The James Eadie Ltd team (L-R Rupert Patrick, Leon Kuebler and Hugh Barron) with copies of The Distillation of Whisky and The Distilleries of Great Britain & Ireland in The British Library, where the original texts were found. Photograph: The British Library Board
NEW BOOK REVEALS 1920s WHISKY SECRETS AND INSPIRES FUTURE NEW RELEASES
A historic guide to making Scotch whisky in the early 20th century has been republished by James Eadie Ltd, with whiskies inspired by the book to be released over the next decade.
The Distillation of Whisky, 1927-1931 is one of the few available practical first-hand resources dating from Scotch whisky’s early history and illuminates lost whisky-making techniques from the interwar years.
To bring these lost whiskies to life, James Eadie Ltd has collaborated with six of Scotland’s most innovative whisky distilleries to produce spirits inspired by the book.
These whiskies – from Ardnamurchan, Dornoch, Holyrood, InchDairnie, Lochlea and ‘An Unnamed Farm Distillery in the Heart of the Kingdom of Fife’ – will be distilled between Autumn 2023 and Spring 2024, and will be released over the course of the next decade.
Dave Broom and Alan Winchester, two renowned authorities on whisky have both written introductions for the volume.
Dave Broom, whisky expert and author, commented:
“Whisky’s history is a jigsaw puzzle where many of the pieces have been lost.
“By giving detailed insights into whisky production at the start of the 20th century, this book provides a greater understanding of what ‘old-style’ whisky would have tasted like. Many myths have exploded as a result. It is a must-read for distillers, blenders, and whisky lovers.”
Alan Winchester, former Master Distiller at The Glenlivet, said:
“These fascinating articles shine a spotlight into what was going on 100 years ago.
“Some practices may seem strange now, but others still continue. This contradicts and challenges the views that innovation didn’t exist, and everything was traditional.”
The publication of The Distillation of Whisky, 1927-1931 follows on from James Eadie Ltd’s 2022 volume The Distilleries of Great Britain & Ireland, 1922-1929, which is considered to be the earliest photographic survey of the Scotch & Irish whisky industries.
Working with the British Library’s digitisation team, The Distillation of Whisky includes all 130+ images from the original publications, reproduced at ultra-high definition.
Leon Kuebler, Brand Director at James Eadie Ltd, said:
“We were overwhelmed by the positive feedback to The Distilleries of Great Britain & Ireland, 1922-1929.
“But one of the most common queries we received was ‘How did they make it?’ So we were delighted to come across The Distillation of Whisky in the British Library’s archives, which gives a remarkably comprehensive answer to this question.”
The Distillation of Whisky, 1927-1931 will be released on Tuesday 14 November as a first edition of 1,000 copies. It is available to purchase exclusively at Scotland’s leading specialist whisky retailer, Royal Mile Whiskies.
Arthur Motley, Managing Director at Royal Mile Whiskies, said:
“I am so excited to be selling this book, as well as the distilled spirits that are inspired by it.
“A fascination with the past is bound up in whisky culture, but all too rarely does historical research affect what we do now. The joy of this publication is that it will change some of the bottles on our future shelves.”
For more information about the book please visit www.jameseadie.co.uk/books/distillation-of-whisky.html
About James Eadie Ltd
First established in 1854, James Eadie Ltd is an independent Scotch whisky blender and bottler. Revived in 2016 by the founder’s great-great-grandson, Rupert Patrick, the company is building a reputation as a supplier of top quality specialist whiskies. James Eadie exports its single malts to sixteen international markets, as well as widespread distribution in the United Kingdom through specialist retailers.
James Eadie Ltd also owns a blended Scotch whisky brand, Trade Mark “X”. Dormant since its last bottling in the late 1940s, this brand was revived in October 2017, when Master Blender Norman Mathison used his fifty years’ blending experience to re-master this once famous Scotch. A key feature in this revival has been the discovery of the company’s original whisky ledgers from the mid to late 19th Century, which revealed a blend made from some of Scotland’s finest whiskies, then and now. Only whiskies from distilleries listed in the founder’s ledgers have been used.
James Eadie Ltd is a member of the Scotch Whisky Association, whose role is to advance the global interests and profile of Scotch whisky.
For further information, please visit https://www.jameseadie.co.uk
About Royal Mile Whiskies
Royal Mile Whiskies is one of the world’s most respected specialist whisky retailers. Established in 1991 on Edinburgh’s famous Royal Mile, it quickly gained a reputation as the go-to place to find new, interesting and hard-to-find whiskies and spirits.
In 2000, the company launched www.royalmilewhiskies.com, which made it one of the first to retail whisky online. Today, Royal Mile Whiskies ships thousands of whiskies each year to customers around the globe from their Scotland base. Royal Mile Whiskies’ worldwide reputation is largely due to its enthusiastic and knowledgeable team of whisky enthusiasts.
The Royal Mile Whiskies Trade department is seen as the pre-eminent wholesaler of specialist spirits into the Scottish bar trade, with an accounts list of some of the very best hospitality venues in Scotland and beyond.
The retail outlet sits under the Dormant Distillery Company (DDC) alongside Drinkmonger, a specialist wine and fine spirits retailer with bases in Pitlochry and Bruntsfield, and The Cigar Box.
About Dave Broom
Dave Broom has been writing about drink for 35 years and specialising in spirits for 28 of them. A Master of the Quaich, he has written 14 books (the most recent being 2022’s A Sense of Place) and made a couple of films, winning numerous awards in the process, including the 2013 IWSC Communicator of the Year Award, an Andre Simon place for his 2018 book The Way of Whisky, and Best Drinks Writer at the 2020 Fortnum & Mason awards. Originally from Glasgow, Dave now resides in England.
About Alan Winchester
Alan joined the Scotch Whisky industry in 1975. He has been involved with 22 distilleries, being part of the team that built Dalmunach and two expansions of The Glenlivet Distillery, of which he was Master Distiller until recently. Since retiring from that role is involved in the creation of the Cabrach Distillery as a non executive Director, and advising a number of the other distilling projects.
Alan is a Master of the Quaich and a Fellow of the Institute of Brewing and Distilling. He was inducted in the Whisky Magazines Icons Hall of Fame in 2022 and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Spirit of Speyside in the same year.
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