0:00:09 > 0:00:12This is the story of whisky
0:00:12 > 0:00:15and I start it right here in the heart of Tokyo.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18Around these streets are bars crammed with people
0:00:18 > 0:00:19imbibing the amber liquid.
0:00:19 > 0:00:21It will be a fascinating journey,
0:00:21 > 0:00:26so come with me as I tell the story of Scotland's gift to the world.
0:00:29 > 0:00:33I'm going on a pilgrimage to find out why such a simple drink
0:00:33 > 0:00:36has come to mean so much.
0:00:36 > 0:00:38Hi. My name's Jim. I'm from Scotland.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40From the makers, to the marketeers,
0:00:40 > 0:00:43and the chemists to the cocktail makers,
0:00:43 > 0:00:46and from the Highlands, to Hobart in Tasmania...
0:00:48 > 0:00:51..I'll be meeting the people and travelling to the places
0:00:51 > 0:00:55immersed in Scottish whisky's world story.
0:00:55 > 0:01:00This is the tale of an ancient craft that became a global colossus.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02It is the tale of Scotch.
0:01:05 > 0:01:07Isn't it grand that this stuff's made in Scotland?
0:01:07 > 0:01:09Aye, true.
0:01:21 > 0:01:25Today, we treat Scotch whisky with reverence.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28Yet, as recently as the late 1970s,
0:01:28 > 0:01:30it was viewed altogether differently.
0:01:30 > 0:01:31When people thought of Scotch,
0:01:31 > 0:01:35they thought of old-fashioned, untrendy, blended whiskies.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38It was something of a safe, boring choice.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41Here - what your granda drank at Hogmanay,
0:01:41 > 0:01:44and abroad - ignored in favour of domestic spirits.
0:01:44 > 0:01:48By the early 1980s, too much was being made for not enough drinkers,
0:01:48 > 0:01:52creating a whisky loch of untouched liquid.
0:01:52 > 0:01:54Many distilleries closed.
0:01:55 > 0:01:59Then the industry recovered on the back of an unlikely source -
0:01:59 > 0:02:00single malts.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03Marketing was once more at the forefront
0:02:03 > 0:02:07via a bottle label vision of Scotland sold to the world.
0:02:07 > 0:02:11Now malts are booming, desirable and collectable,
0:02:11 > 0:02:13and provoke global interest in Scotland.
0:02:15 > 0:02:19On Edinburgh's Royal Mile stands the building symbolic of this intrigue.
0:02:21 > 0:02:22The Scotch Whisky Experience
0:02:22 > 0:02:25is funded by a cluster of drinks companies.
0:02:25 > 0:02:30Among its greatest attractions is a breathtaking hoard of bottles.
0:02:30 > 0:02:34This marble and glass shrine to whisky
0:02:34 > 0:02:39contains 3,348 bottles,
0:02:39 > 0:02:41and it is a magnificent collection.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44It was collected by one man -
0:02:44 > 0:02:47Claive Vidiz, a Brazilian from Sao Paulo.
0:02:47 > 0:02:49It took him 35 years to collect,
0:02:49 > 0:02:52and then he came to a financial arrangement with Diageo,
0:02:52 > 0:02:56and Diageo brought the collection here to Scotland.
0:02:56 > 0:02:58And as Mr Vidiz himself says...
0:02:58 > 0:03:00"We have an expression in Brazil -
0:03:00 > 0:03:02"a good son returns home, and, in my view,
0:03:02 > 0:03:05"the collection is back with its family now."
0:03:05 > 0:03:06And here is Mr Vidiz.
0:03:20 > 0:03:21This is where it all began.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24He was well-known as being a real lover of Scotch whisky.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26And business associates would always
0:03:26 > 0:03:28pick up a bottle in duty-free for him.
0:03:28 > 0:03:32But finally a business associate went to visit him from Scotland,
0:03:32 > 0:03:34and said, "This is real stuff.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37"This is the stuff you'll never have heard of.
0:03:37 > 0:03:39"It's called single malt Scotch whisky.
0:03:39 > 0:03:41"And this is the stuff to keep and enjoy
0:03:41 > 0:03:43"with only your very best friends."
0:03:43 > 0:03:45- What date was this? - So this was in the 1970s.
0:03:45 > 0:03:47And really only blended Scotch whisky
0:03:47 > 0:03:49was exported at the time.
0:03:49 > 0:03:51It was very, very hard to find anything else.
0:03:51 > 0:03:55So these six bottles here were given to Claive then,
0:03:55 > 0:03:59and, rather than sharing them with his very best friends,
0:03:59 > 0:04:02he was so overwhelmed and so passionate about them
0:04:02 > 0:04:04that he never opened them.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07And this began the Scotch Whisky collection.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10Now, people come from all over the world to view this, don't they?
0:04:10 > 0:04:11That's right.
0:04:11 > 0:04:15About 80% of the visitors that come here are from overseas.
0:04:15 > 0:04:19So it just reflects the huge pull that Scotch whisky has,
0:04:19 > 0:04:22and the kudos that it has from an international point of view.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25So they come because they love whisky in the first place?
0:04:25 > 0:04:27- Well...- They don't just pop in on a rainy day and think,
0:04:27 > 0:04:29- "Where should we go in Edinburgh?" - Well, you know,
0:04:29 > 0:04:32they don't come because they already know and love Scotch whisky.
0:04:32 > 0:04:34Most of our visitors are from overseas,
0:04:34 > 0:04:37have heard of Scotch whisky, know what it is,
0:04:37 > 0:04:39but aren't already Scotch whisky drinkers.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42So a small proportion of them love it, are enthusiasts,
0:04:42 > 0:04:45and know about this collection and have made a bit of a pilgrimage,
0:04:45 > 0:04:48but the majority of them have come to Scotland,
0:04:48 > 0:04:50and there is no way that they could visit Scotland
0:04:50 > 0:04:53without finding out more about Scotch whisky
0:04:53 > 0:04:55because the two are so intrinsically linked.
0:04:55 > 0:05:00You've got a Black Bowmore from 1964.
0:05:00 > 0:05:01What on earth is that worth?
0:05:01 > 0:05:04You've focused in on one of those bottles that is completely unique,
0:05:04 > 0:05:06really rare...
0:05:06 > 0:05:07Only sold at auction.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10But, equally, we have the opposite end of the spectrum.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13We even have whisky and cola in a can.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15So there's nothing too precious about this.
0:05:15 > 0:05:19It's a snapshot of every single bottle of whisky that was different,
0:05:19 > 0:05:21that was individual, that was unique,
0:05:21 > 0:05:23and that was collected over that period.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26So, if you were to put a figure on the Black Bowmore, what would it be?
0:05:26 > 0:05:28Tens of thousands now.
0:05:28 > 0:05:29- Seriously?- Yeah. Yeah.
0:05:29 > 0:05:31One of those ones that goes very well at auction.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36The Scotch Whisky experience is, in itself,
0:05:36 > 0:05:41a giant display cabinet for an industry and, in turn, a country.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44Yet the rise of Scotch as a tourist magnet
0:05:44 > 0:05:46is a recent phenomenon.
0:05:46 > 0:05:50In the 1980s, there were very few distillery visitor centres,
0:05:50 > 0:05:52and now there's round about 50 distilleries
0:05:52 > 0:05:55that you can visit as a tourist to Scotland.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58That has been a huge change in the whisky landscape.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02It is reckoned that, in 2015 alone,
0:06:02 > 0:06:051.5 million people visited Scotland's distilleries,
0:06:05 > 0:06:08spending £50 million.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12It is not only large established distilleries that they visit...
0:06:12 > 0:06:15Places that have been making whisky for centuries
0:06:15 > 0:06:18now face a challenge from dynamic small-scale upstarts
0:06:18 > 0:06:21like Strathearn Distillery in Perthshire.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25Over the last few years, there's been a quiet revolution
0:06:25 > 0:06:27happening in the whisky industry in Scotland.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29And that is the fact that we currently have
0:06:29 > 0:06:31about 20 small craft distilleries,
0:06:31 > 0:06:34with another 10 waiting to be operational.
0:06:34 > 0:06:36They make whisky in the old style,
0:06:36 > 0:06:39when whisky was made in a small room,
0:06:39 > 0:06:41or a little but and ben, a croft,
0:06:41 > 0:06:43or a barn somewhere in a Highland glen.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46And it's a bit like the craft beer revolution
0:06:46 > 0:06:49that's really exploded over the United Kingdom
0:06:49 > 0:06:50in the last few years,
0:06:50 > 0:06:53and it's really going to make a radical difference
0:06:53 > 0:06:54to whisky and our choices.
0:06:54 > 0:06:56I'm standing in front
0:06:56 > 0:07:00of what is probably the smallest craft distillery in Scotland.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09Welcome, David, to the smallest distillery in Scotland.
0:07:10 > 0:07:12This is a dinky little thing, Tony.
0:07:12 > 0:07:14It's a miniature whisky distillery.
0:07:14 > 0:07:18It's also a bit like an adult's Meccano kit.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21This is a prime example of a small craft distillery, isn't it?
