Scotland's beating heart

Dominic Roskrow sings the praises of Scotch whisky

Eagle-eyed readers of this column will have noticed that in recent issues my travels in Scotland have taken me further and further west and north, and particularly to the islands that ring Scotland's rugged coastline.

Particularly well-informed readers will note something else about my destinations; they all have a distillery and not just any distillery – one of the really weighty and respected ones.

This is no coincidence. My journeys have taken me from Highland Park and Scapa in the Orkney Isles to Talisker on Skye and down to the whisky island of Islay on the west coast with its seven distilleries for two good reasons. Firstly, because I enjoy a dram of the finest malt, and malt doesn't get much finer than from these distilleries.

And second, because I also edit our sister title, Whisky Magazine.

The two magazines are directly linked because whisky is the beating heart of Scotland, and not just as a drink. Indeed, whisky is much more than a drink, which is why there is a whole magazine dedicated to it, and there isn't one about vodka or gin perhaps.

If you have tasted Scotch and concluded that it is not for you, it doesn't follow that your interest should end there. Apart from the fact that unless you've tried at least 10 or more different Scotch whiskies you can't be totally sure that it isn't for you, the subject of whisky is the gateway to understanding much about Scotland's history and culture.

The drink features prominently in the development of Scotland as a ...

To read the rest of this article you can do any of the following.

• By : Dominic Roskrow
• In : Editor's View
• Issue : 16
• Page : 3
• Words : 592