A short history of whisky making

The history of whisky making is inextricably connected to the history of the Scots themselves. Although there is no exact date to when whisky was first produced we are sure that the Ancient Celts practised distilling and called their product ‘Uisge beatha’ the water of life. Through the years of perfecting the art the Scots have become one the worlds leading providers of whisky.

There are earliest documents that show us that distilling was already a common procedure date back to the year 1494, and it reads “eight bolls of malt to Friar John Cor wherewith to make aqua vitae”. 8 bolls of malt were enough to produce 1500 bottles, which makes it clear that whisky already had a considerable amount of followers and an early form of “mass production” was established.



However, because of the lacking knowledge and the inaccurate tools the results of the distillation was rarely the same. Sometimes the end product turned out too weak, sometimes too strong, and sometimes it even had a harmful influence on the drinker’s health, leaving them with not only a big head ache but with blindness. In the 16th and 17th centuries distilling went through numerous advances that helped make distilling what it s today.

In about the 16th century whisky became very popular and was deeply woven with Scottish life. In the beginning of 17th century the ever growing popularity eventually attracted the Scottish parliament to get their fingers on the pie and to introduce a taxation system on malt and the end products. This forced distillers, who could not afford the tax, to produce their beloved product in secrecy and away from the public eye – the mysterious and almost romantic period of the illicit distilling and smuggling of whisky began.

To fight this illegal activity, the council employed a special force: the excise men. These were the men who searched for the smugglers and the distillers who weren’t paying tax and often-bloody skirmishes took place in an attempt to settle the problem. Soon smuggling became an highly developed art form, smugglers were using anything they could to conceal their product and transport it unnoticed. They even developed techniques and an information network to warn people of the approaching excise men. Smuggling went on for about 150 years.

It was only in 1823 that the Duke of Gordon proposed to the House of Lords that the government could make more profit if whisky was produced legally. So a new law was introduced, demanding that Distillers had to pay a £10 licence fee as a set payment per gallon of whisky. Almost instantly smuggling died down completely. Today the Scottish Single Malts and Blended Whiskies have fans and admirers around the globe.