How sound of the pipes brings out flavours in maturing whisky
Traditional music is supplying ‘sonic-ageing’ to process of whisky making, writes
IT’S long been known that keen gardeners speak to their plants and flowers to bring them on, and the
Prince of Wales once said how important it was to talk to them.
A study by the Royal Horticultural Society found that it can help them grow faster and that they respond better to a female voice.
However, encouraging produce to develop has now taken on a new twist and the theory is now being applied to whisky. It’s not talking to whisky casks, though – it’s playing the pipes to them.
A young piper has turned whisky maker after being enlisted to play to casks of whisky prior to bottling to enhance its flavour.
Ali Levack, frontman of Scottish neo-trad band Project Smok, joined forces with Wee Smoky, a whisky brand on a mission to attract a new audience to Scotland’s most famous drink, to release a single and bottle in perfect harmony.
The piper and whistleman from Dingwall, who was BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of 2020, played to the casks to enhance the flavour, a process known as “sonic-aging”.
The partnership began when Project Smok auctioned naming rights to their new single in a creative way to tackle loss of income due to cancellation of live gigs during the pandemic.
Wee Smoky won the auction, and will celebrate the release of the song “Wee Smoky” with its own release of 550 special edition bottles, with £1 from each bottle going to the neo-trad trio.
Mr Levack said: “Playing to whisky casks was a new experience. I loved being part of the whole process, from playing our music to the whisky while it aged to drinking it while listening to our recorded song. The song and the whisky go very well together.
“When everything froze in March last year, we didn’t think we’d be in the same position more than 12 months later.
“We’ve had to think outside the box as to how we can generate income until we can start playing live music again. Auctioning off naming rights to a song was an idea we didn’t think would work, but it has ended up with us having our own whisky named after us, which is a dream come true.”
On the bottles will be a QR code which will take drinkers directly to “Wee Smoky” on Spotify. This is the latest development in Wee Smoky’s ambition to champion “Scottish Flair” and act as a megaphone for the country’s best creative talent to reach worldwide audiences.
All 400 limited-edition bottles from the first cask – principally aimed at non-whisky drinkers – were snapped up within days of becoming available in December last year. Bottles from batch two are currently available to order on the Wee Smoky website.
Wee Smoky’s founder, Edinburghbased Rory Gammell, said: “Music is part of everything we do. Our whisky is best enjoyed with music so it was natural to experiment to see how music could enhance the flavour.
“My dream was for Project Smok to headline our launch party. Unfortunately, those plans were put on hold. Nobody embodies the spirit of our brand quite like them. They’re non-conformist and I couldn’t think of a better example of Scottish flair – they’re a remarkable band with a unique sound.
“They’re making people think differently about trad music, and we’re making people think differently about whisky. It’s the perfect match. We’re both looking to modernise Scotland’s image, to make it more relevant to a younger generation. We’re proud to work together with Scotland’s incredible music community – this collaboration is only the beginning.”
We’re both looking to modernise Scotland’s image