Go to contents

Choice of Scotland, the origin of whisky

Posted September. 15, 2014 04:55,   

한국어

About 2 to 3 percent of whisky naturally evaporates every year as it ages in oak casts for a long time. Such liquor that disappears as such is called “Angel’s share.” It implies that while the liquor matures, a guardian angel protects it. The “Angel’s Share,” which was released in Korea last year, is a comedy movie against the backdrop of Scotland, the origin of ‘Scotch whisky.’ The movie is a story of a fuss, in which a young unemployed man auctions off the world’s most expensive whiskies together with some naïve colleagues. Whisky is traditional liquor from Scotland. It spread to across the world with mass production in the early 1900s. It reached Korea amid the country’s opening to the world. The November 5, 1906 issue of the Mansebo newspaper carries an advertisement introducing a company as an exclusive distributor of whiskies.

"Single malt whisky" is a type of whisky that is produced by distilling only barley at one distiller. Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami wrote “Haruki Murakami’s Journey to the Holy Place of Whisky” after visiting distillers producing single malt whisky. A whisky that is distilled by adding grains to barley is called "grain whisky," and one that is produced by combining single malt and grain whiskies is called "blended whisky." Ballantine’s and Johnny Walker, which are highly sought after by Korean drinkers, are blended whisky.

Apart from whisky, there are other things one comes to recall from Scotland. They are "kilt," a traditional skirt for males, and the traditional musical instrument, bagpipe. Conan Doyle, the author of the “Sherlock Holmes” series, Robert Louis Stevenson, the author of “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” are writers hailing from Scotland. As one of the four regions that constitute the United Kingdom along with England, Wales, and Northern Island, Scotland has maintained unique tradition and culture of its own.

Since Celts founded the Kingdom of Scotland in the 11th Century, it has been a long-time rival with the Kingdom of England founded by Anglo Saxon. The “Brave Heart,” directed by Mel Gibson who also plays the main character in the movie, is a story about Scotland’s fierce battle for independence against England. Scotland is envisioning independence for the first time in 307 years after it was annexed to England in 1707. The world is paying attention to its vote of independence set on Thursday.