Friday February 10th E-Ville Spirits is offering an Educational Scotch Seminar for those who would like to learn more about the history, lore, and making of Scotch Whiskey. The seminar will be at the E-Ville Spirits store on Monroe beginning at 8:00pm. Reservations are required and may by made by calling 699-4474.
Human beings have been brewing adult beverages for thousands of years, and there seems to be no limit to the ingenuity of people to concoct brews. Who would think the same ingredients that go into bread can make such a wide variety of potent potables? As one of the oldest libations Scotch has a unique history and lore. Whiskey brewing is believed to have originated with the ancient Celts. The beverage they distilled was called uisge beatha or “water of life.” It was first mentioned in Scotland when several barrels of it showed up in 1494 on an inventory of the Exchequer. By 1644 the first taxes where placed on its production which brought about the inevitable bootlegging. By 1780 the number of illegal stills greatly outnumbered the legal breweries. The modern era of Scotch production began in 1823 when Parliament moved to decrease the number of illegal stills, and unified the many taxes on Scotch to a single Excise Tax. About the same time a “continuous still” was developed, allowing easier production of a less strong but smoother product. Over the years Scotland had moved to protect the integrity of its native brew by defining production techniques and labeling regulations.
According to Bob Duke at E-Ville Spirits the seminar is “getting to be a very popular event.” He points out that the store stocks 45 single malt Scotchs, and that “we’re getting to be a destination for single malt Scotches.” Their Scotch buyers come from as far away as Ohio, Pennsylvania, and of course Canada. On hand for the evening will be a distillery master from one of their Scotch distributors who will lead the seminar. The master will explain how the barley is cured, how malting is done, and how the Scotch is aged in oak barrels. She’ll explain the difference between single, blended, and malted Scotch. By the end of the evening Bob says, “everyone will have a good understanding how the Scotch came to be in that bottle.” Scotches vary from light to heavy, and as Bob says, “Scotch has something for everyone.” The seminar will last about two hours and there will be time for questions and sampling.
