WHISKY RUMOUR MILL - 19 JUNE 2008
Well, you read it first here.
Our story on Loch Lomond Distillers' proposal for single malt made in a column still and their row with the SWA was a Rumour Mill exclusive - but one that was soon picked up by industry websites and Scotland on Sunday.
Loch Lomond seem to be sticking to their guns and, for some critics at least, it appears that the SWA's grounds for rejecting the proposal are shaky. Their view is that single malt from a column still "does not reflect traditional Scotch Whisky distillation and practice" but Scotland on Sunday found "whisky expert" Dave Broom (at least, that's what they called him, but we aren't so sure) who told them "..this production method has been around since the 19th century. It should be valid and considered as a malt whisky."
Actually, Dave (nice guy really, we were only kidding) is right. Historical records show that so-called 'Silent Malt' was widely made in the 19th century. Cameronbridge, Yoker and Glenmavis distilleries all produced such a spirit and there's evidence that the practice also existed elsewhere. Given this, it is therefore as much part of traditional Scotch whisky production as distilling grain whisky in a continuous still. After all, that started out in pot stills and only evolved to the continuous still after 1830. Fighting the arrival of grain and the innovation of blending didn't do the Irish whiskey industry much good (there might just be a lesson from history here).
The practice didn't die out at the end of the 19th century. George Christie produced malt whisky from a continuous still at his North of Scotland distillery until the 1960s and, obviously, Loch Lomond continues to do so.
What is more, both Irish Distillers and Nikka are currently making whiskies of this style. They may not be Scotch whiskies, but clearly this isn't just a one-off and it isn't going to go away. Continuous still malt may be unusual, but some would argue that it has greater historical precedence than the cask finishing which has been adopted by the industry with such glee. If the proposed new rules allow a Lomond still or a modified pot still to make single malt whisky (and they do), then where do we stop?
And anyway, what's to be frightened of? Surely innovation is the life blood of any industry (see historical note about Irish whiskey above). If the Loch Lomond product is clearly labelled as from a continuous still it's hard to see that the consumer has been deceived. Some consumers might actually prefer to get single malt that's been produced using less energy and utilising raw materials more efficiently. (You may have noticed this; it's called the 'green' movement.) So, live and let live, we say. Let Loch Lomond make their malt and let the consumer choose.
Moreover, there are plenty of other threats out there to worry about - starting with the Scottish Executive's (we refuse to call them 'Government'; a cunning ploy by Alex Salmond to normalise the drift to independence by the back door) new discussion paper on alcohol policy.
Let's acknowledge that there's a lot of sense in the document. Though painful to admit, some alcohol pricing in Scotland has been driven too low by the supermarkets and the multi-national brewing groups. To take just one example: wandering into Tesco's Canonmills store yesterday the first thing we saw, before the healthy fruit and veg, was a giant stack of Becks at £7.49 for a 20-bottle multi-pack (don't all rush at once, MacLean bought the lot). That's £1.36 a litre. OK, given the societal problems associated with that type of promotion the Executive has to act. But the discussion document needs a lot of work in the specific areas linked to whisky. Let's not forget this is one of the UK's largest exports; an industry employing large numbers of people, many in fragile, rural communities and, with visitor centres and whisky festivals, a major player in the tourism industry. Which the Scottish Executive wishes to encourage.
So, it's alarming that on first reading, the proposals would seem to limit the promotional and sampling activity that goes on in the many visitor centres round the country. In our experience, they're models of responsibility and sobriety. Prices are high (!) and sampling is carefully controlled. Soft drinks are available for the drivers. Browsing through the selection of tasteful souvenirs displayed alongside the distillery's products is hardly the same as manoeuvring a wobbly trolley round the relentless gondola end pallets of cheap wine and beer amongst the cauliflowers and bread and shampoo that greet you in the average supermarket. 'Buy one get one free' is not an offer widely seen in Scotland's distilleries, unless Nicola Sturgeon has seen something we've missed.
The Rumour Mill says: lay off the good guys who are trying to do a decent job and concentrate on the lager louts.
Finally, farewell to Garry Gray, MD of John Dewar & Sons in Glasgow who is leaving the company at the end of the summer to be succeeded by Iain Lochhead. Over the last seven years Dewar's have developed their premium branded business in several new markets, opened an award-winning visitor centre and invested millions in expanded production facilities.
Just the sort of thing a responsible 'Government' might want to encourage, you would think (oops!).
