IT was fitting tribute to the dearly departed – as the horse-drawn hearse passed by the excisemen bowed their heads and removed their hats. 

But while their solemn moment of deep respect was in good faith, the mourners had the last laugh. 

Slopping around inside the hearse were gallons on contraband whisky – respectfully waved on its way by the unsuspecting taxmen. 

The cunning ploys used by early whisky distillers to transport their spirit from illicit stills are being recalled as archaeologists begin their excavations of one of the country’s earliest legal whisky distilleries.

Blackmiddens in Cabrach, on the border between Banffshire and Aberdeenshire, was one of the first farms to be granted a licence to produce whisky following the Excise Act of 1823. 

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Now researchers are hoping the excavation of the traditional farm distillery at the site will shed light on the early days of Scotland’s whisky-making heritage, and perhaps even uncover some of the smugglers’ secrets. 

Anna Brennand, chief executive of the Cabrach Trust, which was set up to preserve the area’s whisky heritage and which is leading the dig,  said: “For decades local farmers secretly distilled whisky and smuggled it away under the noses of excisemen. 
“Then, when the law was changed to make small-scale whisky production profitable,

Blackmiddens was one of the first farms to take advantage of this. “The farm would have had a small 40 gallon still compared to whisky stills today, which hold many thousands of litres. However, despite the fact that farms like this were famous for their fine quality spirit, whisky production at Blackmiddens stopped just eight years after it began and the farm fell into ruin.”

Despite its remoteness, the mountainous terrain on the fringes of Cairngorm National Park was once notorious for illegal whisky 

distillation and smuggling, with an estimated 400 pot stills once operating in the area.
Locals combined farming with illicit distilling, and made use of their knowledge of the landscape to hide their stills and create a clever communication network to evade customs and excise raids. 

Their spirits travelled to towns and cities across Scotland, sometimes sparking bloody battles with figures of authority who tried to prevent the trade, and often being brazenly transported right under the noses of unsuspecting excisemen.

Joan Harvey, 66, whose great, great uncle James Sharp was the tenant farmer at Blackmiddens and a ringleader of the whisky smugglers.

She said: “My great, great uncle was the head of the gang at the time. We were the ‘freebooters’ who took the whisky to Aberdeen to sell in the pubs.

"Apparently my great, great grandfather had a white stallion and when the excisemen were billeted locally he would ride his white horse, alerting everyone that the excisemen were there so the whisky smugglers could go to ground.

“I was also told that one time the excisemen were trying to catch the smugglers and had set up barricades all around Aberdeen. My great, great uncle hired a horse-drawn hearse and loaded the coffin with whisky. 

“When he reached the excisemen, they all took off their hats as a mark of respect for the dead, and the whisky went through.”

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The passing of the Excise Act led to three distilleries being established in the area: Lesmurdie, also known as Cabrach, Tomnaven and Blackmiddens. There are plans for a £6.5 million Cabrach distillery that will use historic distilling methods, and a heritage centre. 

Matt Ritchie, national environment adviser of Forestry and Land Scotland, said: “Illicit 
whisky stills can be found throughout the Highlands but they were particularly common in the Cabrach. 

“They are difficult to spot, but once you know what you are looking for, you can find them tucked away next to burns in the hills. The illicit distillers came down off the hills and set up in farmsteads like Blackmiddens. Consequently, the nondescript buildings can be much harder to identify, that is what makes this first ever dig so exciting”.