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Archives of the The Scotch Malt Whisky SocietyMiscellaneous |
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"The longest
period of time is the time between drinks" -
D.C.M. A collection of articles to while away the time... |
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| Burns Suppers | "The first recorded Burns Supper was held a mere five years after the poet's death, in the summer of 1801. Then, as now, its purpose was to recollect and celebrate his life and work." |
| The Day the Bubble Burst | "The Pattison family started in business in Edinburgh as dairy wholesalers but were sharp enough to seize the chance of making a fortune in whisky." |
| A Christmas Mystery | "Koshkenkorva is a kind of schnapps made in Lapland - I discovered this from a lady in the Finnish Embassy - but it is my belief that Santa favours reindeer urine." |
| Highland Spring | "Do the Scots take their water for granted? After all, we see enough of the stuff from one year to the next." |
| Early Encounters with Malt | "In November 1944 I found myself back in Edinburgh on leave for a week. I picked up a copy of Neil Gunn's Whisky and Scotland for the sum of five shillings (25p). This book changed my life." |
| The Quaich | "Quaichs have a rich heritage in Scotland - indeed, they are a uniquely Scottish invention, having no apparent connection to any other European drinking vessel." |
| The Whisky School | "In February 1996, the Society ran the first of its 'Whisky Schools'. Charles MacLean records his impressions." |
| The Vaults, Leith | "Beneath the Society's commodious offices in Leith lie four vaulted cellars, used since time immemorial for the storage of wine. Tradition has it that they were built before 1200..." |
| Pronouncing Distillery Names | "If you have a good uvular fricative, there are many malt whiskies you can order...without suffering embarrassment or misunderstanding. Auchentoshan, Glenfiddich, Caperdonich, Craigellachie, Benromach, Balmenach, Bladnoch, Glenlochy, Glentauchers..." |
| Whisky Detectives | "Blenders began to notice it during the 1970s, and by 1985 it was clear that something had to be done: almost a quarter of the aged malt whiskies they wanted to use in their blends were turning out to be immature when they were sampled prior to disgorging." |
| Stand by your Dram | "At those traditional gatherings, when the drinks tray was offered round, it was expected of men that they should reach for a glass of whisky. It was never, however, expected of women that they should do so too. Oh no." |
| The Language of Whisky Tasting: A Chemist Speaks | "Single malt whiskies are chemically complex and are known to contain several hundreds of individual components (congeners) including a variety of alcohols, aldehydes, acids, esters and phenols, as well as carbonyl-, sulphur- and nitrogen-containing compounds. Many of these contribute to the flavour of a whisky..." |
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