*views expressed in the Rumour Mill are not the opinion of Scottish Field Magazine
Our story on Loch Lomond Distillers' proposal for single malt made in a column still and their row with the SWA was a Rumour Mill exclusive - but one that was soon picked up by industry websites and Scotland on Sunday.
Loch Lomond seem to be sticking to their guns and, for some critics at least, it appears that the SWA's grounds for rejecting the proposal are shaky. Their view is that single malt from a column still "does not reflect traditional Scotch Whisky distillation and practice" but Scotland on Sunday found "whisky expert" Dave Broom (at least, that's what they called him, but we aren't so sure) who told them "..this production method has been around since the 19th century. It should be valid and considered as a malt whisky."
Actually, Dave (nice guy really, we were only kidding) is right. Historical records show that so-called 'Silent Malt' was widely made in the 19th century. Cameronbridge, Yoker and Glenmavis distilleries all produced such a spirit and there's evidence that the practice also existed elsewhere. Given this, it is therefore as much part of traditional Scotch whisky production as distilling grain whisky in a continuous still. After all, that started out in pot stills and only evolved to the continuous still after 1830. Fighting the arrival of grain and the innovation of blending didn't do the Irish whiskey industry much good (there might just be a lesson from history here).
The practice didn't die out at the end of the 19th century. George Christie produced malt whisky from a continuous still at his North of Scotland distillery until the 1960s and, obviously, Loch Lomond continues to do so.
What is more, both Irish Distillers and Nikka are currently making whiskies of this style. They may not be Scotch whiskies, but clearly this isn't just a one-off and it isn't going to go away. Continuous still malt may be unusual, but some would argue that it has greater historical precedence than the cask finishing which has been adopted by the industry with such glee. If the proposed new rules allow a Lomond still or a modified pot still to make single malt whisky (and they do), then where do we stop?
And anyway, what's to be frightened of? Surely innovation is the life blood of any industry (see historical note about Irish whiskey above). If the Loch Lomond product is clearly labelled as from a continuous still it's hard to see that the consumer has been deceived. Some consumers might actually prefer to get single malt that's been produced using less energy and utilising raw materials more efficiently. (You may have noticed this; it's called the 'green' movement.) So, live and let live, we say. Let Loch Lomond make their malt and let the consumer choose.
Moreover, there are plenty of other threats out there to worry about - starting with the Scottish Executive's (we refuse to call them 'Government'; a cunning ploy by Alex Salmond to normalise the drift to independence by the back door) new discussion paper on alcohol policy.
Let's acknowledge that there's a lot of sense in the document. Though painful to admit, some alcohol pricing in Scotland has been driven too low by the supermarkets and the multi-national brewing groups. To take just one example: wandering into Tesco's Canonmills store yesterday the first thing we saw, before the healthy fruit and veg, was a giant stack of Becks at £7.49 for a 20-bottle multi-pack (don't all rush at once, MacLean bought the lot). That's £1.36 a litre. OK, given the societal problems associated with that type of promotion the Executive has to act. But the discussion document needs a lot of work in the specific areas linked to whisky. Let's not forget this is one of the UK's largest exports; an industry employing large numbers of people, many in fragile, rural communities and, with visitor centres and whisky festivals, a major player in the tourism industry. Which the Scottish Executive wishes to encourage.
So, it's alarming that on first reading, the proposals would seem to limit the promotional and sampling activity that goes on in the many visitor centres round the country. In our experience, they're models of responsibility and sobriety. Prices are high (!) and sampling is carefully controlled. Soft drinks are available for the drivers. Browsing through the selection of tasteful souvenirs displayed alongside the distillery's products is hardly the same as manoeuvring a wobbly trolley round the relentless gondola end pallets of cheap wine and beer amongst the cauliflowers and bread and shampoo that greet you in the average supermarket. 'Buy one get one free' is not an offer widely seen in Scotland's distilleries, unless Nicola Sturgeon has seen something we've missed.
The Rumour Mill says: lay off the good guys who are trying to do a decent job and concentrate on the lager louts.
Finally, farewell to Garry Gray, MD of John Dewar & Sons in Glasgow who is leaving the company at the end of the summer to be succeeded by Iain Lochhead. Over the last seven years Dewar's have developed their premium branded business in several new markets, opened an award-winning visitor centre and invested millions in expanded production facilities.
Just the sort of thing a responsible 'Government' might want to encourage, you would think (oops!).
*views expressed in the Rumour Mill are not the opinion of Scottish Field Magazine
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