[15:56 13/3/03 n:/3991 RUSSELL.751/3991-Prelims.3d] Ref: 3991 Whisky Prelims Page: 9 1-18 Series editors Graham Stewart PhD DSc FIBrew FIBiol is currently the Director of the International Centre for Brewing and Distilling (ICBD), Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland. He previously held the position of Technical Director responsible for Research and Quality Control at Labatt Brewing Company, Canada. He is the author of numerous books and papers as well as co-editor of Critical Reviews in Biotechnology. Charlie Bamforth PhD DSc FIBrew FIBiol is currently the Anheuser–Busch Endowed Professor of Malting and Brewing Sciences at the University of California, Davis. He has held positions as Director of Research for Brewing Research International in the UK and as Research and Quality Assurance manager for Bass Breweries. He is the author of numerous books and papers as well as being the Editor-in-Chief of Journal of the American Society of Brewing Chemists. Inge Russell PhD DSc FIBrew FIBiol is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the Institute of Brewing and is visiting professor at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland and an adjunct professor in the Department of Biochemical Engineering, University of Western Ontario, Canada. She has over 30 years experience in the fermentation industry as a research scientist and later of directing Research and Development for Labatt Brewing Company, Canada. She is the author of numerous books and papers as well as co-editor of Critical Reviews in Biotechnology. ix [15:56 13/3/03 n:/3991 RUSSELL.751/3991-Prelims.3d] Ref: 3991 Whisky Prelims Page: 11 1-18 Contributors Ross Aylott BSc CChem FRSC His post-graduate life started in packaging research and development, and contract research. He has over 20 years experience with Diageo and its pre- decessors, working on process, quality and analytical aspects of distilled spir- its. Currently active in risk management and brand protection, particularly the brand and generic authenticity of Scotch whisky, gin and vodka. Experienced extensive overseas travel to support spirits producers and anti-counterfeit programmes. George N. Bathgate BSc PhD CChem FRSC FIBrew Had an early career as a research and development scientist with Tuborg Brewery in Copenhagen, Guinness Brewery in Dublin and the Brewing Research Foundation at Nutfield. He became Technical Manager of Moray Firth Maltings and Director of Production for Malting and Malt Distilling in United Distillers plc and recently retired after 35 years in the industry. Tom A. Bringhurst BSc (Hons) Originally entered the Scotch whisky industry with Pentlands Scotch Whisky Research Ltd (PSWR). During the following 15 or so years he gained exten- sive experience in the production areas of mashing, fermentation and dis- tillation, through close involvement in PSWR distillery studies, both in the context of research projects and specific studies requested by individual distillery companies. Since 1996, when PSWR became the Scotch Whisky Research Institute, he has worked primarily on research projects in the areas of raw materials, cereals and cereals processing, fermentation and dis- tillation. He is currently Quality Manager, with responsibility for the Institute’s quality system, which is accredited to ISO 17025, by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service. Anne L. Broadhead (Fotheringham) BSc Is a scientist in the Cereals Group at The Scotch Whisky Research Institute. Her area of special interest is wheat spirit yield analysis used by Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) for grading wheat in Scotland. xi [15:56 13/3/03 n:/3991 RUSSELL.751/3991-Prelims.3d] Ref: 3991 Whisky Prelims Page: 12 1-18 James Brosnan BSc PhD Was previously Process Development Scientist at United Distillers (now Diageo) and is currently Research Manager at the Scotch Whisky Research Institute, with responsibility for raw materials and primary production projects. Iain Campbell BSc PhD FIBrew FIBiol Recently retired after 41 years at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh. As a Senior Lecturer in the International Centre for Brewing and Distilling he taught distillation and maturation, including operation of the ICBD experi- mental distillery. Previous publications include the textbook Brewing Microbiology and editing the series of Proceedings of the four-yearly series of Aviemore Conferences on Malting, Brewing and Distilling. John Conner PhD His first degree was in Pharmacy and after obtaining a PhD he carried out postdoctoral research at the Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, University of Strathclyde. This was on