Corporal Wojtek Speyside Single Malt at Aberdeen Whisky Shop – Scotch Whisky News
CORPORAL WOJTEK
SPEYSIDE SINGLE MALT
12 YEARS OLD
This single malt was distilled at an unnamed distillery in the Speyside region of Scotland. It was aged for 12 years, including a finishing period in Pedro Ximenez Barriques, lending notes of honey, chocolate, nuts, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg, creating a balanced malt.
NOSE: Dried dates, leather, oak, and warm spices, followed by raisins, dried plums, figs, white chocolate, and cherries in liqueur.
PALATE: Sweet and fruity with honeyed, chocolatey, and nutty tones. Cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg lift the sweetness of the PX.
FINISH: Long, balanced finish with coffee, dark chocolate, roasted almonds, and lingering dried fruits that gradually dry out.
£75.00
Wojtek’s story began in 1942, when Polish soldiers marching with civilian refugees from Pahlevi, Iran, to Palestine met a Persian boy carrying a small brown bear cub. The cub’s mother had most likely been shot by hunters.
The little bear captivated 18-year-old Irena Bokiewicz so much that she persuaded Lieutenant Anatol Tarnowiecki to buy it for her. For the next three months, the cub stayed under Inka’s care in a refugee camp near Tehran.
By August, the bear joined the 22nd Artillery Supply Company, still too young to eat on its own. The soldiers fed it with condensed milk and water from a bottle fitted with a rag, nurturing the little cub who would soon become their beloved companion. The bear was cared for attentively. His favorite treats were fruits, sweet syrups, jam, honey, and even beer, which he received for good behavior.
He ate alongside the soldiers and slept with them in the tent. When he grew bigger, he was given his own sleeping area in a large wooden crate, but he didn’t like being alone and often wandered at night to cuddle with sleeping soldiers. Wojtek loved riding in military trucks—sometimes in the cab, and sometimes on the truck bed—causing quite a stir on the road. He also enjoyed wrestling with the soldiers, which usually ended in his victory: the defeated soldier would lie “on his back,” while the bear licked his face.
During the Battle of Monte Cassino, Corporal Wojtek helped the other soldiers carry heavy crates of artillery ammunition, and he never once dropped a single one. From that time on, the symbol of the 22nd Company became a bear holding a shell in its paws.
After the war, Wojtek was transported to Scotland with the rest of the 22nd Company and was stationed with them in the Scottish Borders, where he became somewhat of a local celebrity.
After demobilisation, Wojtek settled in Edinburgh Zoo, where he was often visited by his fellow veterans.