0:07:21 > 0:07:24There's currently 16 producing.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26We were the first.
0:07:26 > 0:07:28We had a meeting here because
0:07:28 > 0:07:30so many people were asking me questions,
0:07:30 > 0:07:32and I said, "Well, let's get together."
0:07:32 > 0:07:34And we had 50 people turn up.
0:07:34 > 0:07:36And it's not just whisky.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39There's whisky, there's gin, there's vodka,
0:07:39 > 0:07:43there is a rum distillery in the heart of Speyside.
0:07:43 > 0:07:44LAUGHING: I love it!
0:07:44 > 0:07:47Just because a distillery is small,
0:07:47 > 0:07:51it doesn't necessarily make it well crafted.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53But some of the small distillers
0:07:53 > 0:07:56are producing products of astonishing interest,
0:07:56 > 0:07:58astonishing versatility.
0:07:58 > 0:08:02Not all will survive. There will be a shake-out of that sector.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05But craft is certainly adding a lot of interest,
0:08:05 > 0:08:07it's adding a lot of vivacity,
0:08:07 > 0:08:09and it's adding a lot of choice for the consumer,
0:08:09 > 0:08:11so, on balance, it can only be good.
0:08:11 > 0:08:13Craft is a tricky word.
0:08:13 > 0:08:15What is craft?
0:08:15 > 0:08:17Is it doing 20,000 litres a year
0:08:17 > 0:08:19and not more than that?
0:08:19 > 0:08:22Is it using old equipment?
0:08:22 > 0:08:23Old methods?
0:08:25 > 0:08:26It's a tricky definition,
0:08:26 > 0:08:29but if we're talking about the kind of impact they can have
0:08:29 > 0:08:31on the industry then I think the biggest impact
0:08:31 > 0:08:34doesn't come from volumes, obviously, because they are small.
0:08:34 > 0:08:38I think it comes from the way they try to innovate.
0:08:38 > 0:08:42I love that because some of the big companies are too busy,
0:08:42 > 0:08:45too concerned to produce large volumes
0:08:45 > 0:08:50to keep their stockholders satisfied.
0:08:50 > 0:08:54I think that the emergence of craft distilleries
0:08:54 > 0:08:59has built this new layer into the industry, which is great.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02It's driving a lot of innovation.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06Sometimes that can be at odds with the tradition of Scotch, which is,
0:09:06 > 0:09:08you know, rightly protected.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11We've been making great whisky here for hundreds of years.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13We'll carry on making great whisky,
0:09:13 > 0:09:17but if we can all operate under one banner more,
0:09:17 > 0:09:22if companies can work together more from opposite ends of the spectrum,
0:09:22 > 0:09:26then I think that can only be of benefit to the rest of the industry.
0:09:26 > 0:09:28Tony, are you a threat to the big boys?
0:09:28 > 0:09:32- Not at all.- You're creating very, very special whisky.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35Probably the best way to sum up this distillery is...
0:09:35 > 0:09:41if you drive up the A9, and you overtake a single whisky tanker,
0:09:41 > 0:09:43that's our year's production.
0:09:43 > 0:09:45In one tanker.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47What we do supply to the big industry
0:09:47 > 0:09:49is a comparable quality product,
0:09:49 > 0:09:52and quality is the link between both of us.
0:09:52 > 0:09:57So the big distilleries produce millions of litres a year,
0:09:57 > 0:10:00but you couldn't lean against the stills like this
0:10:00 > 0:10:02- and have a conversation. - No, you couldn't.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05You couldn't turn the steam up slightly while we're doing it.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09People can come here and spend a week making their own whisky.
0:10:09 > 0:10:11They can come in on the Monday morning,
0:10:11 > 0:10:13and put the grist into the grist hopper,
0:10:13 > 0:10:16and, on the Friday, after two distillations,
0:10:16 > 0:10:18they can make their own whisky.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27There is clearly excitement about the craft movement,
0:10:27 > 0:10:29and it bristles with possibility.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31Whether, in the long term,
0:10:31 > 0:10:34each new distillery is financially viable, though,
0:10:34 > 0:10:36remains open to debate.
0:10:42 > 0:10:44You need to have very deep pockets,
0:10:44 > 0:10:45and a very understanding bank manager
0:10:45 > 0:10:48if you want to open a distillery.
0:10:48 > 0:10:49You know, it's got to be three years old
0:10:49 > 0:10:51before you can even call it whisky,
0:10:51 > 0:10:53and, while people might want to buy
0:10:53 > 0:10:55your whisky when it's three years old,
0:10:55 > 0:10:57because it's exciting and it's new,
0:10:57 > 0:10:59when that whisky is seven years old,
0:10:59 > 0:11:00people are going, "I've tried that.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02"I'm going to wait until it's better."
0:11:02 > 0:11:05It might be perfectly good at seven years old,
0:11:05 > 0:11:08but, you know, received wisdom is that it only really matures
0:11:08 > 0:11:12when it's 10 or 12 years old. But it's really, really tough.
0:11:12 > 0:11:13The big multinationals
0:11:13 > 0:11:15are going to watch the ones that float to the top,
0:11:15 > 0:11:18that are producing very high quality product.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20They might then suddenly try and snap them up.
0:11:20 > 0:11:22There might be some that are very adamant and stick to their ways,
0:11:22 > 0:11:25and say they'll be fiercely independent until the day they die.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28But then if somebody's offering you a huge sum of money,
0:11:28 > 0:11:31it's very hard for some people to turn that down.
0:11:31 > 0:11:32So I think that may be what happens.
0:11:32 > 0:11:36Those producing very high quality product will get snapped up.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39Craft distilleries are just one thread
0:11:39 > 0:11:43among many to the traditional and dominant Scotch whisky industry.
0:11:43 > 0:11:47Whisky is now made in almost 30 countries.
0:11:47 > 0:11:51Old Scottish methods are making for a vibrant scene
0:11:51 > 0:11:53biting at the heels of Scotch whisky.
0:11:54 > 0:11:58Everywhere whisky's enjoyed, it seems, it is now being made.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01Despite the refined nature of this exquisite drink,
0:12:01 > 0:12:06Scotch is in a fierce global competition for hearts and drams.
0:12:06 > 0:12:10There are pretenders to Scotland's throne across the world.
0:12:10 > 0:12:12Even here.
0:12:13 > 0:12:14Cheeky bastards.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21Andrew Nelstrop comes from a Norfolk farming dynasty
0:12:21 > 0:12:25who have put their abundant barley to good use.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28Farming sets you up well for having a distillery.
0:12:28 > 0:12:30They are both long-term businesses.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33Everything you do on the land, if you like,
0:12:33 > 0:12:36is designed for generations in the future.
0:12:36 > 0:12:37The same goes for whisky.
0:12:37 > 0:12:41- Do you know what the Greek definition of wisdom is?- Go on.
0:12:41 > 0:12:43Wisdom is old men planting trees
0:12:43 > 0:12:45under whose shade they will never sit.
0:12:45 > 0:12:47That's the same with whisky.
0:12:47 > 0:12:51- Beautiful.- You're making whisky that you'll probably never taste.
0:12:51 > 0:12:52You don't have the hills,
0:12:52 > 0:12:54you don't have the glens,
0:12:54 > 0:12:56you don't have the peat,
0:12:56 > 0:12:58you don't have the wonderful soft rain
0:12:58 > 0:13:01that comes off the Atlantic and falls on Scotland,
0:13:01 > 0:13:03and yet here we are, in the heart of England,
0:13:03 > 0:13:06and you're making bloody whisky! Now that's a damn cheek.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08- But we do have... - Where do you get your...?
0:13:08 > 0:13:09We have all the barley.
0:13:09 > 0:13:13We have the largest peat digs in the whole of the UK,
0:13:13 > 0:13:16- which is the Norfolk Broads. - Uh-huh.- We've got the water.
0:13:16 > 0:13:18We've got the cleanest, largest, freshest source of water
0:13:18 > 0:13:22underneath your feet. You don't really need anything else, do we?
0:13:22 > 0:13:24Apart from rain. We don't need rain.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26- You can have some of ours if you want.- Yeah.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30We've got plenty of it!
0:13:30 > 0:13:33My father had always wanted to make whisky,
0:13:33 > 0:13:38purely because of one conversation he had back when he was a lad.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41It was... My grandfather, the story goes, said,
0:13:41 > 0:13:44"It's such a shame. We've got all this barley
0:13:44 > 0:13:46"and it has to go to Scotland to be turned into something useful."
0:13:46 > 0:13:48And it just stuck.
0:13:48 > 0:13:50You know, my father, he farmed in Russia, Australia,
0:13:50 > 0:13:53he went all over the place doing different things.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56But, every year, he went, "I just need to build a distillery."
0:13:56 > 0:13:58- So it was his dream?- Absolutely.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00A lifelong dream. So, when he turned 60,
0:14:00 > 0:14:03and he was going, "Oh, we need to build a distillery",
0:14:03 > 0:14:06I think the rest of the family just went, "Ugh, do what you like!"
