We'll tak' a cup o' kindness yet The Story of Scotch Whisky
In his illustrated talk and tutored tasting, David Wishart explores the universe of single malt whiskies by flavour. He recalls the history of Scotch whisky, from the pre-Reformation distillation of aqua vitae by monks, through the alchemists’ quest for an elixir of eternal life, to its use by surgeon-barbers as medication, and thence for the hedonistic pleasure of royals and commoners alike.
Whisky is evoked in the poetry of Burns, the travelogues of Stevenson, and the art of Landseer and Wilkie. London toasted with brandy in the Regency period, but, when a tiny phylloxera beetle devastated Cognac after 1863, the upper classes turned to whisky and our famous “Scotch” brands were born.
But why should the flavours of single malt whiskies be so diverse? David reveals that modern production methods involving variable peating, precision distillation, cask selection, vatting and finishing, together combine to create a multi-dimensional vortex of flavour explosion.
David Wishart's classification of single malt whiskies by flavour was first presented at IFCS-2000 in Namur, and is published in: Wishart D, Classification of single malt whiskies, in: Data Analysis, Classification, and Related Methods, Kiers, H A L, Rasson, J –P, Groenen, P J F, and Schader, M (eds), Springer, 2000, 89-94. It was also presented at IFCS-2004 in Chicago. His presentation in St Andrews will categorically be the last in the IFCS series.
David also presented his whisky taxonomy at the Royal Statistical Society in 2009, published in: Wishart D, The Flavour of Whisky, Significance, Royal Statistical Society, vol 6(1), 2009, 20-26 (available online).
David’s talk will conclude with a tutored tasting of single malt whiskies that illustrates the complete flavour spectrum – selected from Aberfeldy, Aberlour, anCnoc, Balblair, Balvenie, Ben Nevis, Benromach, Bunnahabhain, Connemara, Deanston, Dufftown, Glencadam, Glenfarclas, Glenfiddich, Glengoyne, Glenlivet, Glenrothes, Glenturret, Green Spot, Highland Park, Laphroaig, Ledaig, Macallan, Old Pulteney, Penderyn, Redbreast, Royal Lochnagar, Scapa, Smokehead, Speyburn, Talisker, Tobermory, Tomintoul, Tullibardine and Tyrconnell.
