THIS Friday sees the beginning of whisky month. Four weeks of festivals and events centred on our most famous export. Given our propensity to over-indulge on whichever celebration takes our fancy, Friday afternoon could be particularly boisterous. But I doubt it.
Scotch whisky has always been the greatest of all short drinks and has never really found favour with the country's binge drinkers.
More than likely the initiative will attract the attention of the whisky tourist eager to attend such events as t
he Spirit of Speyside (see also Walk of the Week, page 37) or the Spirit of the West festivals while touring Scotland's increasingly visitor-friendly distilleries. So be prepared for groups of hairy Scandinavians with a penchant for heavy metal and Scotch or Americans keen to learn about the water of life.
May is actually a perfect time for tramping around the whisky route. Unlike visiting a wine region, where one can tailor a trip specific to harvest time, pruning or bottling, whisky regions are generally less eventful. But visiting whisky country is still seasonal, given the extremities of Scotland's temperature and light.
Personally I'm looking forward to whisky month as Scotch is one industry we can feel genuinely proud of. It's worth bearing in mind the sheer scale and size of it. Last year exports of Scotch whisky topped £2bn, earning Britain more than £90 a second. Johnnie Walker is a case in point.
Generally undervalued at home, this brand is fast becoming Scotland's equivalent of Nike, with sales of more than £1 billion. At any one time there are seven million bottles waiting to mature at its 27 distilleries in Scotland, making it the third largest spirit and wine brand in the world.
To put it another way, 178 glasses of Johnnie Walker are now consumed every single second.
No wonder the rest of the world is looking to catch up. At the beginning of this month Saint George's Distillery, the company behind the first whisky to be made in England for more than a century, started exporting while Ireland, America, Canada, Japan, India and New Zealand have all joined the ever-expanding worldwide whisky club. On the continent, distilleries are being built in Sweden, the Czech Republic and Finland while production is now going ahead in Austria, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Poland, Spain, Switzerland and Turkey. Closer to home Wales produces a flowery, honeyed whisky in the Brecon Beacons.
Japan has quite a serious whisky industry, having distilled its first batch in 1923 with credible brands such as Suntory, Yoichi and Hakushu. In Canada most whisky is blended grain but since 1991 Glenora, a small, privately owned distillery in Nova Scotia, has been producing a single malt whisky Glen Breton Rare, that has a heathery, creamy style not unlike a Speyside. There is also a spicy whisky from Amrut in India.
In February I found myself sipping whisky in the far south of Brazil. It lacked the complexity of Scotch and in many respects was a poor cousin but the sight of a distillery amid the bucolic rolling hills of the Serra Gaúcha mountain range was enough to make me feel a little homesick.
One book worth picking up this month is Bottled History, a beautifully produced pictorial history from more than 50 distilleries by the photographer Ian Macilwain (www.bottledhistory.com, £30). Interspersed with interviews from retired distillery employees, it charts the passing of traditions and vanishing equipment. I have certainly enjoyed dipping in and out of it with my favourite dram.
Black Bottle, Burn Stewart Distillers, 40%, £14.50
A cracking whisky, undoubtedly the best-value peated blend on the market. Created from all seven of the Islay distilleries, it perhaps owes more to the style of Bunnahabhain than any other. A consistent performer and inexplicably little known.
Glenmorangie Signet, Glenmorangie, Highlands, 46%, £111.95
A welcome addition to the Scotch family. The nose is a mix of dark chocolate, coffee and mocha, while the palate possesses a crackle of spicy ginger and vanilla. Given its generous character, this will have wide appeal.
Highland Park 18 Year Old, Highland Park, Orkney Islands, 40%, £56.95
This has a warm, heather honey character on the nose with a dry, smoky peat flavour on the palate. It is enormously complex and staggeringly enjoyable. It may be pricey but a little goes an awful long way and, compared with others in the category, it looks underpriced.
STOCKISTS Royal Mile Whiskies (0131 524 9380, www.royalmilewhiskies.com); The Whisky Shop (01463 710525, www.whiskyshop.com); Gordon & MacPhail (01343 545111, www.gordonandmacphail.com) Waitrose, Tesco, Sainsbury's Not sure which bottle to buy? See more of Will Lyons' recommendations and tasting notes by logging on to www.scotlandonsunday.com
The full article contains 794 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
