Whisky Words: Whisky and Distilling in the United Kingdom Through the Victorian Age

Media coverage of whisky and distilling of all sorts is at an all-time high. The number of resources available to curious imbibers are unlimited and continually expanding. Print options range from books to magazines to newspaper features. Brand Ambassadors are found at the corner of nearly every bar. Electronic outlets are beyond overflowing with websites, blogs, podcasts, video channels, corporate materials and pages, posts and tweets from every corner of the social media universe. There seems to be no end. But it wasn't always this way. As the whisky industry began to 'mature' from the Excise Act of 1823, information began to slowly trickle out. This book is a look at what was available to the whisky enthusiast in the following period of growth in the UK, the Victorian Age. Stories, articles and chapter-ized material sourced from engineering and technical journals, newspapers and period magazines, in-depth and expansive descriptions of the whisky-making process lead into distillery visits that both pre-and post-date Alfred Barnard's legendary tour. John's Lane (Powers), Royal Irish, Ardlussa, Jura, Jones Road, Ben Nevis, Oban and London's Thames Bank Distillery (from 1842) are all documented here in tones ranging from purely technical to downright jovial. Barnard's rare work "A Tourist's Visit to Argyllshire and West Highlands" is examined twice. Local whisky thievery and distillery expansions in the 1890's are further detailed alongside publicly reported newspaper articles on whisky's greatest scandal and trial, the Pattison Whisky Crash.