projects jointly funded by the Government (BBSRC) and industry (Chivas Brothers Ltd) on flavour changes in whisky during maturation which resulted in the development of a clearer understanding of ways in which the whisky matrix can enhance or suppress the release of aroma compounds. He is currently a research scientist with the Scotch Whisky Research Institute and is working on Maturation and Product Integrity related projects. Timothy C. S. Dolan BSc PhD FIBrew FIBiol Held several senior positions in malting, brewing and Scotch whisky distilling. He was successively a Research Scientist, Malting, Laboratory, Technical and Industry Technical Manager in three major companies: Scottish and Newcastle Breweries, ABM (Malting) Ltd and The Highland Distilleries Company Ltd before early retirement in 2000. He has a strong interest in education, manage- ment, research and publication, and is a Fellow of the IGB, IoBiol and RSC. He is a Chartered Biologist and Chemist, as well as being a Member of the Chartered Management Institute, and has been knighted for services to science. Grant E. Gordon MBA Has over 20 years commercial experience spent working in a variety of senior management roles at William Grant & Sons, specializing in the international marketing of Scotch whisky brands. He was closely involved in the early development of single malt Scotch whisky, largely pioneered by Glenfiddich (the world’s leading brand), owned by the fifth generation family firm William Grant & Sons. He is Director General, Institute for Family Business (UK); Deputy Chairman, William Grant & Sons Ltd and Non-Executive Member of the Board, Laurent-Perrier S.A. His education includes Harvard Business School (OPM30), Kellogg Graduate School of Management (MBA), Northwestern University and HEC Lausanne University, Switzerland xii Contributors [15:56 13/3/03 n:/3991 RUSSELL.751/3991-Prelims.3d] Ref: 3991 Whisky Prelims Page: 13 1-18 (Licence Sciences Economiques et Commerciales). In addition to his interest in Scotch whisky, he is closely involved in family business education where he is the Founding Director of the Institute for Family Business (UK), an indepen- dent, not-for-profit association promoting the success and sustainability of family firms. Frances Jack BSc PhD Is a research scientist, responsible for sensory evaluation at the Scotch Whisky Research Institute. She obtained her first degree in Food Science from Strathclyde University in 1990. This was followed by a PhD in 1994, again from Strathclyde University, the focus of this research being on sensory method development and exploration of relationships between sensory and analytical data. Ian Lambert CChem MRSC MCIWEM Has been Environmental Manager with Diageo (Scotland) Ltd since 1990. His early career was in the heavy chemicals industry, followed by 21 years in several roles in the field of water pollution control; both as regulator and regulated. Denis Arthur Nicol BSc Has extensive experience in the alcohol industry including: Analytical Chemist at Hiram Walker & Sons (Scotland) Ltd; Manager at the Tormore Distillery, Speyside; General Manager at the Laphroaig Distillery, Islay; Project Scientist at Long John International, Laboratory Manager at James Burrough Distillers Ltd; Laboratory Services Manager at Allied Distillers Ltd and Technical Manager at Demerara Distillers Ltd, Guyana, South America. In addition he is a teacher of Chemistry, Physics and Science. Bob Pass BSc Has been involved in both the technical and marketing aspects of Distillers Feeds for 25 years. He is currently the Marketing and Technical Manager, Animal Feeds for Diageo, the world’s largest producer of alcoholic drinks. Before joining Diageo he was with Pentlands Scotch Whisky Research, a research organization funded by the whisky industry where he was head of the by-products section. He had also previously worked with BP Proteins on the technical marketing of yeast biomass protein (cultured aerobically on normal paraffins) and with Dow Chemical. Ken Reid PhD Has 16 years experience in Scotch whisky research, with his work focused mainly on whisky maturation chemistry. He graduated from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh with a degree in chemistry and in 1989 he gained his PhD (on the subject of whisky maturation chemistry), whilst based at Reading Scientific Services Limited, Reading, England. He then joined the Scotch Whisky Research Institute where he is now the Research Manager in charge of the areas of Maturation and Product Protection. Contributors xiii [15:56 13/3/03 n:/3991 RUSSELL.751/3991-Prelims.3d] Ref: 3991 Whisky Prelims Page: 15 1-18 Foreword During the past three decades I have been