0:14:06 > 0:14:07THEY LAUGH
0:14:07 > 0:14:09Upstarts like yourself,
0:14:09 > 0:14:12do you think you're any serious threat
0:14:12 > 0:14:13to the Scotch whisky industry?
0:14:13 > 0:14:16- Are you nibbling away...? - I think it's going to be a while
0:14:16 > 0:14:18before we buy Diageo! But...
0:14:18 > 0:14:20THEY LAUGH
0:14:20 > 0:14:23Another generation, maybe.
0:14:23 > 0:14:25There's ambition for you!
0:14:25 > 0:14:28I think, in terms of quality, we can equal them.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30I don't think that's an issue. I think...
0:14:30 > 0:14:33And I don't think that's me going, "Our whisky can."
0:14:33 > 0:14:38I think any nation's whisky can equal anybody else's,
0:14:38 > 0:14:40because each distillery is unique.
0:14:40 > 0:14:42So, if the owners want to do it properly,
0:14:42 > 0:14:45they can make blooming good whisky.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48In terms of volume, we are never going to compete.
0:14:48 > 0:14:49Andrew, every distillery I go to,
0:14:49 > 0:14:52and certainly this is much more true now
0:14:52 > 0:14:54than it was maybe 10, 15 years ago...
0:14:54 > 0:14:56Every distillery has a visitor centre,
0:14:56 > 0:14:59and it seems to be an important point of revenue for them.
0:14:59 > 0:15:00Yes. It is.
0:15:00 > 0:15:02It's not just spreading the word.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05- It's about bringing in hard-earned cash.- It is.
0:15:05 > 0:15:09It's incredibly useful in terms of spreading the word,
0:15:09 > 0:15:11getting a loyal following...
0:15:11 > 0:15:13"Come and see it. See the distillery. Meet the people."
0:15:13 > 0:15:15It's a great story.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19For new distilleries opening, like ourselves,
0:15:19 > 0:15:21the gin boys and vodka boys have got it easy.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24You can make the stuff yesterday, sell it today.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27There's no cash flow issues there.
0:15:27 > 0:15:28Whereas, the world of whisky -
0:15:28 > 0:15:31make it today, sell it in three, five, ten years' time.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34There is a slight need for another source of income,
0:15:34 > 0:15:36which brings you down to having a shop
0:15:36 > 0:15:39and selling everything from bottles of your own whisky,
0:15:39 > 0:15:41to tea, coffee and cake.
0:15:41 > 0:15:43And, yeah, it's a good source of income
0:15:43 > 0:15:45and I think it's a nice day out for people.
0:15:48 > 0:15:52Scotland's biggest whisky rival, however, is much further east.
0:16:00 > 0:16:02Over the last few years, the world of whisky
0:16:02 > 0:16:05has been rocked by a number of Japanese whiskies
0:16:05 > 0:16:09winning critical acclaim and awards worldwide.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15Whisky's story has taken us halfway around the world.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17I'm now in the far north of Japan.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20If you fly that way, you hit Russia.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23We're probably on the same latitude as Vladivostok.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26Now, it's been a lovely, sunny day, but, from November till March,
0:16:26 > 0:16:29this place is blanketed in snow and well below freezing.
0:16:29 > 0:16:31And, in the distance,
0:16:31 > 0:16:35you can see the scarlet chimneys that cap the Yoichi distillery,
0:16:35 > 0:16:36the home of Nikka Whisky.
0:16:38 > 0:16:42And it seems very remote from a Highland glen, but this place -
0:16:42 > 0:16:47the story of this place - is firmly rooted in a true Scottish romance.
0:16:55 > 0:16:59In 1918, 24-year-old Masataka Taketsuru
0:16:59 > 0:17:01left Japan for Scotland.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05He was to study the chemistry and production of Scotch whisky
0:17:05 > 0:17:08with the aim of replicating it in Japan.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11Masataka served apprenticeships
0:17:11 > 0:17:13at a number of Scottish distilleries,
0:17:13 > 0:17:16learning every craft of the trade.
0:17:16 > 0:17:18He fell in love with whisky,
0:17:18 > 0:17:23but also with a Scottish girl - Rita Cowan from Kirkintilloch.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26Rita and Masataka toured Scotland
0:17:26 > 0:17:29picking up more secrets of the Scotch trade.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33When they arrived here in Japan in 1920,
0:17:33 > 0:17:36it was to set up home as man and wife.
0:17:37 > 0:17:38Together, in 1934,
0:17:38 > 0:17:41they put their expertise into practice
0:17:41 > 0:17:44and founded this place, Yoichi distillery,
0:17:44 > 0:17:45choosing these surroundings
0:17:45 > 0:17:48for their echoes of the Scottish Highlands.
0:17:49 > 0:17:51They were married for 41 years
0:17:51 > 0:17:54until Rita's death in 1961.
0:17:55 > 0:18:00Masataka was to become known as the father of Japanese whisky.
0:18:17 > 0:18:19'Author Dave Broom is here at Yoichi
0:18:19 > 0:18:22'researching a book on Japanese whisky.'
0:18:22 > 0:18:25Dave, how does Japanese whisky differ from Scotch?
0:18:25 > 0:18:27Well, it's made in exactly the same way.
0:18:27 > 0:18:29So, if you go round the distillery,
0:18:29 > 0:18:30you'll see essentially the same kit.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33But there's a whole number of different factors
0:18:33 > 0:18:34that make it Japanese.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37One of them is to do with the production.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39They run very clear wort, rather than cloudy wort,
0:18:39 > 0:18:42so they don't get any cereal characters coming through.
0:18:42 > 0:18:44So it's not as dry as Scotch whisky.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48And there's more of a, kind of, delicate intensity,
0:18:48 > 0:18:51which seems paradoxical, but there's...
0:18:51 > 0:18:54I describe it as a transparency of character.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56If you think of a Scotch single malt,
0:18:56 > 0:18:58it's like a bit of a Scottish burn.
0:18:58 > 0:19:00You know, all the flavours are, kind of, moving around.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03It's hard to work out exactly what's going on.
0:19:03 > 0:19:05It's complex. Whereas, with Japanese whisky,
0:19:05 > 0:19:06it's like a clear pool.
0:19:06 > 0:19:08You can see all the flavours.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12Everything's just laid out in a very stately and ordered way.
0:19:12 > 0:19:13So it's got this...
0:19:13 > 0:19:16That's very symptomatic of Japanese culture.
0:19:16 > 0:19:17I think that's the point.
0:19:17 > 0:19:21From the word go, Japanese whisky was made to go with Japanese food.
0:19:21 > 0:19:23If you think of the way the Japanese approach food,
0:19:23 > 0:19:26it's all about texture, and it's also delicacy.
0:19:26 > 0:19:28If you're making a whisky to go with that food,
0:19:28 > 0:19:31you're almost automatically going to be in that world.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34And there's a real cultural resonance
0:19:34 > 0:19:36to Japanese whisky that ties in
0:19:36 > 0:19:41with the approach to ceramics, to artwork, or to papermaking.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44I think it's all part of this Japanese culture.
0:19:44 > 0:19:48It's a very powerful and very, very deep whisky.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50And it's significantly different to Scotch, you know?
0:19:50 > 0:19:52If I gave you two glasses blind,
0:19:52 > 0:19:55and gave you one of Scotch, one of Japanese, you would say,
0:19:55 > 0:19:56"Well, that's different."
0:19:56 > 0:19:59So they make the best Japanese whisky in the world.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02My mother is in a walking group, and I was listening
0:20:02 > 0:20:04to this conversation with one of the walkers.
0:20:04 > 0:20:05And she was about 80 years old.
0:20:05 > 0:20:07And she doesn't drink whisky. She drinks gin.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10And someone was telling her about the fact that Japanese whisky
0:20:10 > 0:20:14had just won a prize for being the best whisky in the world,
0:20:14 > 0:20:16and she was ABSOLUTELY outraged.
0:20:16 > 0:20:18"How would they know how to make whisky?
0:20:18 > 0:20:20"How would they know what they were doing?
0:20:20 > 0:20:21"That's just ridiculous!
0:20:21 > 0:20:24"I mean, they don't have the water! How can they be making whisky?"
0:20:24 > 0:20:27And I just thought, "But you don't even drink whisky, Doreen!
0:20:27 > 0:20:29"You drink gin. You don't like whisky!"
0:20:29 > 0:20:30But, for her, it was like a personal insult
0:20:30 > 0:20:33that the Japanese were making what she thinks is her drink...
0:20:33 > 0:20:35that she doesn't like.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38Japanese public broadcaster HNK
0:20:38 > 0:20:41recently broadcast a 60-part drama
0:20:41 > 0:20:43about Yoichi's founding sweethearts.
0:20:43 > 0:20:48It has led to the distillery becoming besieged by visitors.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51This is a living link between the two countries
0:20:51 > 0:20:53and this drink.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57- You are the chief blender here. - Mm-hm.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59How important is the influence of Scotch whisky
0:20:59 > 0:21:02and how it's made to how you make whisky here?
