“Love makes the world go round, but whisky makes it go twice as fast,” quips Richard C Patterson, Master Blender at White & Mackay, who conducted a nosing and tasting session recently in Bangalore of whisky variants of three enchanting places in Scotland — Glasgow, Isle of Jura and Dalmore.

Patterson’s session begins with a little education on what is Scotch Whisky. There are two main categories of Scotch whisky — blends and single malts. A single malt is made entirely by distillations from a single producer at a single site, whereas a blend is created by mixing distillations from multiple producers.

“Whisky derives from the Gaelic word for "water" (uisge), and is called in full uisge-beatha (in Scotland) meaning ‘Water of Life’. The basic ingredients are simple — malted barley, yeast and pure spring water. “These along with the cask used in the maturing is reflected in the character of the whisky,” says Patterson.

Single malts are often classified according to the region in which they are distilled. Scotland is basically divided into four regions — Highland, Lowland, Speyside and Islay. Each region produces scotch with different characteristics. Explains Patterson, “Lowland whiskies are referred to as ‘Lowland ladies’ as they are mild like Darjeeling tea; while the Highland whiskies are strong in taste like the Assam tea. Islay whiskies have a smoky taste.” There are 99 distilleries operating in Scotland.

Scotsmen consider it sacrilegious to add ice to whisky. “Whisky always benefits from a little water. It opens up the aromas,” says Patterson.

Glow of            Glasgow

Patterson starts his whisky safari from Glasgow, famous for its ship building and is the home of Whyte and Mackay. There is an interesting story behind the double red lions, the iconic symbol of White & Mackay. During the reign of David II, the Cambells produced a legal title to the Macgregor lands of Glenorchy. This resulted in the Macgregors being expelled from their own territory and by means of survival they became an outlawed, lawless and landless clan. By an act of the privy council in 1603, all who had the name of Macgregor were compelled, on pain of death, to adopt another surname. During this time many of the clan assumed the name Whyte. As a mark or respect to the Macgregor/ Whyte clan, the founders of Whyte and Mackay took the lion from the Macgregor’s crest as their emblem. They than added to this the Lion Rampant of Scotland, evoking loyalty and strength of the heritage of Scotland.

Patterson’s blending skills and expertise is revealed in the three variants of Whyte & Mackay whisky. At age 12, 18 and 21 years, when other blenders bottle their whiskies, White & Mackay returns them to another set of sherry casks to mature for an extra year — 13, 19 and 22 years respectively — to create a new standard in the industry. This makes for a loving union called “Double marriage” that can be felt in the flavours of this fine whisky. After 35 select single malts are “married” in sherry casks for several months, this vatted malt is mixed in six different grain whiskies and returned to another set of sherry casks to mature to perfection. This process of “double marriage” and an extra year of perfection gives the Scotch whisky its deep mellow smoothness.

Dalmore, pour more!

Patterson’s armchair safari takes the participants to the Dalmore Distillery, established in 1838. Named after the ‘big meadows’, The Dalmore has the distinction of being the most precious whisky ever sold at an auction, with the 62-year-old going under the hammer at 25,877 pounds, and another being brought in a London nightclub and consumed for 30,000 pounds.

The Dalmore is a classic Highland malt; made from pure, clean water taken from the river Alness and using time-honoured methods by stillmen who come from a handful of local families. The two Dalmore variants are a 12-year-old and a Cigar Malt, said to be a perfect accompaniment to a great cigar. Punning upon the place name “Dalmore” with a Hindi word he says that it is a whisky which needs to be poured more into the glass (Dal-more!)

Idyllic Jura

Patterson finally takes you to the Island of Jura, off the coast of Scotland. With 30 miles of coastline, and a population of just 180 people and 5,000 heads of red deer, this island is an oasis of calm in a hurried world. There are three variants here — Jura Classic Island Malt (10-year-old); Jura Superstition, a tribute to the people and the Islanders’ favourite (16-year-old).

Whisky makes you frisky, goes and old saying and Patterson’s nosing and tasting session indeed proved the point.