SCOTCH
TOM McLELLAN
What is it about the wonderful whisky of
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Scotland with a history going back to earliest times? The Gaelic “usquebaugh”, meaning “Water
of Life”, phonetically became “usky” and then “whisky” in English. However it is known, Scotch Whisky, Scotch or
Whisky (as opposed to whiskey), has captivated a global market. Scotland has internationally protected the term
“Scotch”. For a whisky to be labeled Scotch it has to be produced in Scotland. If it is to be called Scotch, it cannot be produced in England, Wales, Ireland, America or anywhere else.
the international spirit of choice
Excellent whiskies are made by similar methods
in other countries, notably Japan, but they cannot be called Scotches. They are most often referred to as “whiskey”. While they might be splendid whiskies, they do not captivate the tastes of Scotland. The increasing popularity of whisky eventually
attracted the attention of the Scottish parliament, which introduced the first taxes on malt and the end product in the latter part of the 17th century. Ever increasing rates of taxation were applied following The Act of Union with England in 1707, when England set out to tame the rebellious clans of
Scotland. The distillers were driven underground. Clandestine stills were cleverly
organized and hidden in nooks and crannies of the heather-clad hills, and smugglers organized signaling systems from one hilltop to another whenever excise officers were seen to arrive in the vicinity. By the 1820s, despite the fact that as many as 14,000 illicit stills were being confiscated every year, more than half the whisky consumed in Scotland was being swallowed painlessly and with pleasure, without contributing a penny in duty. This flouting of the law eventually
WAYNE CORBIN
home inspector
prompted the Duke of Gordon, on whose extensive acres some of the finest illicit whisky in Scotland was being produced, to propose in the House of Lords that the Government should make it profitable to produce whisky legally. In 1823 the Excise Act was passed,
which sanctioned the distilling of whisky in return for a license fee of £10, and a set payment per gallon of proof spirit. Smuggling died out almost completely over the next ten years and, in fact, a great many of the present day distilleries stand on sites used by smugglers of old.
38 BOUNDER MAGAZINE
continued on page 39
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