In the opinion of noted spirits expert Paul Pacult, Scotland is the epicenter of distilling today. It represents the perfection of existing technique as well as a fertile ground for experimentation. In addition to distilling technique, Scotland provides a fantastic terroir - Scotch reflects its place of origin more than any other spirit, even if the Irish more than likely created whiskey since they were well versed in beer production, and monks arriving in 800 AD probably brought some rudimentary distillation techniques, and by 1000 AD there were several stills operating.
The fighting Irish monks landed in Argyle on the Campbeltown peninsula to civilize the Scots, bringing the skill of distillation with them, as documented by written records from 1494. In 1505, the Guild of Surgeon Barbers was granted a charter to sell whisky, and by the 1600s there were stills throughout Scotland producing Uisqe beatha, or the water of life. By 1700 there are 400 distilleries in Edinburgh, and the practice of distillation has been adopted by the culture at large in every economic strata. These were small, personal stills - there weren’t any large scale stills until Ferrintosh in the late 17th C.
In 1707 the Act of Union joined Scotland to England, and taxation of whisky was used to finance war with France. Between 1720 – 1735, Parliament passed 19 different acts taxing whisky production. A collective decision was made not to pay the tax, and distillers moved to the most remote areas to avoid taxation, and thus began a century of “smuggling”, which was a term that encompassed illegal distillation, tax evasion, and the illegal shipment of whisky.
The 1823 licensing act allowed some to become legitimate, although this decision engendered some controversy within families. George Smith, a prominent Speyside citizen and the distiller of The Glenlivet made the leap to legitimacy. This move prompted many others to follow his example.
Another influence at this time (1820s) was the introduction of column still distillation. By the 1850s, merchants in Glasgow and Edinburgh began to make vatted blends, particularly Andrew Usher, with his Old Vatted Glenlivet. It wasn’t until the 1860s and 1870s that grain whisky was created, and ultimately other wine merchants, such as Johnnie Walker, the Dewars, the Bells, the Chivas Brothers, Ballentine, etc. also began to follow suit.
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Wine Regions of the World