0:22:32 > 0:22:36The production of whisky may be similar in Scotland and Japan,
0:22:36 > 0:22:38but here it is enjoyed rather differently.
0:22:40 > 0:22:42The market went into serious decline
0:22:42 > 0:22:44and companies were trying everything.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46They were flavouring whiskies, they were lightening them up,
0:22:46 > 0:22:48they were doing this, they were doing that,
0:22:48 > 0:22:51and the young generation just turned their back on it,
0:22:51 > 0:22:52and, eventually, they went,
0:22:52 > 0:22:54"Oh, hang on a minute, there's this old drink
0:22:54 > 0:22:55"called whisky soda."
0:22:55 > 0:22:57Or the highball, as it's known over here.
0:22:57 > 0:22:59And they began promoting the highball,
0:22:59 > 0:23:01and, all of a sudden, everybody began drinking it.
0:23:01 > 0:23:03You can get it on tap. I'm a big, big fan of the highball.
0:23:03 > 0:23:07- It's gone right back... - I think I will take some convincing.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10Ach, well, you see, it's going right back to the origins
0:23:10 > 0:23:12of people drinking whisky in the mass market.
0:23:12 > 0:23:14The reason that Scotch blends took off
0:23:14 > 0:23:16at the end of the 19th century
0:23:16 > 0:23:19was because people were drinking them as whisky and soda.
0:23:19 > 0:23:21You know? And the reason why Japanese whisky took off
0:23:21 > 0:23:24in the 1960s was because they were drinking it diluted,
0:23:24 > 0:23:26just whisky and water.
0:23:26 > 0:23:30We're actually just going right back to the beginning again.
0:23:37 > 0:23:39Before leaving Sapporo,
0:23:39 > 0:23:43I'm joining Dave Broom on a pilgrimage to the shared grave
0:23:43 > 0:23:46of Masataka Taketsuru and Rita Cowan,
0:23:46 > 0:23:49and leaving a traditional liquid offering.
0:24:03 > 0:24:08800 miles south in Tokyo, there is another little corner of Scotland -
0:24:08 > 0:24:11a wee backstreet bar called the Helmsdale.
0:24:11 > 0:24:13- Masaki.- Yes.
0:24:13 > 0:24:15We are sitting here in the most beautiful bar
0:24:15 > 0:24:17I've ever been in in my life.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20I think it is now my favourite bar. And we're in the heart of Tokyo.
0:24:20 > 0:24:22A Scotch whisky bar.
0:24:22 > 0:24:24How did this happen?
0:24:34 > 0:24:36But how did you meet Scottish people?
0:24:36 > 0:24:38How did you first drink whisky?
0:24:46 > 0:24:49Now, your bar is called the Helmsdale.
0:24:49 > 0:24:51How did that happen? Why?
0:25:08 > 0:25:10What are the most popular whiskies?
0:25:25 > 0:25:27Very popular.
0:25:27 > 0:25:30Do you think Scottish whisky, Scotch whisky,
0:25:30 > 0:25:32is under threat from Japanese whisky,
0:25:32 > 0:25:35Indian whisky, Tasmanian whisky?
0:25:49 > 0:25:52We will never beat you, but we have the same heart.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55We will try our best, but, you know....
0:25:55 > 0:25:59- we will keep trying. - A very poetic answer.
0:25:59 > 0:26:01I love it.
0:26:02 > 0:26:06Leaving Japan behind, I'm heading south to another whisky hotbed.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09Australia, and specifically, Tasmania.
0:26:09 > 0:26:13With sprawling hills, thick clouds and crashing sea,
0:26:13 > 0:26:15this could easily be Scotland.
0:26:16 > 0:26:20Across the bay from me is the charming city of Hobart,
0:26:20 > 0:26:22nestling at the foot of Mount Wellington.
0:26:22 > 0:26:27And on this captivating island, it cradles 14 distilleries,
0:26:27 > 0:26:28with more on the way.
0:26:28 > 0:26:32In fact, it's the heartbeat of the Australian whisky industry.
0:26:32 > 0:26:34A growing power to behold.
0:26:36 > 0:26:38This is Lark Distillery.
0:26:38 > 0:26:40The cherished creation of
0:26:40 > 0:26:43Bill Lark, godfather of Australian whisky.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47Chris, in many ways, we couldn't be further from Scotland.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50We are at the other side of the world, in the beautiful island of
0:26:50 > 0:26:53Tasmania, and here, you have something like
0:26:53 > 0:26:5514 distilleries in production and
0:26:55 > 0:26:58you're developing at least another half dozen.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01Are you the cheeky young upstarts of the whisky industry?
0:27:01 > 0:27:04I think you could call us a bit of a larrikin bunch.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09We love our whisky and we discovered
0:27:09 > 0:27:12that Tasmania's a great place to make
0:27:12 > 0:27:16it and so we're doing our utmost to produce a good drop for the world.
0:27:16 > 0:27:17Well, you've been very successful.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20A few of them have been winning world awards, haven't they?
0:27:20 > 0:27:22Yes. We've been very fortunate,
0:27:22 > 0:27:27both in England and also in the US we've won a number of awards.
0:27:27 > 0:27:29And that's really encouraged us to
0:27:29 > 0:27:32keep doing what we're doing and focus
0:27:32 > 0:27:36on the quality. We are trying to make really quality whisky
0:27:36 > 0:27:41and our volumes are not great, so it's about quality, not quantity.
0:27:41 > 0:27:46When Bill Lark wanted to start a whisky distillery,
0:27:46 > 0:27:49there'd been no commercial whisky distillery in Australia
0:27:49 > 0:27:51for 153 years.
0:27:51 > 0:27:56Federal law had made it impossible for small distilleries to operate.
0:27:56 > 0:27:57So before he could even start,
0:27:57 > 0:28:03he had to change government federal law to get his licence and so we are
0:28:03 > 0:28:07actually the first licensed commercial distillery in Australia.
0:28:10 > 0:28:14Lark operates on a far smaller scale than most distilleries in Scotland.
0:28:36 > 0:28:38It's so titchy in size.
0:28:38 > 0:28:42If you compare this to something like The Macallan.
0:28:42 > 0:28:44I love the size, it's whisky in miniature.
0:28:46 > 0:28:48And they're taking over the world, the bastards.
0:28:53 > 0:28:58Craig, a Scotsman, and Chris, a native, are distillers here.
0:28:58 > 0:29:01I'll be honest, I got here 18 months ago and I walked into the place and
0:29:01 > 0:29:04I thought, "Where's the rest of the distillery?"
0:29:04 > 0:29:06It's tiny. The scale is crazy.
0:29:06 > 0:29:09I mean, we talk about hand-crafted back in Scotland,
0:29:09 > 0:29:12and you're talking 250-300,000 litres.
0:29:12 > 0:29:14Here, we make 120 litres a day,
0:29:14 > 0:29:17so we can actually handcraft everything at the distillery.
0:29:17 > 0:29:20We ferment different to back in Scotland,
0:29:20 > 0:29:23we make all of our cuts here by how the spirit tastes.
0:29:23 > 0:29:27We've got a longer fermentation than you have in most places back home.
0:29:27 > 0:29:29We've got seven days.
0:29:29 > 0:29:30But really, the big one for us is
0:29:30 > 0:29:31coming to the end of the fermentation.
0:29:31 > 0:29:35Based on how it tastes, we'll actually open the lid and let the
0:29:35 > 0:29:38natural bacteria from the vineyard up the road into the ferments and
0:29:38 > 0:29:39that sours up the...
0:29:39 > 0:29:42Of course, you have the bacteria in the air already!
0:29:42 > 0:29:45- So...- Because this is vineyard country, isn't it?
0:29:45 > 0:29:48Absolutely. So Frogmore, our pals up the road,
0:29:48 > 0:29:51make some of the best wine here. Some of the best pinots in Tasmania.
0:29:51 > 0:29:52And we get all the benefit from that
0:29:52 > 0:29:54culture, from those yeasts and bacteria.
0:29:54 > 0:29:56So the whisky that you guys have created,
0:29:56 > 0:29:57when will it be ready for sale?
0:29:57 > 0:30:02We are looking at about six to seven year maturation in quarter cask.
0:30:02 > 0:30:03So something Tasmania has,
0:30:03 > 0:30:06we have this really unique climate where we have a huge temperature
0:30:06 > 0:30:10variation from 2-3 degrees to about 40 degrees.
0:30:10 > 0:30:12What happens, that fluctuates every
0:30:12 > 0:30:13day and the pressure fluctuates every day.
0:30:13 > 0:30:17That really drives the spirit in and out of the wood and drives
0:30:17 > 0:30:18that angel's share so
0:30:18 > 0:30:21we've got a really quite high angel's share here, seven degrees.
0:30:21 > 0:30:24Our strength usually goes up, so we might get a spirit coming...
0:30:24 > 0:30:26So what percentage will you lose every year?
0:30:26 > 0:30:28- About 7%.- 7%? A year?
0:30:28 > 0:30:297%, every year.