fortunate enough to have filled several technical roles in the Scotch whisky industry, at company level (in a very small and later in a very large company) and at national industry level, within both the Malt Distillers’ and Scotch Whisky Associations. In all of these roles, and more recently as Visiting Professor at the International Centre for Brewing and Distilling (ICBD), I have been asked by students, new entrants and experienced colleagues, whether I could recommend a good textbook on the technology of whiskies and the associated distilling processes. In most technical and scientific disciplines, including the closely related subjects of brewing and winemaking, this would not have been a difficult question to answer and indeed a choice of admirable titles could be men- tioned in these fields, depending upon the needs and background of the enquirer. On the subject of whiskies – especially Scotch whisky – many volumes have been published on the heritage and geography of distilleries and on the variety and tastes of their products. Indeed, the enthusiastic consumer can choose from several shelves of such books, and every year sees at least one or two worthy additions to this bibliography. However, for the serious scientific student seeking to extend or update their knowledge across the breadth of whisky technologies, there is a dearth of suitable textbooks – indeed only one or two have appeared in the past century and none at all, to my knowl- edge, in the past decade. Yet the technical knowledge of distilling (and its related disciplines) continues to be advanced steadily by a number of eminent researchers, and a regular stream of scientific papers continues to be published in our specialist journals. Therefore, I am delighted that early in the new millennium we can welcome this much needed volume which updates our scientific knowledge across the whole field of whisky distillation and fills an acknowledged gap on the shelves of our technical libraries. Professor Alan G. Rutherford OBE BSc PhD CChem CEng FRIC FInstE FInstBrew Visiting Professor ICBD Heriot-Watt University xv [15:56 13/3/03 n:/3991 RUSSELL.751/3991-Prelims.3d] Ref: 3991 Whisky Prelims Page: 17 1-18 Preface There are surprisingly few technical books available that discuss distilled beverages. This book focuses specifically on whisk(e)y and allows the reader to delve beyond the art of the beverage, into the science and technology behind one of the world’s most loved drinks. In this first book in the Handbook of Alcoholic Beverages series, highly respected experts from academia and industry provide a unique perspective into a production process that has traditionally been cloaked in secrecy. Most publications have treated the production process as more art than science, despite the high quality of research and development, and quality assur- ance/quality control[**AQ] that the industry invests in and prides itself on. The history of the development of whisky distillation, starting with its mon- astic roots in Ireland and Scotland, is reviewed in the first chapter by George Bathgate, retired Director of Production for Malting and Malt Distilling (United Distillers Plc). In the next chapter, Tim Dolan who has extensive experience in malting and distilling (ABM malting and The Highland Distilleries) examines malt whiskies in terms of raw materials and processing. In the third chapter, three authors from the Scotch Whisky Institute: Tom Bringhurst, Anne Fotheringham (Broadhead) and James Brosnan discuss grain whisky in terms of raw materials and processing. Iain Campbell, who has lectured and carried out research for many years at the International Centre for Brewing and Distilling, Heriot Watt University, comprehensively covers the topics of yeast and fermentation as well as grain whisky distillation. Denis Nicol, who has extensive expertise working with a number of distilleries over the years, explains batch distillation. Maturation and blending are covered by three experts from the Scotch Whisky Research Institute: John Conner, Ken Reid and Frances Jack. The Marketing and Technical Manager – Animal Feeds, (United Distillers and Vintners) Robert Pass and I. Lambert (also from UDV) discuss co-products in terms of volumes produced, markets, and nutritional characteristics. This is an area where today there is great interest both from an environmental and economic point of view . The intricacies of whisky analysis are discussed by Ross Aylott (Diageo) who is active in risk management and brand protection, particularly the brand and generic authenticity of Scotch whisky. The final chapter in the book details the marketing of Scotch whisky and is written by Grant Gordon – it covers managing brand images through to xvii [15:56 13/3/03 n:/3991 RUSSELL.751/3991-Prelims.3d] Ref: 3991 Whisky Prelims Page: 18 1-18 routes to market. Grant Gordon has over 20 years commercial experience with William Grant & Sons, specializing in the international marketing of Scotch whisky brands and was closely involved in the early development of single malt Scotch whisky, largely pioneered by Glenfiddich. One area that the book does not discuss is the variety and specific tastes of the product. There are numerous books available that discuss this area in great depth, but it would be remiss not to address the one technical question that consumers always ask . . . does one mix the whisky with water, with soda or is it best to consume it straight ? The opinions on this are as varied as the number of products on the market and there is no doubt that the experts will never agree to one best presentation. It will vary with the individual product, the country and indeed current trends. However, from a scientific point of view, the general wisdom is that the addition of a small amount of water is key to release the aromatics. How much water and what type of water? What about soda water? That is another debate. Ice . . . even more debate! In the end, each consumer’s decision is the correct one when they serve it in the way that gives them the flavour that they most enjoy . . . and for that particular consumer that is the correct way to drink the product. Regardless of how the drink is best enjoyed, this book will give the reader a better appreciation of the science, technology and marketing of whisky. Inge Russell PhD DSc FIBrew Canada xviii Preface [15:24 13/3/03 n:/3991 RUSSELL.751/3991-001.3d] Ref: 3991 Whisky Ch 001 Page: 1 0-25 Introduction Nearly all distilled alcoholic beverages have similar generic roots depending on the basic raw material, whether grape, grain or sugar. Such distillates were in the past regarded as having great medicinal, almost mystical, properties and their recipes were entrusted to the religious clerics of their day and tradi- tion. The generic Latin name given to these distilled products was aqua vitae (the water of life). This is certainly true in the case of whiskey, which is a corruption of the Gaelic uisge beatha (again, water of life). This appellation, spelled without an ‘e’ in Scotland but with an ‘e’ in Ireland and America, is the generic name for a distilled product made from saccharified and fermented cereal extracts. In some cases this definition is even more specific, in that the saccharification process is implemented only by the enzymes of malted barley. In other traditions, similar distillates from alternative sources of fermentable sugar were translated from Latin as l’eau de vie in France or aquavit in Scandinavia and so on. All these spirits were regarded as having remarkable restorative properties. From its monastic roots in Ireland and Scotland, the distillation of whiskey developed over several centuries into a commercial enterprise in various con- tinents. It is now well known that the first record of a commercial transaction involving the supply of whiskey (sic. aqua vitae) was between the Benedictine monastery at Lindores Abbey in Fife and the Court of King James IV at Holyrood, Edinburgh in the year 1494 (Anon., 1494). The distiller in charge at Lindores must have been a Father John Cor. because the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland records the supply of ‘eight bolls of malt’ to the said Friar ‘to make 1 C h a p t e r 1 History of the development of whiskey distillation George N. Bathgate Whisky: Technology, Production and Marketing Copyright 2003 ISBN 0-12-669202-5 All rights of reproduction in any form reserved [15:24 13/3/03 n:/3991 RUSSELL.751/3991-001.3d] Ref: 3991 Whisky Ch 001 Page: 2 0-25 aqua vitae’. As well as telling us that whiskey was even then consumed in the highest social circles, it also records that the whiskey was malt whiskey and that the malting of barley was probably a separate commercial enterprise. The consumption of whiskey may have been partly for pleasure at the Royal Court of Scotland, but it was still regarded very much as a tonic. It would appear that the legitimate manufacture of whiskey for ‘medicinal purposes’ passed from the ecclesiastical world to the secular via the professional medical practitioners of the time, the Guild of Surgeon Barbers. For example, the City of Edinburgh granted a whiskey distilling monopoly to the Guild in 1505, and this was given Royal Approval by a Seal of Cause in 1506 (Scott-Moncrieff, 1916). From then on, not only in Scotland but also in every other country that has adopted the