Isn’t it reassuring to know that some things never change? For example:

“Quality in whisky is more than age. Even the poorest spirit can become old, though never palatable. Whiskies put down for ageing must have quality from the very start.”

This maxim, as true today as it has always been, was originally published on 14th June 1924 in Wine & Spirit Trade Record. The text was re-printed as an illustrated pamphlet called A Good Foundation which was, in effect, a marketing brochure intended to persuade whisky blenders to purchase Highland Park new make spirit.

It was probably not expected that a copy would turn up 95 years later on a dusty bookshelf in a B&B on Islay. The fact that A Good Foundation would make excellent reading for today’s whisky enthusiasts was not lost on Ian Buxton who, as a keen collector of whisky books, is forever scanning shelves in search of the obscure. Indeed, it is Ian who has assembled the impressive collection of whisky and distilling titles on view in the Eunson Room at the distillery.

We always think of Highland Park as being a distillery rooted in tradition; A Good Foundation underpins this notion.

“Rigid continuity allied to efficiency is the keynote of the firm’s policy. They combine a respect for whisky-making tradition with an equal respect for modern progress. The materials and methods that have made Highland Park a component of many well-known brands have never changed, and never will be changed by the present proprietors, but a device to facilitate the handling of these materials or to speed up these methods, they have spared no pains to introduce.”

Now published in hardback, with an introductory essay by Ian Buxton, copies of A Good Foundation are available from the distillery and our secure on-line store, reasonably priced at £6.00. http://www.highlandpark.co.uk/lda/shop/detail.asp?pid=747300

A Good Foundation is, according to renowned whisky author, Charles MacLean; “A lovely little book. I would have been proud to have written it.”

For more information on the Best Spirit in the World visit www.highlandpark.co.uk

Yours sincerly
Gerry Tosh
Head of Brand Education Whisky Ambassador of the Year