The lonely views of distillery stacks – undercut by peatlands, circled by barley fields burning gold – are ever-present. These chimneys, once raw with fire, are often visible from afar on a trip through Scotland, and, like sentinels, have watched over craftsmanship for centuries. Below, in the grainy light of still houses and steadings, maltsters, coopers and coppersmiths sustain tradition, keeping the stories and glories of single malt whisky alive. It’s hard to imagine a time when it might have been otherwise.
Modern Scotland — swaggering, in style, in-your-face — can feel very far away from this picture. And yet what could possibly be more Scottish than single malt whisky? It is, so it goes, a love story between landscape and the communities that make it, and as every year passes, the spirit broadens its reach. New-build distilleries, the return of mothballed favourites, destination restaurants, cutting-edge architecture and want-for-nothing accommodations are encouraging more visitors than ever. Faces such as Harrison Ford (for Glenmorangie) and Priyanka Chopra Jonas (for Johnnie Walker) are generating interest. Not so long ago, whisky tourism was in its infancy. Now, the rationale is one of opportunism.
At this time of rude health, there are 151 active distilleries, the world’s greatest concentration, and these are spread across the five geographic regions of Highland, Lowland, Speyside, Islay and Campbeltown. Those with visitor centres are busier than ever, with 2 million distillery visits, according to the most recent figures from the Scottish Whisky Association — and that’s helping cultivate a growth mindset for future glory. The buzzword is evolution.
GlenmorangieTain,Scottish Highlands.14th September 2021Images of tours of the Glenmorangie distillery in TainVist of Jonas Tahlin, President of Spirits Moet Hennessy.Photo Phil Wilkinsontel 07740444373info@philwilkinson.netwww.philwilkinson.netPhoto Phil Wilkinson
In the coming months, the whisky map will see new additions, including Ardgowan, overlooking the Firth of Clyde, and Lerwick Distillery, the first in Shetland. Laggan Bay, the 11th on peat-dark Islay, is another, with distilling starting at the end of this summer. There is talk of more, and where water is still drawn from wells and malted barley turned by hand, it’s hard to expect otherwise.
Such news seems all the more transfixing when you visit these distilleries for yourself, more so when your own story is bound to whisky lore. Mine began in Keith, in the heart of Speyside whisky country, home to around half of the country’s distilleries and where my father was a stillman in the 1970s. His workhouse was Strathisla Distillery, the Highlands’ oldest distillery, dating to 1786, and his accounts of working there were among the defining origin stories of my childhood.