distillation of whiskey, a constant ‘war’ has been waged between state and private distillers for control of a very valuable commodity. There is no doubt that state control and, in particular, attempts to extract excise duty have played (and still play) a major role in the worldwide devel- opment of whiskey distilling. This is not the only common impetus for the development of whiskey, and there is remarkable similarity in the development of international markets and brands. Drivers for development can be summarized as: 1. Existing technology to produce the distilled product locally 2. A national demand to consume the distilled product 3. The drive and initiative of a few strong entrepreneurs to realize emerging commercial and export marketing opportunities 4. A commitment to supply and maintain a product of consistent high quality. How these events evolved in the five largest international whiskey distilling countries – Scotland, Ireland, the USA, Canada and Japan – is described in the following sections. Scotch whiskey Commercial development Although it is commonly accepted that the art of distilling was brought to Scotland by Irish monks at the time of St Columbus and thereafter, domestic distilling of whiskey developed in parallel and was common practice by the middle of the sixteenth century. Indeed, brewing and distilling were by then regarded as staple requirements because the Scottish Parliament decreed, fol- lowing a particularly bad harvest in the West of Scotland in 1555, that grain should only be used in the Burghs of Ayr, Irvine, Glasgow and Dumbarton for ‘baking bread and the brewing of ale and aqua vitae’ (Scott-Moncrieff, 1916). The said aqua vitae was therefore being distilled not only in farming commu- nities but also in the burgeoning towns of Scotland. The granting of monopolies to surgeons and apothecaries was an attempt to control whiskey distilling for use only for ‘medicinal purposes’, but this was 2 Whisky: Technology, Production and Marketing [15:24 13/3/03 n:/3991 RUSSELL.751/3991-001.3d] Ref: 3991 Whisky Ch 001 Page: 3 0-25 not very successful because of ever-increasing commercial pressures. It is not surprising that historical records show that some of the good burghers of Edinburgh, such as one Besse Campbell, regularly broke these cartels. The Edinburgh Town Council Records of 1556 state that Besse should ‘desist and ceis fra ony forthir making of aqua vitae within this burgh in tyme cumyng or selling of ony therein except on the market day’ (author’s emphasis), and also ‘to conform to the privelge granted to the (surgeon) barbers under the Seill of Caus’ (Scott-Moncrieff, 1916). As well as showing us that the Town Clerk had some spelling difficulties, the record clearly demonstrates that while Besse was not allowed to distil whiskey, she was allowed to sell it in the town’s market as a sort of licensed grocer of the period. The other important conclusion to be drawn from this record is that there was a growing market, albeit a local one, since Besse felt obliged to distil her own whiskey to augment the ‘legal’ supply. Besse was therefore the first recorded entrepreneur of whiskey, and the first (but not the last!) female distiller to boot. Government intervention continued into the next century, and following the outbreak of civil war in England in 1642 the Scottish Parliament imposed a series of excise levies. So began the age-old conflict between Customs & Excise (the Gaugers) and distillers, who were increasingly driven to hide in the hills and glens and the isles of the Inner Hebrides to carry on what they regarded as their legitimate trade, free from punitive government taxes. However, not all distilling was illicit. Following the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, the tax on ale, beer and whiskey (which was still referred to as aqua vitae in all statutes of the period) was essentially doubled, and it was estimated that this provision would yield £384 000 in revenue (Statute 1661, Car II, c.128). To raise this huge sum there must have been several large legitimate stills in existence, such as those of John Haig & Co., who claim that a Robert Haig established their business in 1627 (Anon., 1914). What is interesting, from a technical viewpoint, is the fact that these taxes were imposed not only on malted barley but also on spirit ‘not made of malt’. Other chronicles of this period similarly allude to spirit being made from a mixture of grains, such as oats, barley and wheat (Smith, 1776) as well as malt. So even from the earliest times some whiskey was being distilled from unmalted grain, and not all malt was made from barley. The malt tax introduced in 1701, for example, states