0:30:29 > 0:30:32Guys, I've said that Tasmanian whisky...
0:30:32 > 0:30:35You're winning the awards, the whisky awards around the world,
0:30:35 > 0:30:37you're the cheeky young upstarts.
0:30:38 > 0:30:40How much debt do you owe to the Scotch whisky industry?
0:30:40 > 0:30:42So much, so much.
0:30:42 > 0:30:44I don't think the industry here would be...
0:30:46 > 0:30:51..in any strength without the year on year, on year, on year help from
0:30:51 > 0:30:55the Scottish industry. We've been so lucky with their generosity.
0:30:55 > 0:30:57We talked before about that sense of community.
0:30:57 > 0:30:59It is not a community, in Tasmania,
0:30:59 > 0:31:01or Hobart, or Australia, or Scotland,
0:31:01 > 0:31:03or Japan, it truly is this global,
0:31:03 > 0:31:05global community and really you feel that.
0:31:05 > 0:31:09Like, you go to Scotland and you ask a question and you get a
0:31:09 > 0:31:10genuine, passionate answer.
0:31:10 > 0:31:13Yeah, we are indebted to the Scottish industry.
0:31:13 > 0:31:15This place wouldn't be what it is without Scotland.
0:31:15 > 0:31:17We are essentially living in
0:31:17 > 0:31:20the Australian version of what Glenlivet was in 1850.
0:31:20 > 0:31:23And I think if you said to any distiller back in Scotland, you
0:31:23 > 0:31:26know, if you could go back to 1850 and work in Glenlivet and see
0:31:26 > 0:31:28how things started, would you take that choice?
0:31:28 > 0:31:29Every single one of them would.
0:31:29 > 0:31:32We are still mashing by hand with a paddle here.
0:31:32 > 0:31:36We've essentially brought whisky forward into the 1800s at Lark!
0:31:36 > 0:31:40So to be in this position, but then also to be able to call on
0:31:40 > 0:31:43the history and the mistakes that have been
0:31:43 > 0:31:46made by the Japanese and the Scots and the Americans in their
0:31:46 > 0:31:49whisky-making process, puts us in a unique position.
0:31:49 > 0:31:52We've got hundreds of years of experience to call upon and then we
0:31:52 > 0:31:54can create our own story from that.
0:31:54 > 0:31:57There are stories that people expect to see when they buy
0:31:57 > 0:31:58into a whisky.
0:31:59 > 0:32:02So in Scotland,
0:32:02 > 0:32:05we can sometimes be a little bit trapped by that and that's how
0:32:05 > 0:32:07people get to love this stuff.
0:32:07 > 0:32:09On the other, you've got countries
0:32:09 > 0:32:11in the rest of the world that are now
0:32:11 > 0:32:16making whiskies and can almost be a bit more creative in how they come
0:32:16 > 0:32:19about that and the sort of offering they can present.
0:32:19 > 0:32:21The competition element I think is brilliant,
0:32:21 > 0:32:24because any good athlete or performer is going to say,
0:32:24 > 0:32:27your best performances come when you're under the most pressure.
0:32:27 > 0:32:30So, you know, we are kept on our toes by the growth around the world,
0:32:30 > 0:32:32but I think that's a pretty good thing.
0:32:32 > 0:32:34We've talked for a long time about what is whisky.
0:32:34 > 0:32:39It's an experience. It only becomes whisky once someone puts it in their
0:32:39 > 0:32:42glass and they drink it, they experience it with their mates.
0:32:42 > 0:32:46It's on the most important days of your life that you drink whisky.
0:32:46 > 0:32:50Some people, it really is on the most important days and they choose
0:32:50 > 0:32:52to share that with you as distillers.
0:32:52 > 0:32:56It's people that get to be the caretaker of a distillery or
0:32:56 > 0:32:58process, and that's what it's about.
0:32:58 > 0:33:02It's about understanding that if you're not spot on your game every
0:33:02 > 0:33:05day, then you're not doing justice to that person that got that bottle
0:33:05 > 0:33:10for their wedding, or maybe for their divorce or to commiserate over
0:33:10 > 0:33:13a loved one's death. That's what drives
0:33:13 > 0:33:16that get better, get better, get better.
0:33:16 > 0:33:18And that's what whisky's about, you're right.
0:33:18 > 0:33:21It's about people. It's always been about people.
0:33:21 > 0:33:26It's about community and people and you can't help but love the spirit,
0:33:26 > 0:33:28because the people are wonderful.
0:33:28 > 0:33:31Wow, Chris! That's the most beautiful,
0:33:31 > 0:33:33poetic description I've ever heard.
0:33:46 > 0:33:51Sullivans Cove is another of Tasmania's flourishing distilleries.
0:33:51 > 0:33:54Its architecture and design is somewhat more functional than that
0:33:54 > 0:33:56of a Scottish distillery.
0:33:59 > 0:34:01The idea of making whisky came along, at first,
0:34:01 > 0:34:03I thought it was a bit of a crazy idea, to make whisky here in
0:34:03 > 0:34:06- Tasmania.- Where did it come from? - Well, Bill Lark.
0:34:06 > 0:34:08Bill and Lyn Lark, actually.
0:34:08 > 0:34:12But I can remember him trying to sell the idea to us up
0:34:12 > 0:34:13at the pub one night.
0:34:16 > 0:34:21And how him and his father had been up in the lakes here fishing
0:34:21 > 0:34:23and they were drinking a bottle of
0:34:23 > 0:34:25whisky and wondering why we don't make
0:34:25 > 0:34:27whisky in Tasmania, we've got the climate, we've got the water,
0:34:27 > 0:34:29we've got the barley. Everything's here.
0:34:29 > 0:34:32- You've got the peat.- Got the peat.
0:34:32 > 0:34:34We've got everything we need. Why don't we do it?
0:34:34 > 0:34:38And so he came, and one night up at the pub he told us
0:34:38 > 0:34:40this idea and what
0:34:40 > 0:34:43a marvellous idea it was and I can remember thinking, "No, Bill,
0:34:43 > 0:34:46"this is not a good idea. This is not one of your better ideas."
0:34:46 > 0:34:48But I was wrong.
0:34:48 > 0:34:51It's one of these things where, to be honest,
0:34:51 > 0:34:53we didn't know we'd ever survive or
0:34:53 > 0:34:55even get our product out of Tasmania.
0:34:55 > 0:34:59It was a struggle for a long time to get anybody here to even try it.
0:34:59 > 0:35:03In the early days, you know, people thought,
0:35:03 > 0:35:05"Oh, look, isn't that a nice idea? They're having a go,
0:35:05 > 0:35:07"trying to make a bit of whisky."
0:35:07 > 0:35:08But you've got to earn your stripes.
0:35:08 > 0:35:12It's not a matter of just making a product and everybody will buy
0:35:12 > 0:35:14it just because you make it.
0:35:14 > 0:35:17You have to prove that it's worth buying in the first place, or in our
0:35:17 > 0:35:22case, worth drinking. And it took us a while to get it right and some of
0:35:22 > 0:35:26the earlier whiskies that were made, I have to say, weren't the best.
0:35:26 > 0:35:30But once we got the theory right, we got the practice right,
0:35:30 > 0:35:32we started making good whisky.
0:35:32 > 0:35:35We found that we could sell it.
0:35:35 > 0:35:38But mostly overseas.
0:35:38 > 0:35:41So it was France that first took us on.
0:35:41 > 0:35:43Once we'd won
0:35:43 > 0:35:46the world's best single malt
0:35:46 > 0:35:49whisky out at the UK, the World Whiskies Awards,
0:35:49 > 0:35:52everything changed. From that morning on,
0:35:52 > 0:35:54it hasn't stopped. I mean,
0:35:54 > 0:35:57I can remember standing in our bond
0:35:57 > 0:35:59store a few years ago and we had over
0:35:59 > 0:36:021,000 barrels, thinking, "What have we done?
0:36:02 > 0:36:04"We've made too much whisky, we'll never sell this.
0:36:06 > 0:36:08"What are we going to do?"
0:36:08 > 0:36:10And now, I look at our whisky and I think,
0:36:10 > 0:36:12"God, I wish we had ten times more."
0:36:12 > 0:36:16The extent of the Tasmanian whisky revolution is startling.
0:36:16 > 0:36:17It is a surprise.
0:36:17 > 0:36:20Yet, when you're here, it makes perfect sense.
0:36:20 > 0:36:24In some ways, this place is a mirror image of Scotland.
0:36:25 > 0:36:28Closer to home and yet aesthetically different to Scotland,
0:36:28 > 0:36:32there is another surprisingly vibrant whisky country.
0:36:32 > 0:36:33Sweden.
0:36:39 > 0:36:43Ingvar Ronde from Malmo compiles the Malt Whisky Yearbook,
0:36:43 > 0:36:46seen by many as the bible of Scotch.
0:36:54 > 0:36:57Ingvar is leading the way to the small island of Hven,
0:36:57 > 0:37:00visiting its distillery and spirit laboratory.
0:37:06 > 0:37:10I think the interest in whisky started probably in the...
