Shortly after my arrival here two years ago I read a fascinating report in “The Times” on the snob evaluation of Scotch whisky as a drink in Germany. To be “with it” the Germans at diplomatic parties asked for Scotch and water. Many of them only carried the drink till it was time to leave when they would quietly deposit the barely touched glass in one corner. Recently whisky headed a German public opinion poll of “cultural necessities”. It rated well above the theatre.
I now discover that even France has fallen for Scotch whisky. After America, France has become the second best customer for the booze. One enterprising British correspondent recently counted 45 brands of Scotch in one departmental store in Paris, they say even General de Gaulle whose distaste for things Anglo-Saxon is well known relishes a glass of Scotch in the evening. Together France, Germany and Belgium imported over three million gallons of Scotch last year, an increase of 30 per cent over the previous year’s figure in the case of France and Belgium.
With around a hundred distilleries in Scotland pouring out over 80 million gallons (three times as much as in 1949) and with consumption running at about 37 million gallons, (29 million gallons abroad) it is almost difficult to believe that the rise of Scotch to respectability is comparatively a recent development.
People here still recall that not long ago Sir Winston Churchill would not make a post-dinner speech because a special brand of brandy was not available. It was only after it had been produced somehow from somewhere that good humour was restored. He himself has recalled that his father never drank whisky except on a moor or in some very dull and chilly place. It was indeed meant for such places.
Rise of Whisky
The distillation of malt whisky was a domestic craft practised by crofters (small farmers) in the highlands till the 18th century. The popular drink in the lowlands was ale. The rise of whisky can be traced to the imposition of six pence duty on every bushel of malt by Parliament in 1725. There were wild riots and though the duty was halved the brewing and consumption of ale began to decline, eventually making way for whisky.
Public opinion supported the smuggling of brandy and gin from the Continent and of highland whisky to the lowlands and to England because of the high excise duty. As late as 1820 at least half the quantity of Scotch whisky came from unlicensed stills. It was only in 1823 when duty was reduced to two shillings three pence per proof gallon that the illicit distilling of whisky began to decline.
The first still was patented in 1826. This marked the introduction of the industrial revolution to the distilling trade and enabled whisky to be made in one continuous operation in contrast to batch distillation by the traditional pot still. Since highland malt whisky, suitable for men working out of doors in a raw climate, was regarded as too heavy a drink for townsman, lighter grain whisky began to be manufactured. It was in the sixties of the last century that the two came to be blended. The whole secret of Scotch whisky as we drink it today lies in the art of blending. These are among the most closely guarded secrets in the world. One blend may contain single whiskies from thirty or more distilleries.
Just as blending came into practice an insect pest ravaged the French vineyards from the 1860’s into the present century. French brandy now yielded pride of place to Scotch whisky as the drink of the upper and middle classes.
It might surprise us in India that even in Britain there was a real prospect of the introduction of prohibition at the time of World War I. Instead the Government decided to control the liquor industry. The Immature Spirits Restriction Act of 1915 provided that no spirits should be delivered for consumption unless they had matured for at least three years in bond. The provision is still in force. In fact the industry has 300 million gallons in stock and this would last for eight years at the current rate of exchange. Normally whisky produced today has no chance of being sold for at least another six years.
Blenders’ Art
Apart from the art of blending, Scotland’s climate and the presence of peat in the soil through which flows the water used in the distilleries are responsible for giving Scotch whisky its unique character. I might add that blenders like to use a proportion of casks which contain sherry because the spirit draws colour from the wood and, more important, sweetness which helps to develop a full rounded and well matured malt whisky. That is why presumably those who found the taste of Indian whisky too harsh were advised by their more experienced friends to add a little sherry to the bottle and allow it to rest for a day or two. Britain is one country which does not return sherry casks to Portugal or to her manufacturers of sherry.
I cannot vouchsafe for its accuracy but I am told that in the United States someone spread the idea that whisky of a light colour was less fattening than dark-coloured whisky. So the clever Scots immediately exported a light-coloured whisky, that is a blend in which whisky matured in sherry casks was not used in the usual quantity.
Whisky is one of Britain’s four leading export items. In 1962 it earned £80 million. Increased demand however has led to increased imitation abroad. The Japanese who produced “genuine old Queen George Scotch whisky” long before the last war continue to produce the best imitation of all. It is selling in the United States. America consumed nearly 15 million gallons of genuine Scotch, though, last year.
Figures Speak
If I have unwittingly given the impression that the British drink only Scotch whisky let me give you some figures. Last year they drank 28.3 million bulk barrels of beer. Whisky accounted for only 49 per cent of 16.3 million gallons of spirits consumed in the year. The consumption of wines surpassed the record figure of the previous year by 1.3 million gallons to a new record level of 22 million gallons. The State earned £465 million from excise duty and customs.
These figures speak for themselves. One does not have to underscore the problem of drunken driving, in Britain on an average 7,000 persons are killed on the road. The death of 120 during the Christmas holidays has strengthened the demand for breath tests and stricter penalties.
The Times of India, 12 January 1964