How Scotch whisky conquered the world in five (not so easy) steps

Sometimes, a threat can be a step-up to bigger things. Aeneas Coffey’s Patent Still, invented in 1831, is a fine example. It allowed for continuous distillation of whisky from grains. For the makers of Scotch single malt whisky, strictly made with barley, yeast and water, this was a rival.

Fancy a wee dram? The Scotch Whisky Experience.

For smart businessmen such as Andrew Usher, however, it was an opportunity. Known as the godfather of blending, Usher was the first to successfully sell blended malt and grain whiskies, aided by the 1860 Spirits Act which allowed them to be sold as whisky.

Sullying the single malts with grain whisky, it turns out, was the first surprising stop to Scotch whisky becoming a world-conquering behemoth.

The story is covered inside the Scotch Whisky Experience in Edinburgh, which uses all manner of flashy projections to tell the story of how Scotland’s proudest export is distilled.

While using scratch and sniff cards to explore the flavour profiles of the five Scotch whisky regions – Lowland, Highland, Speyside, Campbelltown and Islay – the guide lets the key bit of information slip. “Ninety per cent of Scotch whisky exported is blended,” we’re told.

Edinburgh’s Scotch Whisky Experience.

Before blending was permitted, Scotch whisky was a niche affair, often made as a sideline by farmers, and vastly outsold by Irish whiskey. The product was often wildly inconsistent, too.

The blenders – many of whom sidestepped into blending whisky from blending tea – could make smoother, more reliably flavoured drinks. They used 70-80 per cent grain whisky as a base and dabbled with malts from across the regions on top.

The museum-style section of the Scotch Whisky Experience, just before the obligatory gift shop, throws up a series of surprises.

The second step to world domination, it seems, was the advent of steamships. The benefit to Scotch wasn’t in how quickly it could be exported to the US, though, but in what came back the other way – the Phylloxera vastatrix louse.

Native to North America, these pests previously didn’t survive the long transatlantic crossing. From the 1860s onwards, the crossing was a lot quicker, and the Phylloxera swept through Europe, destroying the grape vines. With severe shortages of wine, brandy and Cognac, Europeans turned to Scotch whisky as their drink of choice.

Science and passion pass the sniff test.

The third step was going global – and that required a world war. American troops posted in Europe quickly acquired a taste for Scotch, and demand for it boomed once they returned home to the US.

Soon after World War I ended, however, the US introduced prohibition. Perversely, this provided the fourth big boost for Scotch. It was cheaper and safer to smuggle whisky in from Scotland than to distil it illegally in the theoretically dry, but very thirsty, US.

Whisky’s long journey to maturation, including filling the cask, is outlined in the Experience.

Lack of availability, rather than plentiful supply, gave Scotch its fifth big boost, however. After World War II, the UK rationed food, drink and goods for an eye-opening long time. Items were gradually removed from the rationing list, but whisky was one of the last to be taken off in 1959. The reputation as a premium product is partly due to the strict rules on origin and maturation time, but that post-war scarcity played a big part in public perception.

That sense of prestige oozes through the tour’s tasting room. The education up to this point provides a valuable guide for the whisky ignoramus in choosing which one to taste – a smokier, peatier Islay or a lighter, fruitier Speyside? – but then the door to the Diageo Claive Vidiz collection opens.

Inside is a sparkling glass-walled display of 3400 or so bottled Scotch whiskies, collected over 35 years by a Brazilian connoisseur. The group, taught to swish their single malt around the glass to check for the legs and hold small sips on the tongue, taste in awe. This gleaming whisky vault has a swagger borne of wealth and status. But the tale of how Scotland’s national drink went from farmers’ side-hustle to such heights is equally dazzling.

The details

Visit
The silver tour at the Scotch Whisky Experience, including a tasting, costs £23 ($44). See scotchwhiskyexperience.co.uk

Fly
Qatar Airways flies to Edinburgh via Doha from Sydney and Melbourne. See qatarairways.com

Stay
The sassy Market Street Hotel, with wooden shutters for curtains, free mini-bars and splendid rooftop views, starts from £164 ($314) a night.

The writer was a guest of Visit Britain. See visitbritain.com