1,600 km, 3 weeks, 1 man and his Vespa: Whisky Burn - a travelogue, a reference book and a whisky trail guide. Whisky Burn tells the tale of a three-week odyssey around the highlands and islands of Scotland. A self-confessed non-connoisseur of single malt, at least on day one, Ben invites us to join him on his trip from distillery to distillery on his trusty, 1979, 50cc ‘vespino’.
Above the tranquil waters of Carlingford Lough, playground of kayakers, boaters and resident dolphin ‘Finn’, a couple of old farm buildings have been transformed into the area’s first legal whiskey distillery of the modern era.
On the banks of the swift-flowing Aare River, at the meeting point of the cantons of Berne, Solothurn and Aargau, by the historic castle of Aarwangen, in a historic old corn house, is one of Switzerland’s oldest distilleries, Langatun.
Strange days indeed. The pubs are shut, we can’t enjoy a dram with our friends, and every whisky festival for the foreseeable future is off the cards.
The Liberties area of southwest Dublin had once been the centre of distilling in Ireland. A ‘liberty’ was a church-controlled jurisdiction near the city, preserving its own freedom over things like taxes and certain laws – hence the name. Distillers love freedom from taxes, and at one time there were over thirty distilleries here. The area was known as the ‘golden triangle’ of Irish distilling, with residents like Jameson, Power, Roe, not to mention the many breweries. I think there’s one called Guinness still around here somewhere. - Whiskey Burn Chp. 1
Last year Whiskey Burn was launched at Dublin Whiskey Live in Dublin Castle, Ireland. We sold out of books then, and this year we returned with more to test the market.
A few years ago, Gerry Ginty came back to Ireland from a stint abroad and thought that it would be a nice idea to open a distillery. Come on, how many of us haven’t had a similar idea? The only difference is that he went and did it – and he has done it in some style.
Heading along the rather ominously named Route 666 east from Cork to Ballyduff, you will find Blackwater Distillery a stone’s throw from the eponymous river - love that word ‘eponymous’, I never pass up the chance of using it. ‘Black water’ doesn’t really conjure up tasty-looking images of anything you’d like to drink, but Peter Mulryan and his team are doing his best to produce something worth imbibing (‘imbibe’ - another favourite word).
