Pr*blem Solving

WATER OF LIFESCOTCH WHISKY

AgendaEtymologyHistoryHow its madeRegions & characteristics

English words / Gaelic roots

PET: from Scots peata meaning tame animal

English words / Gaelic roots

(First recorded use c. 1500 for indulged child, then c. 1530 for animal kept as a favourite)

English words / Gaelic roots

SLOGAN: from sluagh-ghairm = battle cry

English words / Gaelic roots

BOG: From boglach which means soft

English words / Gaelic roots

TROUSERS: From triubhas > trouze which means close fitting shorts

English words / Gaelic roots

"A jellous wife was like a trouze, alwayes close to a mans tayle" [1630]

English words / Gaelic roots

WHISKY: short form of whiskybea, from uisge-beatha meaning water of life

Brief history

1495 earliest record of distillation in Scotland: King orders 1,500 bottles

To Friar John Cor, by order of the King, to make aqua vitae, VIII bolls of malt.

Exchequer Rolls of Scotland, 1June 1495

Brief history

1644 whisky production taxed by the crown, causing rise in illicit production across the country until 1780 records show around 8 legal distilleries and around 400 illegal ones existed

Brief history

1823 restrictions on production were eased by parliament to promote growth of legal distilleries

Brief history

1880 Phylloxera bug destroyed wine production in France, boosting popularity of whisky

How is whisky made?

Whisky regions

Whisky characteristics

Regions & characteristics

smokyrichlightlight / richdelicate

Whisky tasting the right way