Was Scotch originally, er, Irish...?

Family of DOCTORS brought it here 800 years ago – expert

THERE has always been a rivalry between Scotch whisky and Irish whiskey, but now an expert has inflamed the spirits by claiming both originated in the Emerald Isle.

Glasgow whisky writer Dave Broom says he has uncovered ‘strong evidence’ that whisky making was more widespread than thought and that some of the earliest drams may even – perish the thought – have been developed in England.

Mr Broom, who has been researching the tipple’s heritage for a new documentary film called The Amber Light, said: ‘If you look at the north of Ireland and across to Islay, that’s the cradle of distillation. The first record found is in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales.’

The stories were written 1387 and 1400, around a century before Scotch whisky was first recorded on King James IV’s Exchequer Rolls in 1494.

However, Mr Broom asserts one particular Irish family, the Beatons, were responsible for popularising Scotch after bringing it from Ireland to Islay.

There, under the Beatons’ distilling expertise, the spirit is thought to have evolved into a drink bearing at least a passing similarity to today’s whisky.

Adam Park, the film’s producer, said the Beaton family were Irish physicians who arrived on Islay in the 13th century having developed a vast international knowledge of botanical remedies.

He said: ‘The Beatons were pretty amazing people. They travelled the world translating medical scripts and building their knowledge.

‘They came into the service of the kings and became experts in distilling spirit and added to it the plants and flowers that grew around them.’

The Beaton family became hereditary physicians to the crown, serving Robert the Bruce and every subsequent Scottish king, while also providing medical knowledge to clan chiefs from the Western Isles to the Lowlands.

And while their fellow countrymen pursued distilling their own Irish whiskey, Mr Park says Scots distilled their own versions.

But a spokesman for the Scotch Whisky Association poured a dash of cold water on Mr Broom’s theory.

He said: ‘The earliest known record of Scotch whisky production dates from the Exchequer Rolls of 1494, but it is likely that “aqua vitae” was being produced long before this date.

‘It is likely early development of distillation in Scotland and Ireland took place in parallel, ultimately leading to two distinct global industries.’

Mr Broom’s film, which is touring cinemas, explores how whisky has become embedded in Scottish culture and is still evolving.