ON THE WHISKY TRAIL

It's impossible to stay clear of whisky from the moment you arrive in Scotland. Visit a few distilleries to discover the process behind the spirit

- SMITA TRIPATHI

WHAT IS pale gold in colour, smells of citrus fruits and honey with notes of vanilla and salted caramel, and tastes like heaven? Whisky, of course! And where do you go when you want to explore the best whisky in the world? Scotland, of course! And so it was that I landed in Aberdeen last month and drove to Keith, abode of whisky legends like Chivas Regal and The Glenlivet.

Much like Nessie, kilts, and bagpipes, Scotland is inseparable from whisky, its national drink. Whisky has played an integral role in Scottish life since 1494. The term ‘whisky’ comes from the Gaelic ‘uisge beatha’ or ‘usquebaugh’, (don’t even try pronouncing it!) which means ‘water of life’. For whisky to be called Scotch, it must be made in Scotland. There are other rules too—it has to be made from just three natural ingredients (water, yeast and cereal), and it must be matured in oak casks for a minimum of three years.

So popular is Scotch across the globe that 53 bottles are shipped to over 180 countries around the world every second. Last year, Scotland exported whisky worth £6.2 billion, accounting for 26 per cent of all of Scotland’s international goods exports.

There’s another upside to the popularity of Scotch whisky worldwide—an increasingly large number of people are flocking to its distilleries to discover the process behind the spirit. In 2019, the Scotch Whisky Association reported a record 2.2 million visits to whisky distilleries, making it one of the most popular attractions in Scotland. Most distilleries across the country have visitor centres with in-house guides giving curious visitors tours of the operations.