At the end of a long day there is nothing quite as relaxing as sinking into my favourite leather armchair, putting my feet up on the rest and gently easing the lid from a bottle of single malt whisky. The gentle pop gives way to an inviting aroma that cheers the soul like an old and dear friend.
Carefully pouring a good measure into a short but wide tumbler I inspect the colour as it settles in the glass. Whether it’s light straw or deep red in colour hints at how long the spirit has spent locked away in a darkened warehouse slowly maturing for my pleasure.
To taste single malt whisky is to experience a variety of flavours that refresh, warm, and excite the palette. You can sniff, swirl and hold up to the light if you want but to enjoy whisky you simply need to find the one, or ones, that help you unwind, relax and enjoy the occasion whatever it happens to be.
The Scots believe that it was only when distillation came to Scotland that it was perfected. Some even believe that Scotland was created for distillation with its climate and geology providing the perfect conditions for making and maturing whisky. Others believe that it was God himself who gave the Scots whisky and only when realising that he had been too generous in the number of beautiful things he had bestowed upon the country, gave them the English as neighbours to balance the books.
The oldest record in Scotland for ‘Aquavite’, or whisky as we now know it today, dates back to an entry in the Exchequer Rolls in 1494 stating that Friar John Corr, of Lindores Abbey, paid duty on 8 bolls of malt to make Aquavite for King James.
Of course the good folk in the Highlands had been making whisky long before that and process of distillation itself has been around for thousands of years, probably starting in the Middle East.
Wherever and however the practice of distilling reached the shores of the Highlands, Scotland and whisky are inextricably linked and there is no better way to understand the whisky making process and the turbulent story of the distillers than at Scotland’s smallest established distillery, The Edradour.
I first visited Edradour in 2002 just after Andrew Symington, the present owner, had taken over. I knew nothing of the distillery, or its whisky, prior to my visit but the irresistible charm of the place is enough to make anyone smile. Also, as I found out, the whisky is pretty good too.
It was on my second visit in 2005 that I was inspired to find out more about this lovely distillery. Looking through the glass cabinets in the old malt barn, gazing at the bottles of King’s Ransom and House of Lords, listening to our guide talking about the previous owners and rumours that the distillery had connections with the Mafia but the details lost in time and those associated long since passed away. All of this intrigued me and I wanted to find out more.
When I considered that distilling had taken place here for nearly 200 years I knew that this little distillery must have a great story to tell, if only the details could be uncovered.
In January 2006 I started the fascinating process of piecing together the history of Edradour Distillery. The owners had kindly given me a book written over 20 years earlier that was sold as a tour guide and this formed the basis of my early research. However, I was soon to find that most of the information written about Edradour was either myth, misleading or just plain wrong.
I started searching old newspaper articles, sending emails, writing letters, and making trips to the National Archives in England and Scotland and visiting the Archives of the Atholl Estate. I talked to anyone who would listen and listened to anyone who would talk.
This is the result of the research, some of it is conjecture but where possible I have tried to tell the story as faithfully as possible.
I am pleased to say that my feeling was right, it is a great story.
Edradour looks like a model version of a distillery. With its pristinely whitewashed buildings and bright red woodwork, nestled in a valley, astride the bubbling burn, which is adorned by wild daffodils and heather. The noise of the running water only broken by the calls of the buzzards circling overhead or the excited chatter of visitors as they walk towards the entrance. It immediately feels like a special place to be and it is no wonder that Edradour attracts over 50,000 visitors each year.
However, if you scratch the surface of the chocolate box exterior, you’ll uncover a fascinating and intriguing history, from humble beginnings to the heart of organised crime in America.
This innocent looking distillery has a few stories to tell.