This three-episode BBC-aired series offers a vivid look at Scotland’s whiskey industry, tracing its traditions, spotlighting early whiskey entrepreneurs, and exploring current overseas competition. The series showcases Scottish language, culture, landscapes, and famous whiskey establishments while detailing the story of the industry that produced Scotch malt, blended, and craft whiskeys. Whiskey is made from barley, yeast, and water through a process of fermentation, distillation, and maturation (with, some would argue, a little magic thrown in). There are over 100 distilleries found in five regions of Scotland, although most are owned by multinational companies. At Diageo, a large manufacturing company, coppersmiths illustrate how stills are made, while coopers demonstrate the craft of creating oak barrels. In Campbeltown, once the center of whiskey distilleries, Springbank Distillery still uses traditional methods to produce single malt whiskeys; here, the barley is soaked with water, dried, ground, peat-fire smoked, turned into a wash by adding yeast, distilled to a clear liquid, and stored in barrels to mature. For blended whiskeys, a "noser" uses scent to combine a core whiskey with other spirits to produce a quality blend. Other Scottish distilleries such as Macallan at Speyside feature whisky-making on a smaller scale. Distilleries in England, northern Japan, the island of Tasmania, and Sweden have learned from the Scottish industry and now market their own special brands to compete in the global marketplace. The upbeat music soundtrack sometimes competes with the narration, making the subtitles helpful. Sure to appeal to whiskey connoisseurs, this is recommended. Aud: P. (T. Root)
Scotch
(2016) 153 min. DVD: $24.99 ($199.99 w/PPR). Dreamscape Media. Closed captioned. Volume 33, Issue 4
Scotch
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