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Scottish snippets

ALLT-A-BHAINNE MALT WHISKY
The name translates as the Milk Burn (stream) and is pronounced Alta-Vanya. The distillery
was built in 1975 by Seagrams to supply malt whisky for the Chivas Regal blend. They do
not bottle the whisky as a single malt but independent companies purchase barrels to age
and sell at a later date.

THE BAILLIE NICOL
JARVIE BLENDED WHISKY
Baillie Nicol Jarvie is a character
in Sir Walter Scott’s novel Rob
Roy. A Baillie is a Scottish local
government official. He was
resting at an inn in Aberfoyle
when he was set upon by a
fierce Highlander. As his sword
had rusted in its scabbard he
grabbed a red hot poker from
the fire and set the Highlander’s
clothes alight. The poker now
hangs from a tree at the Baillie
Nicol Jarvie Hotel in Aberfoyle.

STAGS BREATH LIQUEUR
Staggs Breath also comes from a classic Scottish novel, in this instance, Compton
MacKenzie’s Whisky Galore, when a local inhabitant opened a cupboard and produced a
bottle of Stags Breath. The liqueur first appeared in 1989 and is made from a blend of
Speyside whiskies and fermented heather honeycomb, Makers, the Meikle family, reside in
Badenoch, Speyside.

COCK O’ THE NORTH SINGLE MALT
WHISKY LIQUEUR
The liqueur is made from a mixture of malt
whisky, mountain blueberries, honey and the
usual secret ingredient. Cock o’ the North is
the nickname given to the Chief of Clan
Gordon. The first to receive the name was
George Gordon, Earl of Huntly in 1550. The
Gordons owned vast lands in the Scottish
Highlands. The liqueur appeared in 1998 from
a family recipe.

GLAYVA WHISKY LIQUEUR
When Ronald Morrison & Co. were originally
working on a few sample blends their Gaelic
speaking warehouseman pronounced one of
them as gle mhath meaning very good.

Frank Wynn

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