0:37:10 > 0:37:13I would say '60s and '70s,
0:37:13 > 0:37:15when we started to watch all of
0:37:15 > 0:37:19these fantastic TV series from England,
0:37:19 > 0:37:22where every two minutes, they were drinking whisky.
0:37:22 > 0:37:25Coming home after work, they were sipping a whisky.
0:37:25 > 0:37:28And we always, in Sweden, and in Scandinavia in particular,
0:37:28 > 0:37:33have been influenced by British culture.
0:37:33 > 0:37:37So that's when I think we started to embrace whisky.
0:37:39 > 0:37:44Then it took off fantastically in the '90s where it wasn't just about
0:37:44 > 0:37:47drinking whisky, it was about going to the distillery to see how it's
0:37:47 > 0:37:50produced, about learning about whisky.
0:37:50 > 0:37:52I know some Scotch whisky brand
0:37:52 > 0:37:55ambassadors who come to whisky shows in
0:37:55 > 0:37:57Sweden, they are absolutely amazed
0:37:57 > 0:38:01about the knowledge that Swedish whisky drinkers have.
0:38:01 > 0:38:06Hven distillery was founded in 2007 and is one of eight in Sweden.
0:38:06 > 0:38:08As well as making whisky,
0:38:08 > 0:38:11it houses a state-of-the-art laboratory,
0:38:11 > 0:38:14providing services for drinks companies across the world.
0:38:14 > 0:38:17What we do here is, it is our Swedish whisky, it's our whisky,
0:38:17 > 0:38:22not definitely just Swedish or Scottish.
0:38:22 > 0:38:25Still, most of the Scottish people are just Vikings
0:38:25 > 0:38:27not travelling back,
0:38:27 > 0:38:29so you have the heritage from us anyway.
0:38:29 > 0:38:32But at the end of the day,
0:38:32 > 0:38:37there is so many different whiskies and one doesn't kill off the others.
0:38:37 > 0:38:39There's a whisky for all.
0:38:39 > 0:38:43What we're doing here is, we're very particular about our oak maturation,
0:38:43 > 0:38:46but also how we create the cut.
0:38:47 > 0:38:49Obviously, being small,
0:38:49 > 0:38:53we need to have our unique selling points and we need to make something
0:38:53 > 0:38:55that really tastes, really scents.
0:38:55 > 0:38:58Because volume can't be our sale thing.
0:38:58 > 0:39:04So we go into special varieties of fermentation, special yeast strains,
0:39:04 > 0:39:07special varieties of wood, for example.
0:39:07 > 0:39:10But also, with the laboratory,
0:39:10 > 0:39:13where we have the unique possibility of actually seeing what's happening
0:39:13 > 0:39:14during maturation,
0:39:14 > 0:39:20we do analyses for a wide variety of distillers around the world.
0:39:20 > 0:39:22Well, a lot of people say that now,
0:39:22 > 0:39:25the Scotch whisky industry is in big trouble,
0:39:25 > 0:39:28because they are being chased by so many
0:39:28 > 0:39:30producers around the world.
0:39:30 > 0:39:34Yes, there is more competition now, but, at the same time,
0:39:34 > 0:39:37we have at least 100 distilleries in Scotland.
0:39:37 > 0:39:41We have 400 or 500 years of tradition in Scotland.
0:39:41 > 0:39:45You can't just wipe that away just because our new distilleries started
0:39:45 > 0:39:4910, 15, 20 years ago producing in Tasmania or Sweden.
0:39:49 > 0:39:55They make beautiful whisky, but for the next 20 or 30 years,
0:39:55 > 0:40:00I don't see them as a huge competitor to Scotch whisky.
0:40:22 > 0:40:25Back on the mainland in Malmo is The Bishops Arms,
0:40:25 > 0:40:28a cosy British themed pub specialising
0:40:28 > 0:40:34in single malts and run by Croatian whisky fanatic, Maja Kozul.
0:40:34 > 0:40:37I'm very curious about everything, to be honest,
0:40:37 > 0:40:40and I think whisky is very good
0:40:40 > 0:40:42to have, enjoy.
0:40:42 > 0:40:45It's very much about people.
0:40:45 > 0:40:48There is a difference between driving a Ferrari and there is
0:40:48 > 0:40:50difference between riding a bicycle.
0:40:50 > 0:40:53And obviously if you compare a whisky with something else.
0:40:54 > 0:40:56Every Bishops Arms staff member is
0:40:56 > 0:40:59trained to become a whisky specialist and advocate.
0:41:06 > 0:41:09Service is very important.
0:41:09 > 0:41:13People come in our bar and they look on the shelves and say,
0:41:13 > 0:41:16what is all that? And you start there.
0:41:16 > 0:41:20And you start there and, "Can I have a double whisky?"
0:41:20 > 0:41:23And we start off often saying,
0:41:23 > 0:41:27"Well, would you like to have three smaller ones, same amount,
0:41:27 > 0:41:30"same money and just discover something new?"
0:41:30 > 0:41:32So you kind of have to educate your
0:41:32 > 0:41:35guests as you are educating your staff at the same time.
0:41:38 > 0:41:42The Bishops Arms has won two prestigious awards.
0:41:42 > 0:41:46Maja is spending the prize money on a celebratory staff trip.
0:41:47 > 0:41:53We are going to spend that money with a trip to Scotland, of course!
0:41:53 > 0:41:57We're visiting Glenkinchie Distillery and we're just going to
0:41:57 > 0:42:01have an inspiration trip with my staff so we can keep it alive.
0:42:03 > 0:42:06Glenkinchie is a Lowland distillery
0:42:06 > 0:42:09outside of Edinburgh, founded in 1837.
0:42:22 > 0:42:24That's a pleasant smell.
0:42:27 > 0:42:29And you finish with the distilling?
0:42:38 > 0:42:42By the old port of Leith, it's time for a trip to Teuchters Landing,
0:42:42 > 0:42:47a pub whose assets include a high-stakes game of hoopla.
0:43:03 > 0:43:05We were just checking if they have any whisky we don't.
0:43:06 > 0:43:08So we'll try that one.
0:43:09 > 0:43:11It's very good to see how other people work with the whisky,
0:43:11 > 0:43:13not just us.
0:43:13 > 0:43:14It's a living product, not just
0:43:14 > 0:43:16something you pour into a bottle and pour
0:43:16 > 0:43:19colour into. It's a living product that goes into casks and is made of
0:43:19 > 0:43:25barley. It makes it a lot more real to see a distillery and see why you
0:43:25 > 0:43:27should appreciate whisky.
0:43:27 > 0:43:30Our guide, Clive, was very good.
0:43:32 > 0:43:34I thought he was really good.
0:43:34 > 0:43:37He showed us a picture up from about 100 years ago with
0:43:37 > 0:43:40about 50 people who used to work
0:43:40 > 0:43:44there and it was really interesting just
0:43:44 > 0:43:46seeing that that must have been the whole village
0:43:46 > 0:43:48worked at the distillery.
0:43:49 > 0:43:51And now, you told us that it's two
0:43:51 > 0:43:54people work 12 hours and two people do the late
0:43:54 > 0:43:59shift and the whole thing runs off that and how the whisky making has
0:43:59 > 0:44:03changed over 100 years, but they can still get the same product.
0:44:07 > 0:44:08I get a bucket of ice!
0:44:12 > 0:44:15- Shall we have a hoop?- We should?
0:44:15 > 0:44:18- We should have a hoop.- We'll have to hide away all the single cask
0:44:18 > 0:44:20Ardbeg though.
0:44:20 > 0:44:24I'm not sure how that's going to work out with the Swedish alcohol
0:44:24 > 0:44:27law, because selling alcohol in Sweden's not allowed to be fun.
0:44:30 > 0:44:32It has to be quite straight and direct.
0:44:34 > 0:44:36There's no such thing as happy hour in Sweden.
0:44:37 > 0:44:42Spending time with this impassioned, knowledgeable Bishops Arms team,
0:44:42 > 0:44:44I wonder whether we in Scotland train our own
0:44:44 > 0:44:49bar staff enough and even if we take Scotch for granted?
0:44:49 > 0:44:52Very often, you can walk into a bar in Scotland, anywhere, and say,
0:44:52 > 0:44:55"Oh, can I have an Islay whisky, please?"
0:44:55 > 0:44:57"Oh, I don't know, you'll need to
0:44:57 > 0:44:58"come behind the bar and have a look."
0:44:58 > 0:45:0115 years ago, if somebody came to our bar and said,
0:45:01 > 0:45:02"Could you tell me a good whisky?"
0:45:02 > 0:45:04Then they came straight to me,
0:45:04 > 0:45:07because the lassie didn't have a clue behind the bar, so we thought,
0:45:07 > 0:45:10right, we'll sort this out. So we'll get some of the distilleries in,
0:45:10 > 0:45:12we'll get some proper staff training.
0:45:12 > 0:45:14Because there's no point having the stuff if you can't sell it.
0:45:14 > 0:45:18So the guys all came in and we'd go up to the Whisky Experience.
