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The Classic Art
of Distilling
Around 800 B.C., somewhere in the Asian continent, it is
assumed that the craft of distilling was first discovered.
According to conjecture, this process was just employed in the
perfume industry. However, this claim has been proven false.
Now, the manner in which the distilling process wound up in
the British Isles just seems unbelievable; however, what is
certain is that the Moors were credited with bringing the
craft of distilling to the European Continent. It is held that
this art was further developed in the monasteries all across
central Europe. It appears that in 432 A.D., St. Patrick,
Ireland’s patron saint, while traveling on an important
Christian assignment, brought this craft into the austere
monastic environment. Nonetheless, in due course, the Celts
got their hands on this classic secret and created their very
own water of life, which is pronounced in Gaelic as “Uisge
Beatha”. The year 1494, when Sir Friar John Cor, hailing from
Scotland, placed an order for 8 bolls of malt, is believed to
be whiskey’s millstone year in the annals of history. It was
supposedly to be made use of for the manufacture of aqua
vitae, and is the first ever-recorded evidence of whiskey
production in Scotland.
The craft of distilling before long made its way from the
monasteries to the farmlands, where almost everybody was into
whiskey making until around 1820 when the government made a
decision to close down the private and personal distilleries
thus branding them as unlawful. The unrefined and at times the
crude taste were vastly different from that of the present
times.
Somewhere around the 18th century, it was found out that a
more pleasant, smooth brew could come about with aging. The
conclusions drawn with regard to the aging techniques were
literally stumbled upon with the startling recovery of an old
barrel that was all but forgotten, filled with this fine
substance.
In 1707, when the two parliaments of England and Scotland came
together, the Union Act was passed. Recognizing the fact that
both sides could profit from the deal, they thought of a
remarkable scheme for malt making.
The English malt tax came into being in the year 1725, though
not without considerable mayhem. During this period, every
alternate bottle of malt that was distilled in Scotland fell
into strictly illegal category because of the roaming excise
personnel, illegal distilleries, and smuggling activities.
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