that duty shall be paid: ‘upon all Malt, ground or unground, whether the same shall be made of Barley, or any other Corn or Grain whatsoever’ (Statute 1701, 12 &13 William III, c.5). After the Treaty of Union with England in 1707, the first London-based Parliament of the now United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland decreed that Scotland should pay the same high rates of duty as England. This was in direct contradiction to the Treaty of Union, and led to the infamous Malt Tax riots of 1725 (Devine, 1999). The government backed off from such universal revolt, and it took nearly another 100 years before excise duties were harmo- nized throughout the United Kingdom (Smith, 1980). Nevertheless, legitimate distilling continued to develop, particularly in the Lowlands of Scotland. By 1756 duty was paid on 433 811 gallons of spirit, nearly eight times the volume taxed the year after the Treaty of Union (Craig, 1994). Despite the public Chapter 1 History of the development of whiskey distillation 3 [15:24 13/3/03 n:/3991 RUSSELL.751/3991-001.3d] Ref: 3991 Whisky Ch 001 Page: 4 0-25 resistance to the Union and its effects on taxation, trade with England had been opened up and there was an increasing market for good quality whiskey. Following the Malt Tax riots, duty in Scotland was still only half the rate applied to English (particularly gin) distillers (Craig, 1994), and so Scottish traders could afford the additional transport costs and still make good margins on their product to the disadvantage of their English counterparts. The story was somewhat different in the Highlands, where uisge beatha was historically used for family or local consumption and illicit stills numbered in the thousands (Craig, 1994). The tradition of distilling Highland whiskey in small stills, widely dispersed throughout the region, can be traced to these illegitimate roots. With ever-increasing demand from the south, smuggling of illicit Highland whiskey became highly organized and effective to the extent that, by the early nineteenth century, almost half the whiskey consumed in Scotland was duty free and, despite the hated Excise Gaugers confiscating up to 14 000 illicit stills every year, the illegal trade continued to prosper (Scotch Whiskey Association, 2002). The government had to compromise, and in 1784– 1785 licensing acts were passed to allow illicit distillers to become legitimate in return for a fee and a reasonable rate of duty to be paid on fermenting wash. Over the next twenty years the number of licensed distillers increased, but illegal distilling and smuggling still continued, despite several further com- promises made to the excise laws. It was not until the Excise Act of 1823 was introduced to harmonize taxation in Scotland and Ireland that illicit distilling and smuggling were finally brought under control. Duty on distilled spirit was reduced to two shillings per proof gallon, and the separate tax on fermenting wash was abolished. A distiller could now, at long last, buy a license for £10 and develop his business without crippling taxation (Statute 1823, Geo.IV, c.94). The rest of the nineteenth century witnessed the remarkable growth of Scotch whiskey to become the only truly international, generic brand of pota- ble spirit. This was driven by a combination of opportunist entrepreneurs and fortuitous developments. The first technical development that assisted this phenomenal rise in exports was the differentiation of grain and malt whiskey distilling, and the subsequent blending of these two types of whiskey to pro- duce consistent high quality products. Greater volumes of grain whiskey could also be produced following the introduction of continuous distilling in patented Coffey stills (Coffey, 1830). Although mixed grists, i.e. malted barley and unmalted grain, had been used in both Highland and Lowland traditions, the latter half of the nineteenth century saw a gradual change until Highland whiskey was exclusively single malt and Lowland grain distilleries used only a small amount of malt to saccharify cooked unmalted grain. The other technical innovation that helped to characterize Scotch whiskey and establish its commercial growth happened more by chance than by design. During the years of secretive distilling, whiskey had to be hidden and then moved surreptitiously from its place of concealment to the market. Virtually the only storage and transportation vessels available to both illicit and legitimate distillers alike were wine, sherry and port casks that had been imported from France, Spain and Portugal. Many of these casks were pur- 4 Whisky: Technology, Production and Marketing [15:24 13/3/03 n:/3991 