0:45:18 > 0:45:20- No, so it's good.- We kept meeting
0:45:20 > 0:45:23people who worked in bars and sometimes,
0:45:23 > 0:45:25they worked in the very best hotel
0:45:25 > 0:45:26bars in Edinburgh,
0:45:26 > 0:45:29where we knew all the international visitors were coming,
0:45:29 > 0:45:32some really high-end visitors were coming and staying,
0:45:32 > 0:45:36in those beautiful five-star hotels that we have and at that time,
0:45:36 > 0:45:39they weren't necessarily getting great information
0:45:39 > 0:45:40about Scotch whisky,
0:45:40 > 0:45:45and I have to say, that's changed massively in the last 15 years.
0:45:45 > 0:45:46Both in terms of the number of
0:45:46 > 0:45:49whiskies available, the number of
0:45:49 > 0:45:51specialist whisky bars that there are.
0:45:51 > 0:45:54But there's still much, much more to do and I would
0:45:54 > 0:45:58completely agree that across a very broad portfolio in Edinburgh,
0:45:58 > 0:46:01if you look at lots of places that you can taste whisky,
0:46:01 > 0:46:03you aren't necessarily going to find
0:46:03 > 0:46:05everybody serving you that really knows
0:46:05 > 0:46:08about Scotch whisky and is passionate about it.
0:46:08 > 0:46:10If you talk to whisky drinkers around the world,
0:46:10 > 0:46:12"How did you find out about Scotch whisky?"
0:46:12 > 0:46:14They were introduced to it by a
0:46:14 > 0:46:15bartender, by a brand ambassador.
0:46:15 > 0:46:17They came on holiday to Scotland,
0:46:17 > 0:46:18they visited a distillery.
0:46:18 > 0:46:20And it's so important.
0:46:20 > 0:46:23So, even it goes back to the starting of whisky and you know,
0:46:23 > 0:46:25what happened there, the introduction.
0:46:25 > 0:46:27The personal contact remains absolutely key.
0:46:42 > 0:46:43This is the great city of London.
0:46:45 > 0:46:48A city that has quaffed whisky for hundreds of years.
0:46:48 > 0:46:52It's also a city that has begun to distil its own whisky yet again.
0:46:52 > 0:46:56And it's also the city that has stoked a debate about how exactly
0:46:56 > 0:46:58this drink should best be devoured,
0:46:58 > 0:47:01and that includes - and this is heretical -
0:47:01 > 0:47:05a mutiny against tradition for some, including myself,
0:47:05 > 0:47:06drinking whisky in cocktails.
0:47:06 > 0:47:10Now, I'm about to go into this hotel to talk to the
0:47:10 > 0:47:132015 World Barman of the Year
0:47:13 > 0:47:16and if he mixes me a cocktail, he's going straight to the Tower.
0:47:23 > 0:47:28Ryan, on a daily basis, you commit sacrilege in this bar.
0:47:28 > 0:47:30Because you take some really,
0:47:30 > 0:47:33really decent whiskies that take years to mature
0:47:33 > 0:47:34into all the richness of
0:47:34 > 0:47:36flavours, and then you throw in all
0:47:36 > 0:47:38sorts of other liquids and you throw in
0:47:38 > 0:47:42strawberry crushes and botanicals and you make dreadful cocktails out
0:47:42 > 0:47:44- of them.- I'm guilty of that.
0:47:44 > 0:47:47- Why?- To me, it's been the beauty of whisky.
0:47:47 > 0:47:48It does have big, bold flavours,
0:47:48 > 0:47:51it's got all of these interesting characteristics and to me,
0:47:51 > 0:47:54a cocktail is just a new way of experiencing that.
0:47:54 > 0:47:58To me, it's not about masking any of the flavours and hiding it away as a
0:47:58 > 0:48:02bland alcohol, the beauty of using Scotch in these things is it has all
0:48:02 > 0:48:06- these characteristics.- Whisky should be drunk any way you want it to be.
0:48:06 > 0:48:08I am a big fan of not being prescriptive about drinking whisky
0:48:08 > 0:48:11and I think we are seeing that more and more nowadays.
0:48:11 > 0:48:15I love whisky cocktails, whisky highballs, whisky neat,
0:48:15 > 0:48:19whisky on the rocks... In a nosing glass, being more professional,
0:48:19 > 0:48:22or literally out of a flask when I'm walking up a big hill and it's
0:48:22 > 0:48:24- freezing cold.- I think the industry
0:48:24 > 0:48:26need to find a way of keeping their older
0:48:26 > 0:48:28consumer happy, by doing what they love and what
0:48:28 > 0:48:30they're going to keep buying,
0:48:30 > 0:48:32but also not being scared to innovate and
0:48:32 > 0:48:33not being scared to talk about
0:48:33 > 0:48:36putting in mixers and talk about putting in ice and water and getting
0:48:36 > 0:48:39more people to experiment with it and find out what they like,
0:48:39 > 0:48:41rather than using the old method,
0:48:41 > 0:48:44where it was preached and you were told you must drink it neat,
0:48:44 > 0:48:46you mustn't do this, you mustn't do
0:48:46 > 0:48:49that, and that image has turned a lot of people off.
0:48:49 > 0:48:51So, however you want to drink your Scotch,
0:48:51 > 0:48:53you drink your Scotch however you like it.
0:48:53 > 0:48:55And don't let anybody tell you you can't.
0:48:55 > 0:48:57But, there are limits.
0:48:57 > 0:48:59So, I got my father for one Christmas
0:48:59 > 0:49:01a really expensive bottle of Highland Park.
0:49:01 > 0:49:04Highland Park is a beautiful Scotch,
0:49:04 > 0:49:09and I took it around and we were celebrating Christmas and the first
0:49:09 > 0:49:11thing he did was he opened it,
0:49:11 > 0:49:14and there was a bottle of dry ginger at one side and this really amazing
0:49:14 > 0:49:16bottle of Highland Park at the other.
0:49:16 > 0:49:18And they both went in the same glass.
0:49:18 > 0:49:20So that is where you draw the limit.
0:49:20 > 0:49:23If you want to get somebody to experience a new spirit,
0:49:23 > 0:49:25something different, a new flavour,
0:49:25 > 0:49:27it can be a bit much just giving them a neat dram,
0:49:27 > 0:49:31especially when you've got something cask strength or smoky and all of a
0:49:31 > 0:49:34sudden they are put off by it. Everybody's got that story of
0:49:34 > 0:49:37drinking whisky, stealing it from their dad's cabinet and going,
0:49:37 > 0:49:39"I don't like the stuff," and they stick with that idea.
0:49:39 > 0:49:43Whereas, whisky runs this amazing gauntlet of flavour and you've got
0:49:43 > 0:49:47light, delicate, Lowland drams, through to big, smoky, rich Islays.
0:49:47 > 0:49:49And you want people to go, "Right, actually,
0:49:49 > 0:49:51"there's a new way of experiencing this."
0:49:51 > 0:49:53And using a cocktail, if you do it delicately,
0:49:53 > 0:49:55is a way of introducing new flavours to them.
0:49:55 > 0:49:57Actually, this drink's been on our menu since the beginning.
0:49:57 > 0:50:00And I've always tried to involve whisky cocktails.
0:50:00 > 0:50:02It's my favourite spirit. It's one I have loved.
0:50:02 > 0:50:04I lived in Scotland for a long time. It's very close to my heart.
0:50:04 > 0:50:07So, this is essentially a twist on a whisky sour.
0:50:07 > 0:50:10But it is a bit of an unusual one.
0:50:10 > 0:50:12So, I'm going to warn you of that before I get started.
0:50:12 > 0:50:15If people want to enjoy their whisky with a lot
0:50:15 > 0:50:18of nosing and sniffing and looking at the colour, well good for them.
0:50:18 > 0:50:20It's their whisky, they've bought it.
0:50:20 > 0:50:24If they want to slam a glass full of ice and stick a branded cola on top
0:50:24 > 0:50:28of it, well, I might wince.
0:50:28 > 0:50:30It might not be for me, but it's their whisky.
0:50:30 > 0:50:32It's a free world.
0:50:33 > 0:50:36On they should go. As long as they enjoy it.
0:50:36 > 0:50:40This idea that, "Thou shalt not touch,"
0:50:40 > 0:50:42really only is about 30 years old.
0:50:42 > 0:50:43And I think it's done irreparable
0:50:43 > 0:50:45damage to the Scotch whisky industry
0:50:45 > 0:50:47because people... It's a strong drink.
0:50:47 > 0:50:50And people take a sip of it because you're not allowed to add water to
0:50:50 > 0:50:52it and it's... Come on.
0:50:52 > 0:50:54It's about pleasure, guys. It's not about pain.
0:50:54 > 0:50:58So, you know, I would add anything you want to Scotch whisky.
0:50:58 > 0:51:01Just enjoy it because it might be a great, complex drink,
0:51:01 > 0:51:02but it's just a drink.
0:51:03 > 0:51:05Ryan, the more I explore whisky,
0:51:05 > 0:51:08the more I realise it is a form of alchemy.
