Ask Cameron Ewen or almost any other pro in Scotland’s whisky industry if there’s a “correct” way to drink your Scotch, and they’ll all tell you the same thing: Drink it however you enjoy it best — it’s your drink, after all.
Given that Ewen — kilt-clad, bushy-bearded and standing 6 feet, 4 inches tall — is the very vision of Scotland itself, it comes as a surprise that he’s particularly partial to a pink and fruity whisky-based cocktail. As manager of the Scotch Bar at The Balmoral, Edinburgh’s most prestigious and iconic hotel, you might expect him to be preciously preservationist in his approach to imbibing his country’s national drink, but you couldn’t be more wrong.
“We’re a fantastic little sanctuary of whisky within the Balmoral Hotel here — it’s a very traditional room certainly, but our attitude isn’t,” he says in his lilting Scottish accent. “We take the view that whisky should be approachable in a wide array of styles.”
The Balmoral’s Cameron Ewen.
Upon tasting his carefully crafted cocktails adorned with slices of crisp apple and summer peach (priced at £15 or $20), there’s no question he knows what he’s talking about. Ewen mixes drinks with names like Banks of the River that bring together whisky and homemade sodas and syrups and strained teas in a way that could make even the most buttoned-up purist swoon.
Along with Ireland, Scotland boasts one of the world’s longest and most well-documented distilling histories, which can be traced back to 1494. Combined with Scotch whisky’s reputation for quality — often shortened to just Scotch, the term refers to whisky that happens to be made in Scotland — the result is a product that’s nothing short of iconic. It’s a drink molded and shaped by the environment: by the water that runs from the hills, by the peat in the bogs, by the consistently mild climate that provides the perfect conditions for the spirit to mature. It runs through the veins of whole Highland towns and small islands, fueling the local economy and forming the cornerstone of every celebration. In total, the industry provides 5.5 billion pounds ($7.5 billion) in gross value to the UK economy every year, and the US is its most valuable market, worth more than 1 billion pounds ($1.4 billion).
Compared with whiskey made in the US, which is known for its vanilla notes, Scotch whisky is maltier and generally considered more complex, making it more of an acquired taste. When it comes to discerning its flavors, smelling or “nosing” Scotch is as important as drinking it. Its taste is shaped not only by the reused wooden casks it matures in (from sherry, bourbon or wine), but also by the local environment, for instance, the smoky flavors of Scotland’s peated whiskies, which are made from waters that accumulate in boggy areas.
“For me it’s a very evocative spirit,” says Ewen. “A single sip can take you to the west coast of Scotland, to the rugged hills and the wind battered beaches, or it can take you up to the rolling hills of the east coast and the barley fields.”
Scotch is evocative of the areas where it’s made, such as Craigellachie in Speyside.
It would be easy to assume that with such a reputation, the industry could largely rest on its laurels. But even as it’s now wrestling with how it can become more sustainable and adapt to changing tastes for cocktails, the rest of the world is snapping at Scotland’s heels. In recent years the Japanese and Taiwanese distilleries have been producing some excellent whiskies largely distilled in the Scottish tradition (whiskey with an “e” is made in Ireland and the US; when it’s made elsewhere it’s whisky with no “e”). Taking into account newer entrants to the market such as India and New Zealand, as well as efforts in the US to artificially expedite the maturation process with technology, Scotland can’t afford to sit still.
Japan and other countries are producing high-quality whiskies in a similar tradition to Scotch.
Fortunately, it isn’t. It’s not in its bones to do so — it has a global reputation to defend. Scotch is very much a luxury product, and even though you can buy a bottle of single malt for around 15 pounds ($20) at the cheapest end, a bottle of whisky aged for 18 years will set you back somewhere in the region of 250 pounds ($340), ranging all the way up to 1.4 million pounds ($1.9 million) for the most rare and special bottle.
“Scotch whisky is probably one of the strongest category brands in existence,” says Christopher Coates, editor of Edinburgh-based Whisky magazine. As Belgium is to chocolate, as Switzerland is to watches, as Germany is to cars, so Scotland is to whisky, he adds.
Future-proofing Scotch
But Scottish distillers don’t just live in the past. Given that whisky needs to mature for a decade or more, they’re accustomed to looking ahead 18, 20, 32 years into the future. Right now many are thinking about the world not as it is in 2021, but about what it’ll be when the whisky they’re currently putting into casks for maturation comes of age. They know that when the spirit next sees the light of day, we’ll be feeling the effects of climate change more keenly and the conversation about sustainability will be at the forefront of everything.
Scotch distillers are looking to the future while upholding tradition.
“People want sustainable products,” says Lindesay Low, deputy director of legal affairs at the Edinburgh-based Scotch Whisky Association, which was formed in 1942 and represents more than 80 members, from small distilleries to giant global spirits producers. “They want products that treat the environment fairly and treat the producers of the ingredients fairly.”
Just as it’s changing, the industry is also growing — “it’s boom time,” as Coates puts it. According to the Scotch Whisky Association, 16 new distilleries opened in the country over the past four years, bringing the total to 134. It expects 10 more to come into production in the next year.
