Scotland is a land of ghost stories and spooky tales that always sound better with the lights off, huddling in front of a roaring fire with the wind and rain lashing at your window. Now that I am (just over) eighteen, I can also listen with a large glass of whisky in my hand.
By now your pumpkins will have started to fade, and all the spooky decorations will be down but you can still keep the Hallowe’en cheer alive with some of these devilishly great spirits.
Up in Speyside there are some amazing stories of the spooks and spectres that haunt the distilleries, hotels and the hills.
One such story was that which inspired the Tomatin Cu Bocan (Master of Malt on-line, £34.75). Tomatin is normally an un-peated whisky, but this release is named after a ghost dog that visited a distillery worker one dark night on his way home. The giant hellhound followed him almost all the way home before he confronted the beast but when he reached out to touch it, it vanished into thin air leaving behind a smell of rich, pungent smoke.
The whisky itself is made just once a year when the distillery runs through an extra heavily peated spirit. On release, some of the phenolic intensity has diminished, but you still get a hint of smoke with an extra layer of dark chocolate complexity.
And if a ghost dog is not scary enough for you, then how about a distillery that was haunted by the devil!
The beautiful coastal village of Bowmore on the island of Islay has two main attractions, namely the round church and the distillery. Legend has it that the church was built in this fashion so that there would be no corners where the devil could hide. But one day when he tried to sneak in, he was spotted and chased down the main street before taking refuge in the distillery warehouse. Some say that he hid in a cask and waited for it to be taken to the mainland, but others think that he loved the whisky so much that he is still there partaking in the angels share…
I’d recommend trying the Bowmore 15 year old (Royal Mile Whiskies, £59.95). It’s a big peaty dram, softened by a coffee and caramel syrup sweet note that comes from three years spent in an Oloroso sherry cask before release. Expect a wonderfully rich and smoky finish. Cheers!
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