Scotch and Irish whiskies
Its generally taken that whisky was first produced in either Scotland or Ireland. There are many people that can spend hours talking about evidence to prove one or the other, I however am not one of those people, yet my understanding of it goes a little something like this:
It would be easy to understand that the original idea of distilling grain was received in Ireland in the pre 1500s, when they acted as a trading post for many people throughout Europe. It seems likely that from here monks learnt the skills of distilling, as aqua vitae or ‘water of life’ used for medicinal reasons.
Incidentally, it is this term of ‘water of life’ that gives us the name whisky, due to the Gaelic for this being Usque baugh with the first half being anglicised to how we know it today.
From here we travel to Scotland where the craze of whisky really took off, and has remained (arguably) ever since.
The first definite reference to distillation comes in 1494 where it seen that one friar is seen to be using malt to make aquavitae, this being the Latin term for water of life.
However the quantities that are used in this reference are far too great for simple consumption, which supports the idea that this water of life is being distilled for medicinal reasons.
As time passed, and knowledge of this wonderful water of life spread throughout the community, it’s role started to shift towards that of a more social one! This was only aided by the realisation that distillation was a great way of utilising any surplus grain grown by farmers. It is not a coincidence that barley was the most common cereal grown, however wheat and oat were also distilled.
By the eighteenth century, there were distinct differences between whiskies that were being distilled in the Highlands and Lowlands, both in terms of production and flavour profiles.
However at this crucial point in whisky production laws were passed in an attempt to police and tax distillation in Great Britain. In many regions distillation was seen as a birthright for farmers, and production was forced underground, with smuggling becoming rife. But their fortunes changes in 1823, when a new Excise act was passed legalising small stills. This also brought with it the chance for commercial production of whisky on a larger scale.
From here the introduction of the Coffey or continuous still in 1827 helped with the production of grain whiskies, which were in turn used to make whisky more drinkable by the process of blending. Malt whiskies (where only malted barley is distilled) were seen as an acquired taste, and grain whiskies were often a bit too light, so in 1853 Andrew Usher blended the two types and opened the door of a more palatable and consistent style of whisky.
The final step that really turned this harsh spirit into the fine Scotch we know today was the introduction of oak cask ageing. Up until the 1900s there were examples of distillers keeping their spirits in oak casks, however this was simply for ease. But at this point, whiskies were placed in oak casks to help develop their flavours and to mellow their rawness. And from here it was only a case of tweaking the finer points for a distiller or blender to come up with the drink that we now have today.
While all of this had been happening in Scotland, there was still whisky production occurring in Ireland, although in a very different way, producing different flavours and aromas.
Irish whiskey grew in popularity, and in many ways was the major player in the whisky market in terms of production and exportation. However Irish whiskey was a bout to take a big old knock.
After the Irish potato famine, many Irish people left for America. This was obviously a huge disappointment for the whiskey producers (among others), however there was still a demand for their whiskies, it was just on the other side of the world now. So, they started to export their whiskies to America, which at first was very popular and profitable.
That was until 1919 when prohibition begun. From this point, the Irish distillers struggled financially, and by the 1960s only four distillers remained. Since then, these remaining distilleries have joined through mergers, and there now only remains a couple of renowned whiskey distillers.
North American Whiskies
In America, there are instances of cereal crops being distilled in the late 17th century, which is obviously a fair bit later than its Gaelic counterparts. However, it wasn’t until the influx of Irish and Scots 100 years later that whisky production really took off.
The Irish and Scots were obviously used to drinking whisky from their motherlands, and wanted to be able to drink it in their new homes. So these newcomers set about adapting their skills in distillation to make whisky from any surplus cereal, which was generally rye in Pennsylvania and Maryland, and maize in Kentucky.
Whisky production in these regions soon took off with the new immigrants, and production levels increased.
Then 1919 happened again, and prohibition struck down these whisky producers, and just as there was light at the end of the tunnel, World War II started, which again halted production. This effectively meant that North American whisky died between 1920 and 1945.
From then on, North American whisky has struggled with re branding itself, and coping with differing tastes, but is has fought its way back into the market, and into our hearts.