0:51:08 > 0:51:09Mm-hmm.
0:51:09 > 0:51:12And you're taking it a stage further, aren't you?
0:51:12 > 0:51:15Well, to me, you know, your whisky blenders, be that blended whisky,
0:51:15 > 0:51:19be that single malts, they are essentially making cocktails.
0:51:19 > 0:51:21They're bringing all these different elements together.
0:51:21 > 0:51:24Creating a harmony that tastes greater than the sum of its parts.
0:51:24 > 0:51:28Hopefully, this is going to be a new side of this whisky that you won't
0:51:28 > 0:51:31- have tried. - This will be a first time for me.
0:51:31 > 0:51:32OK. I'm hoping this works.
0:51:58 > 0:51:59Slainte.
0:52:08 > 0:52:10That's surprisingly refreshing.
0:52:10 > 0:52:11Dare I admit it.
0:52:11 > 0:52:13THEY LAUGH
0:52:13 > 0:52:15I'll probably lose half my friends.
0:52:24 > 0:52:27So, what does the future hold in store for Scotch?
0:52:27 > 0:52:32Not only is there an explosion of small-scale craft distilleries,
0:52:32 > 0:52:34some of the older, established producers
0:52:34 > 0:52:36are investing big money, too.
0:52:38 > 0:52:41This is Strathspey in the north-east of Scotland.
0:52:41 > 0:52:42It's an area that contains the
0:52:42 > 0:52:44greatest density of whisky distilleries
0:52:44 > 0:52:46anywhere in the world.
0:52:46 > 0:52:48It is also home to The Macallan,
0:52:48 > 0:52:51one of the best loved and most revered whiskies in the world.
0:52:51 > 0:52:54Macallan have been here for over 200 years.
0:52:54 > 0:52:59But currently, the demand for Macallan is outstripping supply.
0:52:59 > 0:53:01So, the company are investing the
0:53:01 > 0:53:04small sum of £100 million in creating a
0:53:04 > 0:53:08cathedral of whisky, due to open in 2017.
0:53:13 > 0:53:17This beautiful new distillery on the Island of Harris is proof, too,
0:53:17 > 0:53:20that there is confidence in the future of Scotch.
0:53:20 > 0:53:23It's a very exciting time, I think, for distilling.
0:53:23 > 0:53:24Especially here in Scotland,
0:53:24 > 0:53:26we've got a lot of new distilleries appearing.
0:53:26 > 0:53:29There's a lot of gin distilleries which are going to be leading into
0:53:29 > 0:53:30making whisky. But the same thing's
0:53:30 > 0:53:33happening all across mainland Europe, all throughout Asia.
0:53:33 > 0:53:35And there's a lot of new distilleries appearing.
0:53:35 > 0:53:38But I think it's very important that Scotland doesn't lose focus,
0:53:38 > 0:53:40so that they keep creating very high quality spirit.
0:53:40 > 0:53:41But I think that we're lucky in a
0:53:41 > 0:53:43way because we have the heritage that
0:53:43 > 0:53:46all of these mainland European distilleries and Asian distilleries
0:53:46 > 0:53:49will never have the same heritage as Scotland has.
0:53:49 > 0:53:52The big challenge in whisky is trying to balance innovation and
0:53:52 > 0:53:56tradition. I think it's very possible to do that.
0:53:56 > 0:53:58And to produce something amazing.
0:53:58 > 0:54:01I don't know if it's going to turn out just as fine as everyone in the
0:54:01 > 0:54:04industry thinks and hopes and believes.
0:54:04 > 0:54:06And there are going to be some casualties along the way.
0:54:06 > 0:54:08Maybe some of those small craft distilleries
0:54:08 > 0:54:10are going to fall by the wayside
0:54:10 > 0:54:12in a kind of creative destruction of the marketplace.
0:54:12 > 0:54:15But overall, I think we probably will take the right turn.
0:54:15 > 0:54:17I think we will go on to the sunlit
0:54:17 > 0:54:21uplands and I think there is a bonnie future for Scotch.
0:54:21 > 0:54:26We've made Scotch whisky for hundreds of years.
0:54:26 > 0:54:28It has proved the test of time.
0:54:28 > 0:54:34It is revered as the pinnacle of the distiller's art worldwide
0:54:34 > 0:54:38because of its character, its quality,
0:54:38 > 0:54:43its soul. And it will continue to do well.
0:54:43 > 0:54:46I see it actually as a moment of opportunity for Scotch
0:54:46 > 0:54:48whisky because the more the
0:54:48 > 0:54:50Scotch whisky industry is looking over
0:54:50 > 0:54:54its shoulder, sort of going, "Oh, well, bourbon's becoming popular.
0:54:54 > 0:54:55"Maybe we should be like bourbon.
0:54:55 > 0:54:57"Or Japanese is becoming popular.
0:54:57 > 0:54:59"Can we be like Japanese?"
0:54:59 > 0:55:02Then you've lost it. You've lost the battle completely.
0:55:07 > 0:55:10But not everyone is as confident about the future.
0:55:12 > 0:55:16I actually think that if you look at whisky, the historic whisky graph,
0:55:16 > 0:55:18it goes up and down. If you remember
0:55:18 > 0:55:20in the '80s with the whisky lake and
0:55:20 > 0:55:23shut half of Scotland's distilleries. It's coming.
0:55:24 > 0:55:28What have Scotland done? Doubled production in the last four years.
0:55:28 > 0:55:31The moment that whisky is live and ready for sale...
0:55:32 > 0:55:36..we haven't suddenly got twice as many whisky drinkers in the world.
0:55:36 > 0:55:38Therefore, this is just going to...
0:55:38 > 0:55:40There has to be a mountain of whisky building.
0:55:40 > 0:55:43And at some point, it will all go down and we'll all have a bit of a
0:55:43 > 0:55:46downturn. And then we'll...
0:55:46 > 0:55:47- Yeah.- So, what do you...?
0:55:47 > 0:55:49What's your opinion on say the
0:55:49 > 0:55:53Macallan spending 100 million on this new facility?
0:55:53 > 0:55:54Brilliant. Really cool.
0:55:54 > 0:55:56But you know, they've doubled production.
0:55:56 > 0:55:58Do they think they can sell twice as much whisky?
0:56:00 > 0:56:01If they can, brilliant.
0:56:01 > 0:56:03But that means someone else isn't selling any.
0:56:05 > 0:56:08We haven't suddenly got everybody buying twice as many bottles.
0:56:08 > 0:56:12So, the industry has to do a bit of a dip.
0:56:12 > 0:56:15And those that have got their
0:56:15 > 0:56:18houses in order will be fine and those that have borrowed to the hilt
0:56:18 > 0:56:21and are expecting it to continue willy-nilly probably
0:56:21 > 0:56:24will wake up with a headache.
0:56:24 > 0:56:26But we'll see. That's the joy of whisky.
0:56:26 > 0:56:29I mean, you design a business to work over generations,
0:56:29 > 0:56:31not over a decade cycle.
0:56:36 > 0:56:40As I have seen, Scotch whisky sprung from Caledonian terrain and
0:56:40 > 0:56:42bewitched the world.
0:56:42 > 0:56:44Its ascendancy has been driven by
0:56:44 > 0:56:47pioneers, from early innovators and
0:56:47 > 0:56:51the entrepreneurs who first exported our wares, to today's scientists,
0:56:51 > 0:56:53blenders and craft distillers.
0:56:54 > 0:56:59Yet what strikes me most is, despite all that, the drink itself remains
0:56:59 > 0:57:01a charming enigma.
0:57:01 > 0:57:03The causes of its sumptuous taste,
0:57:03 > 0:57:08impossible to agree upon and even opaque and mysterious.
0:57:09 > 0:57:13There will be peaks and troughs and pretenders to the throne.
0:57:13 > 0:57:15But because of that sorcery,
0:57:15 > 0:57:18Scotland's tipple of genius will always prevail.
0:57:20 > 0:57:22The future's bright. The future's amber.
0:57:29 > 0:57:32We're getting very near last orders, folks.
0:57:33 > 0:57:34And the end of my journey.
0:57:36 > 0:57:39A wonderful journey through the magical world of whisky.
0:57:39 > 0:57:41I hope you've enjoyed it.
0:57:41 > 0:57:44From Highland crofter to Hobart visionary,
0:57:44 > 0:57:48there's an amber thread that embroiders the globe.
0:57:48 > 0:57:51When a cunning alchemist distils a spirit,
0:57:51 > 0:57:56a liquid drops forth into a cask and there something truly,
0:57:56 > 0:57:58truly colossal happens.
0:57:58 > 0:58:03Scotch whisky affects history and defines identity.
0:58:03 > 0:58:09It embraces science and big business and the land, and yet...
0:58:09 > 0:58:12And yet, at its heart, this mixture of water,
0:58:12 > 0:58:15barley and yeast is just a simple,
0:58:15 > 0:58:19beautiful taste of heaven in a glass.
0:58:19 > 0:58:20Slainte.