IT’S Burns Night next week and across hill and glen the frosty air will echo
to the haunting tones of the pipes, the contented burr of whisky-fuelled
banter and that exaggerated guttural noise that people feel forced to make
when they recite anything by the eponymous bard.
January 25 may have been eagerly adopted by many a far-flung Sassenach in
search of some midwinter revelry. But let’s be honest, most of its essential
components are still monuments to Scottish exceptionalism. The haggis, the
neeps, the tatties, the pipes and, dare I say it, perhaps even the literary
charms of the poet himself don’t really travel all that well.
But if there’s one thing the world can agree on it’s that liquid accompaniment
to the indescribable haggis, “uisge beatha” — water of life —
the beverage that Burns himself called, with surprising, but perhaps
reverential, understatement, that “auld Scotch drink”.
Scotch whisky is one of the great success stories of modern times. North Sea
oil may be running out and Sean Connery may be getting old, but Scotch is
pushing farther into every corner of the globe.
If, like me, you’re an admirer but a relative novice, there’s no better way to
get a quick education than to take a tour of one or more of the
distilleries. These are not just fascinating factories in themselves, but
are found in the most beautiful parts of Scotland.
Scotch was an illicit drink until almost 200 years ago, slapped with heavy
excise duties by the hated English rulers. Canny Scots then built their
distilleries in remote valleys, far from government inspectors, in almost
impossibly scenic spots.
Places such as Caol Ila. Nestled on Islay, across from the lonely island of
Jura, the distillery was so remote it would have taken days for the king’s
excise men to find it.
At each distillery you get not just a tour of the various tools of the
whisky-making trade — the washes and stills and cavernous bonded warehouses
— but a quick instruction in nosing, tasting and understanding the various
malts. If you’re lucky they’ll let you have a sniff or more of some of the
most celebrated vintages — 12, 15, 18 and even 30-year-old malts, lovingly
and patiently matured on site.
Islay whiskies — other producers include Laphroaig and Lagavulin — are
famously peaty. At Laphroaig you can taste the green barley as it is smoked
over the peat fires, then get the same scent from a glass with liquid that’s
been around ten years or more.
In the Highlands, the scenery and the manner of whisky-making are different.
Remote, again, from government interference, they use less peat in the
malting and make a cleaner, slightly fruitier drink. Real Scotch enthusiasts
say they can detect at least 20 different aromas in the nose — I reckon I
got to about three.
At Aberfeldy, the home of Dewar’s, they mostly blend whiskies. But they have
also created something else — Dewar’s World of Whisky. Still, you can
forgive the people who brought you this theme park, because the place itself
is so unutterably lovely — all rushing streams and tumbling hills and
freshly wet fields and walls.
Up on Speyside, the scenery changes again. Close to the North Sea, the terrain
is bleaker. Here, Glenlivet advertises itself as the original Scotch. Not
far from Culloden. where Bonnie Prince Charlie’s forces had been routed just
70 years earlier, a young crofter, George Smith, set up a still on a
favourable hillside in the early 19th century and was granted the first
official licence by the English king’s surrogate. The rest, as they say, is
history.
You wander if you want through so many more distilleries — there’s
Glenfiddich, Glenmorangie, and Glen Grant; and Glenn Close and Glen Campbell
for all I know. But perhaps the loveliest of the lot is on the captivating
Isle of Orkney. A short ferry ride from John O’Groats is the Highland Park
distillery in the old city of Kirkwall. There the softly curved accents of
the Orcadians are matched by the rounded finish of the local Scotch. If you
head to the Foveran Hotel, you can enjoy it with some of the best seafood
you will taste anywhere in the British Isles.
As the modern global economy demands, most of the distilleries are now part of
multinational consumer goods groups, with such unScottish names as Diageo,
MoetHennessy, and Pernod-Ricard. Some Scots fret about this. But I think
they should relax.
Burns himself would surely recognise the success it represents and coin some
brilliant couplet in tribute to the vast and lengthening global reach of his
people’s favourite drink.
The haggis will have to await better marketing.
The Scotch Whisky Association (www.scotch-whisky.org.uk) has information on
distilleries to visit and whisky trails.
Further information: www.visitscotland.com.
Best of Burns
The Dunalastair hotel in Perthshire has an overnight package from £50pp with a
full Scottish breakfast and Burns’ supper. Details: 01882 632323,
www.dunalastair.co.uk.
The Hilton Coylumbridge hotel in Aviemore has a two-night stay from £125pp
with a Highland banquet. Details: 01479 810661, www.hilton.co.uk/coylumbridge
