Cask and Still Magazine | 13
just the right amount of smokiness and that beach bonfire taste. I live by the sea – I love the wind, the dunes, the waves – so enjoy anything that reflects that landscape. I like to learn about different kinds of whiskies from chatting to my friends and trying different malts.
When do you most like drinking whisky? I’ll offer anyone who comes to dinner a whisky and have one with friends. On Game of Thrones, or any other set, you sometimes sit down for a whisky with other actors. It is always very welcome to have a late-night whisky, but I also delight in late evening solitary reflection as much as convivial company.
Mixers – are you a water, ice or ginger ale sort of a guy? I used to drink whisky straight, but a friend who runs a distillery has
educated me. I now forsake the delights of a ‘hit’ for a water drop-induced slow release through my entire being.
Favourite watering hole in Fife and further abroad? I play a lot of golf [he has a 4.8 handicap] and I like to visit the Dundee
My favourite are the Islay single malts. I enjoy the smoky beach bonfire taste
Contemporary Arts Centre and The Picture House in St Andrews, as well as local pubs – though people will still take the mick out of my appearance as a ‘Big Man’ in Still Game. The Haven in Cellardyke, where I live, is a lovely little
watering hole. The best place abroad was the verandah of The Victoria Falls Hotel in the late evening of July 1991, watching the sunset through the 600- foot high spray off the falls half a mile away with a generous glass of Jura.
Best distillery visited? I recently filmed scenes for Ripper Street in an old distillery in Ireland. It was a beautiful building. I was brought up in Fife but I am beginning to explore the West Coast’s stunning landscape.
Your whisky bugbear? I hate it when people drink malt whisky like beer and become roaring drunk – though I’ll make no recriminations. I think whisky is a ritual to be savoured. It should be like taking down a novel to read a favourite passage or a poem. Malt, sipped gently, reveals measured, sober truths.
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