grain form, and must be ripe and dry, otherwise it may turn mouldy and make
properly controlled mailing impossible. The barley is cleaned, weighed and
soaked for two or three days in tanks of water. Then it is spread on the
malting floor, where it germinates for 8-12 days, secreting an enzyme which
makes the starch in barley soluble and prepares it turning into sugar. The
barley is regularly turned over to control its temperature and rate of
germination. The warm, damp, sweet-smelling barley is passed to the kiln
for drying, which stops germination. It is spread on a base of perforated
iron and dried in the heat of a peat fire. Distillery kilns have
distinctive pagoda-shaped heads. An open ventilator at the top draws hot
air from the peat fire through the barley. This gives it a smoky flavour,
which is passed on to the whisky. The barley has now become malt - dry,
crisp, peat-flavored, different from the original barley in all but
appearance. It is ready for the next stage in the process - mashing. It is
stored in bins and then it is weighed to ensure that the right amount of
malt is passed to the mill below, where it is ground. The ground malt,
called grist, is carried up to the grist hopper and fed in measured
quantities into the mash tun. There the grist is mixed with hot water and
left to infuse. This extracts the sugar content from the malt. The sugary
water, called wort, is then drawn off through the bottom of the mash tun.
This process is repeated three times, and each time the water is at a
different temperature.
For centuries, Scotch whisky has been made from mailed barley mixed
with yeast and water, then heated in pear-shaped containers called pot
stills. The early Highland farmers who distilled their own whisky heated
their pot stills in huge copper kettles over a peat fire. Smoke from the
peat added to the whisky's flavour. Big modern distillers use basically the
same technique. The vapor that rises in the still is condensed by cooling
to make whisky. The shape of the still affects the vapor and so helps to
give the whisky its taste. The most important single influence on the taste
of Scotch whisky is probably the Scottish water. This is why distilleries
are situated in narrow glens or in remote country near a tumbling stream.
The whisky comes colorless and fiery from the spirit receiver. In the
spirit vat it is diluted to about 110 degrees proof before being run into
oak casks to mature. Today, 100 degrees proof spirit by British standards
is spirit with 37.1 per cent of alcohol by volume, and 42.9 per cent of
water.
Scotch whisky cannot legally be sold for consumption until it has
matured in casks for at least three years. The time a whisky takes to
mature depends on the size of the casks used, the strength at which the
spirit is stored and the temperature and humidity of the warehouse. A good
malt whisky may have been left in the cask for 15 years, or even longer.
Air enters the oak casks and evaporation takes place. Eventually, the
whisky loses its coarseness and becomes smooth and mellow.
There are more than 100 distilleries in Scotland and the whisky made in
each has its own distinctive character. Some distilleries bottle part of
their spirit and sell it as a single whisky; but most whiskies go to a
blender. As many as 40 different single whiskies may be blended to make up
the whisky that is eventually sold. So specifically associated with
Scotland has whisky he-come that the mere adjective SCOTCH requires no
noun to be supplied in order that people should know what is meant.
Burns Night (25 January)
The anniversary of the poet's birth, is celebrated in every corner of
Scotland, and indeed wherever a handful of Scots is to be found. There are
hundreds of Burns Clubs scattered throughout the world, and they all
endeavour to hold Burns Night celebrations to mark the birth of Scotland's
greatest poet. The first club was founded at Greenock in 1802. The
traditional menu at the suppers is cock-a-leekie soup (chicken broth),
boiled salt herring, haggis with bashed neeps (turnips), and champit
tatties (mashed potatoes) and dessert. The arrival of the haggis is
usually heralded by the music of bagpipes. The haggis is carried into the
dining room behind a piper wearing traditional dress. He then reads a poem
written especially for the haggis! "The Immortal Memory" is toasted, and
the company stand in silent remembrance. Then fellows dancing, pipe music,
and selections from Burns's lyrics, the celebration concluding with the
poet's famous Auld tang Syne.
Loch Ness and the Monster
Whatever it is that stirs in Loch Ness, it is no newcomer. An
inscription on a fourteenth-century map of the loch tells vaguely but
chillingly of "waves without wind, fish without fins, islands that float".