RUSSELL.751/3991-001.3d] Ref: 3991 Whisky Ch 001 Page: 5 0-25 loined for use in the ever-growing distilling trade after their original contents had been consumed. Even by the end of the eighteenth century, Highland whiskey had a reputation for being smoother and mellower than the fiery Lowland spirit. It was not long before astute distillers realized that the longer new-make spirit was kept in oak casks, the more it was appreciated by the consumer. These innovations on their own helped to make Scotch whiskey unique, but they were not, per se, the reason for the huge expansion in whiskey distilling in the eighteenth century. Throughout the century several entrepreneurial families developed the legitimate marketing and selling of Scotch whiskey internationally. Some of these businessmen, such as John Walker, John Dewar, James Chivas, William Teacher and George Ballantine, started as small family grocers and wine merchants. They all selected good quality malts to blend with Lowland grain whiskey to sell into their local markets before venturing into exports, first to England and then increasingly to the USA and eventually worldwide. Others, such as the Haig family, William Grant and James Buchanan, had always been involved with either distilling or whiskey merchanting, the latter almost entirely in London. The drive and initiative of these great ‘whiskey barons’ was essential for the continued devel- opment of the Scotch whiskey industry. They were adept at seeing marketing and trading opportunities, but were also aided in some cases by a certain amount of serendipity. From around 1863 the vineyards of France had been devastated by plagues of phylloxera aphids, and by 1879 most of Europe had been affected. There were therefore great shortages of claret and cognac, the principal alcoholic beverages of the middle and upper classes in Great Britain, and an opportunity was presented for blended Scotch whiskey to capture the entire brandy market. It could be said that Scotch never looked back, and from a secure base on the home market Scotch traders were then able to venture out to capture international markets as well. With so much trade for blended whiskey being generated by these mer- chanting companies, distillers, particularly the Lowland Patent-still grain dis- tillers, were finding it difficult to regulate supply. In 1856 a one-year agreement on distilling volumes was set up and in 1865 a more formal trade association was agreed, which eventually led to the formation of the Grain Distillers Association in 1878. A similar Association for Malt Distillers was formed under the banner of the North of Scotland Malt Distillers Association, now the Malt Distillers Association of Scotland, a little earlier in 1874 (Craig, 1994). The formation of the Grain Distillers Association was contemporaneous with consolidation of several of the largest grain distilleries into the Distillers Company Ltd (DCL) in 1877 (Ross, 1923). This event brought most of the large grain distillers under one umbrella company, and from the start until its demise in 1986 DCL operated more as a consortium of individual companies than as a single production and marketing operation. Nevertheless, the formation of the DCL and the trade associations brought some much needed organization and control into the fledgling industry. Similar consoli- dations were to take place within the malt-distilling sector of the industry. Scottish Malt Distillers Ltd was established initially as a joint venture com- Chapter 1 History of the development of whiskey distillation 5 [15:24 13/3/03 n:/3991 RUSSELL.751/3991-001.3d] Ref: 3991 Whisky Ch 001 Page: 6 0-25 pany, with the DCL as the major shareholder. This then acquired the majority of shares in 1925, when the company became a wholly owned subsidiary of DCL. During the first quarter of the twentieth century, the DCL was already the largest supplier of grain and malt whiskey to the major brand companies such as Walker, Dewar and Buchanan. By this time the DCL was not only a pro- duction company but had also itself built up some thriving brands. When some of the independent brand companies realized that there were better opportunities in the marketplace by merging their operations rather than fighting each other, rationalizations rapidly followed. First Buchanan and Dewar merged in 1915, and, following the DCL’s purchase of Haig, the new Buchanan–Dewar and Walker were, in 1925, both absorbed into an ever- expanding DCL. Mergers and takeovers have continued ever since, until there are now only a few major players in the global whiskey market. Following the Guinness (then owners of the Arthur Bell’s Brand) takeover of the DCL in 1986, the new United