With new distilleries come new ideas. Today, people who think anything other than a neat, ice-free dram is sacrilegious are likely to find themselves out of step with a whisky making and drinking culture that’s as much about delighting in new taste discoveries as it is about heritage and upholding tradition.
Graduates of the brewing and distilling course at Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh are experimenting with flavor profiles on a molecular level. Ancient grains that were phased out by big distilleries for being low yield are making a comeback. And some micro-distilleries are toying with the idea of introducing vintages rather than aiming for the year-on-year continuity the big dogs are famous for.
There’s still room for experimentation using traditional distilling methods.
Over time, there’s been something of a cyclical boom-and-bust nature to the Scotch whisky industry, says Coates. But in spite of everything that’s been thrown at it — including over the past two years, COVID and tariffs on US imports imposed by Donald Trump (lifted earlier this year by President Joe Biden) — Scotland still sets industry trends, all while maintaining its traditions. Both Coates and Low have noticed that other countries (aside from the US, which has its own unique distilling tradition) tend to build distilleries and shape their regulation in similar ways to Scotland.
“I do sense a lot of them are modeling themselves on Scotch single malt, or they want to make a similar product,” says Low. “And that’s all good. It’s up to our members to raise their game and make sure that people still choose Scotch — and hopefully they will.”
A makeover in Speyside
If you need evidence of just how dedicated this centuries-old industry is to modernizing without sacrificing its soul, you need look no further than Macallan, founded in 1824. Along with Glenfiddich and Glenlivet, the Speyside-based distillery is one of Scotland’s top three producers of single malt.
Speyside’s rolling hills lack the sheer drama of the nearby Cairngorms mountains, but the region is no less beautiful for it. On the day CNET photographer Andrew Hoyle and I visit, we’re blessed with unusual weather for Scotland, even in the height of summer: cloudless skies with dawn-till-dusk sunshine. Down by the Spey River, children swim in the shadow of the Craigellachie Bridge, and as we draw into the distillery grounds, an oyster catcher takes flight. The scene is nothing short of bucolic, a feeling enhanced by our first glimpse of the estate’s highland cattle, Scotland’s iconic ginger “coos,” beyond the barley fields.
Macallan’s distillery feels almost like a high-end spa.
This 140 million pound new distillery opened in 2018 after two years of planning and four more of building. The low-slung glass, steel and timber building, designed by London architectural firm Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners (who also designed 3 World Trade Center in New York), feels more like a Bond lair or perhaps an exclusive spa than a place of industry and work. Though just shy of its 200th birthday, Macallan looks so great for its age that if you could bottle and sell its secret sauce it would cost more than its rare double cask (that’s at least 220 pounds).
The five unique undulations on the rippling grass-clad roof are designed to mimic the surrounding hills. From the inside, the blond honeycomb timber supports peak over the copper stills, the fluted pipes of which look like a vast steampunk organ. There’s no question that Macallan has made its distillery into a temple dedicated to whisky — one worthy of the pilgrimage its many ardent fans from around the world will make to worship here, at its central bar. It’s here you’ll taste the best and rarest that Macallan has to offer, and get the best view of its whisky wall, which houses 800 bottles of the company’s spirit and fronts a mini museum that speaks to its legacy.
Macallan’s new distillery is designed to blend into the surrounding countryside.
While we’re seated at the bar, Macallan Estate General Manager Stuart Cassells describes how the biggest priority in designing a distillery for the 21st century — along with ensuring that the whisky made in both the old and new buildings tastes the same — is considering the impact on the immediate environment.
“The Macallan Estate has been here since 1543, so we’re only looking after this for the next generation,” he says. It was important to ensure the distillery blended seamlessly with the surroundings and that Macallan nurtured the wider site by continuing to farm barley on it, which has been tradition for 500 years, he adds. Equally important to consider was the impact to the local community, such as how much barley and water the distillery would use.
Water that’s used throughout the distilling process is now intensively treated afterward to ensure it can either go back into the River Spey or can be reused for cooling the vapor created by the copper stills and turning it back into liquid. Likewise, waste product left over from the mash tun — the vessel where grain is mixed with hot water to break down the starch into sugars — is sent to a local biomass plant, and the energy is returned to the national grid. “We can’t just throw stuff away anymore,” says Kat Robertson, the visitor experience host who guides us between the copper stills on our distillery floor.
Macallan arranged the copper pot stills in a circular formation.
The heat coming up through the grates is a reminder of just how energy-intensive whisky distillation is as a process. These days, around 80% of the energy Macallan uses to produce the steam it needs comes from a biomass plant just across the road.
Macallan is far from the only Scottish distillery working toward more-sustainable practices — the Scotch Whisky Association’s sustainability strategy calls for the entire industry to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2040 (Macallan’s own target is 2030).
Inside Macallan’s temple to whisky.
The industry has been working for many years to reduce its water consumption, says Hill. “Although there’s an impression that it’s a traditional industry, there’s always been that forward thinking. It’s not an industry that’s just sort of sitting there resting on its laurels.”
Distillers have a vested interest in fighting the environmental crisis, as Scotland’s consistently mild climate plays an important role in the maturation process, says Low. And like many other industries, Scotland’s whisky…