"Monster" sightings are not limited to Loch Ness: Lochs Awe, Rannoch,
Lomond and Morar have all been said to contain specimens. The Loch Ness
Monster owes its great fame to the opening of a main road along the north
shore of the loch in 1933. Since then, distant views of "four shining black
humps", "brownish-gray humps" have kept visitors flocking to the loch.
People who have seen the phenomenon more closely say that it is "slug-like"
or "eel-like", with a head resembling a seal's or a gigantic snail's, while
the long neck is embellished with a horse's mane. Its length has been
estimated at anything between 8 and 23 metres, and its skin texture la
"warty" and "slimy". Close observers, too, particularly Hr George Spicer
and his wife who saw it jerking across a lochside road in 1933, have
declared it "fearful".
It is not surprising that such waters, cupped in savage hills, should
produce legends. Loch Ness is part of the Great Glen, a geological fault
that slashes across Scotland like a sword-cut. The loch itself is 24 miles
long, about a mile broad and has an average depth of 400 feet. Loch Ness
has one direct outlet to the sea, the shallow River Ness, and it is fed by
eight rivers and innumerable streams, each of which pours the peaty soil of
the hills into the loch. Consequently, the water is dark. Divers working
with powerful arc lamps 15 metres below the surface have been unable to see
for more than 3 metres around them.
Over the past 40 years, sightings have been claimed by more than 1000
people. Most of the sightings were in bright sunlight conditions of flat
calm, and several of the witnesses were trained observers - soldiers,
doctors, seamen. Though many of the sightings were from a distance,
witnesses have been convinced they were looking at a large animal, most of
whose body was hidden beneath the water.
If it exists, it is most unlikely that the Loch Ness monster is a
single animal. A prehistoric creature, living alone in Loch Ness, cut off
from others of its kind, would have to be millions of years old. For the
species to survive there must be quite a large colony. The colony theory
is also supported by nearly simultaneous sightings in different parts of
the loch. According to naturalists, the chances of the creature being a
reptile are remote. Though Loch Ness never freezes, its temperature never
rises above 6°C and this would be too cold for any known species. Also,
reptiles breathe air, and would have to surface more frequently than the
monster appears to. Though most zoologists deny the possibility that a
large and unknown animal might be living in Loch Ness, it is remarkable
that the mystery continues; and it is perhaps more exciting than any final
scientific solution.
Scottish Weddings
Everybody knows about Gretna Green, the famous Scottish village just
beyond the border. In the old days runaway couples escaped from England to
Gretna Green to get married. The practice started in the year 1774. In that
year a bill was passed in England forbidding marriages of person under
eighteen without their parents’ consent. In Scotland the legal age limit
was sixteen - and still is for that matter. What is more, until the year
1856 the young couple could be married at once at any place in Scotland,
without having to stay there for some time.
You may ask why all those young people chose Gretna Green for their
wedding. After all, there are many romantic places in Scotland. The answer
is simple. Gretna Green was the nearest village across the Scottish border,
only ten miles of Carlisle, on the main highway. To get there took the
least time and the least money.
The blacksmith at Gretna Green was always ready to perform the marriage
ceremony at a small fee. The formalities were very simple. All that was
needed was a declaration made by the young couple in the presence of two
witnesses. Visitors of Gretna Green can still see the old blacksmith’s
shop and the famous marriage room in it.
The old tradition is still remembered. Many young couples who cannot
get married in England because they are under age still think it romantic
to go to Gretna Green. But today they must have enough money to stay there
for three weeks.
Highland Games
Perhaps the most distinctive event at a Highland Gathering is “Tossing
the Caber” - or, as the sixteenth-century writer called it, “throwing the
bar”. The caber is the trunk - of a fir tree 20 feet long and ten inches
(25 cm) thick at the bigger end. Its weight is about 100 kilos and it needs
two or three men to lift it upright with the thick end at the top. The
competitor then lakes hold of it and rests it against his shoulder. He
takes two or three steps and then throws it so that it turns a complete
somersault. The straightest throw, that is nearest to 12 o’clock in
direction, gets the most points. If none of the competitors is able to toss
the caber, a bit is sawn off the end, and then, if necessary, another bit,
until at last one competitor succeeds.
Another feat of strength is throwing the hammer. This has a long handle
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