The distilling industry in Scotland is a story of 1000 years of romantic history, technical ingenuity and triumph.

Starting with the Celts in a ‘do-it-yourself’ form, through to the Age of Invention around 1786 and with the background of Joseph Black, James Watt and Robert Burns, all of whom were associated with distilling, the cottage industry became industrialised. Then came the development of grain whisky in 1830, as distinct from malt whisky, to be followed by blended whisky in the 1860s.

The various methods of production are described and mention made of such developments as new barleys, new genetically-engineered yeasts, advanced methods of malted barley production and, eventually, high speed handling of the matured whisky into bottles for international marketing.

Yet the process has not basically changed in hundreds of years, retaining its tradition and prestige. Scotch whisky is still the most popular spirit in the world, outside Russia and China, and has become a multi-billion pound investment with numerous scientific and technological achievements.