I suppose it was wishful thinking expecting some existential answers to questions like ‘Why has whisky captured the human spirit?‘ or ‘ Candrinking whisky sooth a troubled soul?‘.
The Philosophy Of Whisky is however an easy – if brief – entertaining introduction into the growing global reach of distilling, maturing & enjoyment of the brown spirit.
Chapters covering the big 5 producers – Scotland, Ireland, USA, Canada & Japan – along with mentions on Sweden, Taiwan, India, Australia & Mexico to name a few – give a welcome & refreshing world view on this tasty beverage.
The author still appears to elevate Scotch above the others – even when world whisky is winning tasting awards – & fudges facts over the earliest written records for aqua vitae – the forerunner of whisky.
Yet for all that – anyone still restricting their whisky drinking to Scotch is missing out on a world of exciting tastes, flavours & growth.
Excuse me while I pour some Titanic Irish Whiskey!
Viewing the whisky world via the optics of tartan spectacles leading to undue bias – intentional or not – towards Scotch, positioning it on a pedestal beyond reproach, usually coupled with scant regard – veering to disdain – for whisky producing countries that aren’t Scotland.
My first encounter with this affliction was a few years ago.
A Scottish internet publication invited non Scottish cities citizens to give a flavour of whisky spots within their environs.
One resident had proclaimed there were no whisky distilleries in this particular location – despite myself having visited one!
The sufferer had such a bad dose of Scotch Centrism they were blinded & unable to see the distilleries operating in their own backyard!
The Scottish publication in turn failed to do any checks & subsequently released this false information.
A more severe example pertains to rules.
Sufferers believe any whisky produced outside of Scotland that doesn’t comply with SWA – Scotch Whisky Association – rules is basically ‘not doing it right’.
Effectively this shows a complete lack of respect for the different ways each country make their own whisky – and verges into cultural imperialism.
Such a position belittles the ‘other’, limits diversity & stifles innovation in the global whisky category.
A final – often milder – example is where the Scotch Centric drinker eventually does get round to sampling a non Scotch whisky & invariably expresses surprise at how enjoyable & well presented it is – often with a hint of patronisation thrown in.
Luckily Scotch Centrism isn’t a permanent condition.
Sufferers merely need to ditch the tartan glasses & open themselves up to a whole new world of enjoyable tastes & flavours.
Treating countries with different rules to those of Scotland with the same respect & having an open mind – and palate – to exploring their produce helps too.
Perhaps then we can learn a bit of ‘kinship, belonging & inclusiveness’ – to borrow an Irish Distillers marketing missive – & ‘Widen The Circle’ along the way when we’re at it.
Sláinte
Tartan glasses courtesy zazzle.com All other images authors own.
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