Distillery: 80, 159 / James Sedgwick Distillery: 318-319 / American Whiskey Trail: 219, 220 / Archive.org: 48, 49 / City of Vancouver Archives: 71 / Clyde Maritime: 88 / Banknote index: 89 / Welcome Library London: 122 / National Galleries of Scotland: 144. If you have any comments or questions, please contact our editors: redactielifestyle@lannoo.com © Fernand Dacquin & Uitgeverij Lannoo nv, Tielt, 20211 D/2021/45/622 – NUR 440, 447 ISBN: 978 94 014 7958 5 All rights reserved. Nothing from this edition may be reproduced, recorded in an automated database and/or published in any form or in any way, whether electronic, mechanical or in any other manner without the prior written permission of the publisher.