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Scotch: The Story of Whisky - Season 1

Series: Scotch: The Story of Whisky
4
(18)
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Episodes
3
Rating
NRC
Year
2018
Language
English
Publisher
Dreamscape Media

About

Picture the scene: Rustic Caledonia, half a millennium ago. A monk meddles with water and barley. Alchemy fizzles, and the result is whisky. In shady brooding glens and by gleaming lochs, farmers and peasants repeat the trick a million times over. Amber liquid seeps across Scotland. It doesn't stop there. The humblest of people have created a colossus that will coil itself around the world. It will embrace craftsmanship, culture, identity, land, science, and marketing and tie itself to great historical events. The story of scotch is one of a multinational multi-billion-dollar super-industry. Here, for the first time, that story is told in detail. Scotch: The Story of Whisky marries the allure of scenic Scotland with engrossing storytelling, rich characters, and frequent revelations. The tale of whisky is the tale of Scotland's gift to the world, and so it travels to Sweden, Japan, and Australia. Could it be that such nations are threatening Scotland's status as the home of whisky?

Related Subjects

Episodes

1 to 3 of 3

1. Episode 1

51m

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David Hayman surveys the state of the Scotch whisky industry and examines the threats to its world dominance. He meets coopers and coppersmiths, whose craft it relies on, before visiting Campbeltown to enrol on a distilling course. Hayman is then schooled in the alchemy of blending whisky by Kirsteen Campbell, Famous Grouse master blender, and visits distilling students at Heriot-Watt University.

2. Episode 2

51m

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David Hayman feels that the Scottish terrain and air are just as important as science in the creation of the drink. He visits Islay, rejoicing in the land and people who make it The Whisky Island. On Speyside, he encounters the progression of whisky from illicit distilling to a landmass dominated by global brands. Scotch whisky's profile and sales would be lost without marketing - though image does not always meet with reality, as Hayman learns. Finally, at a fine whisky auction, the tale of Scotch's lucrative investment and collection sub-industry is told.

3. Episode 3

51m

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So great is worldwide love for Scotch whisky, many countries have begun making their own versions. It represents a threat to Scotland's dominance of the market. Presenter David Hayman travels to meet some of these rivals. His journey begins in Norfolk, where he encounters the thriving English Whisky Company. He visits Japan, learning of that great country's whisky culture, and then Tasmania, a world whisky hotspot. In Europe, Sweden represents cutting-edge trends and impassioned appreciation of the amber nectar. Finally, there is time for reflection on the future and status of this totem of a drink.

Extended Details

  • Closed CaptionsEnglish

Artists

Don Couttsdirector
Daniel Graywriter
Don Couttsproducer
David Haymanactor