Distillers finally merged with Grand- Metropolitan (owners of J&B) to form, in 1997, the world’s largest distilled beverage company, Diageo plc. With Ballantine now being part of the Allied- Domeq Group, Chivas joining with the French group Pernod–Ricard, and Dewar being in the Bacardi stable, Scotch whiskey has become only part (although a very important part) of a portfolio of spirit brands being sold on a global scale by a handful of international companies. This is, of course, the trend with a whole range of consumer goods that are now marketed as inter- national brands, and may mark the end of the consolidations that commenced in the early part of the last century. Since Scotch whiskey is still the most popular generic brand in the international spirits market, and one of the most valuable to any company focused on the alcoholic beverage sector, the industry will no doubt enjoy a more settled future in the twenty-first century. Technical development The earliest distillations, carried out by alchemists and apothecaries, were performed in retorts, the basic (pelican) shape of which evolved into the pot-stills that are typical of the modern Scotch malt whiskey distillery. These early types of small retorts are in fact still used in the French cognac industry. They were invariably connected to a copper ‘worm’ (coil) condenser, which was immersed in a tub of cold running water (or in the case of illicit stills, in a convenient burn). These stills were also small so that they could be easily dismantled and hidden from the eyes of patrolling excise men. It was fortu- nate that the only malleable metal from which such apparatus could be made in these early years was copper, the partial dissolution of which is a vital ingredient of Scotch whiskey – in particular malt whiskey (Bathgate, 1998a). However, the development of Scotch whiskey is as much dependent on the raw materials – cereals, water and yeast – as it is on the distilling technology and copper. As mentioned earlier, the earliest whiskies were predominantly 6 Whisky: Technology, Production and Marketing [15:24 13/3/03 n:/3991 RUSSELL.751/3991-001.3d] Ref: 3991 Whisky Ch 001 Page: 7 0-25 made from malted barley, but many distillers also ground unmalted wheat, barley or oats into their grists. The amount of unmalted grain that could be converted by the enzymes from the malt was no doubt estimated by empirical means, and such additions helped to reduce the overall cost of the process in much the same way as, today, most brewers use unmalted cereals in their grist. Of course this procedure ultimately led to the development of grain whiskey, made predominantly from ungerminated grain, and this will be discussed later. From the earliest times, malting was regarded as an integral part of the process of making Scotch whiskey. Nearly everyone recognizes the structure of a Scottish malt distillery by the characteristic ‘pagoda’-style roof of the malt kilns, and not the still-house. Most distilleries have retained these ‘pagodas’ (which were really the housings for the kiln chimneys), even when the asso- ciated maltings have been closed down. It is therefore surprising that the development of malting is not as well recorded as that of distilling. Nevertheless, it was recognized that the quality of the barley and the way it was processed had an important effect on both the yield and quality of spirit. For example, Sir Robert Moray (1678), in relating ‘the manner in which malt was made in Scotland’, highlighted how the har- vested barley should be kept warm and dry to break natural dormancy and to preserve germination. He also recognized the importance of barley variety, and was adamant that two-rowed barley was preferred over the coarser four- rowed cultivar ‘Bere’, which was grown throughout Scotland at that time. Moray went on to relate that the malting of barley was very much a farm- based process involving only very small amounts of barley. Improvements in developing land races of barley throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries followed by, in the twentieth century, the development of crossbred hybrids, have continuously improved the alcohol yield. This development has been most marked in the last 50 years, when we have seen yields rise by about 20 per cent over the period (Table 1.1). Chapter 1 History of the development of whiskey distillation 7 Table 1.1 Development of Scottish malted barley spirit yields Period Predominant varieties Approximate spirit yield (l abs. alc./tonne) Pre-1950 Spratt and Plumage Archer 360–370 1950–1968 Zephyr 370–380 1968–1980 Golden Promise 385–395 1980–1985 Triumph 395–405 1985–1990 Camargue 405–410 1990–2000 Chariot 410–420