Whiskey history is a long, adventurous story, and many brave people fought to keep the drink flowing along the way. Fittingly, some exact dates were forgotten (whiskey was involved, after all), but this timeline will help you grasp the basics and understand its origin; who played key roles in the history of distilling, how whiskey came to be, how it evolved to be the whiskey / bourbon / rye / scotch we know today, and some fun little annals of history.
It is generally agreed that Dalriadan or Dal Riata (as it was called in Ireland) was the kingdom of the Scotti, who migrated from County Antrim in Ulster Ireland to Argyll and eventually gave their name to Scotland. These monks brought distillation with them when they came to Caledonia to convert the Picts to Christianity in the fourth and fifth centuries A.D.
A COTTAGE INDUSTRY
Once the knowledge of distillation had passed to the general population in Scotland and Ireland, whisky production became a burgeoning cottage industry for centuries to follow.
The distillation process, however, was still very much in its infancy. The spirit that was produced was not aged like modern whisky. This resulted in a rough, potent and inconsistent product.
EXCISE AND DUTY ON WHISKY
In 1707, the Acts of Union took effect and the Kingdoms of Scotland and England were merged, to create Great Britain. The Government attempted to control whisky production by introducing a series of taxes.
In 1725, parliament introduced a malt tax which presented a huge threat to the small-scale, cottage industry of whisky production. Scottish and Irish distillers largely responded by dodging the tax, and whisky production became even more of an illicit industry.
In Ireland, the introduction of a tax on whisky production crippled its legal industry. Licenced distillers of ‘parliament whiskey’ (whisky legally produced under licence) plummeted from 1,228 in 1779, to 246 in 1780.
POTEEN AND MOONSHINE
Whilst the new taxes being brought in to try and regulate whisky production were reaping havoc on the legitimate industry in Ireland, the production of ‘poteen’ (whisky’s illegal counterpart) flourished. In fact, poteen was often regarded as being of a higher quality than ‘parliament whiskey’, due to the pressures licenced distilleries were under to churn out their products and make a profit.
By 1882 there were a mere 40 legal distilleries in the whole of Ireland, whereas it is believed that in the Donegal region alone, there were 800 illicit stills producing whisky.
In Scotland, there was much public acceptance of illegal whisky production. Illicit stills were mostly small scale and provided an important product to local communities, at a low cost.
Highland lairds often turned a blind eye to illicit stills on their land as the money this produced for their tenants was likely the only way they could pay rent. However, there were still the ‘revenue officials’ to be avoided.
Illicit stills were often set up in remote, well-hidden areas. Whisky production also became a night time activity, to disguise the smoke that was created during the distillation process. It is this practice that earned whisky the nickname of ‘moonshine’.
THE RISE OF LICENCED DISTILLERIES
With illicit stills and whisky production being prolific across Ireland and Scotland by the early 1800s, the Government again intervened with further taxation laws.
In 1822, the Illicit Distillation Act was passed in Scotland. The Act meant the making, supplying or even drinking of illegally produced whisky came with increasingly severe penalties.
However, the following year, the 1823 Excise Act was passed. This Act brought about a major reduction in the duty charged on a gallon of whisky, as well as the introduction of a relatively affordable distilling licence.
The Excise Act saw a huge change to the production of whisky, bringing about a practical end to the larger scale production of illicit whisky in Scotland.
The reduction in duty, to two shillings and three pence (roughly 12p) per gallon, as well as the affordable licence fee, meant that legal trade and exportation of whisky into England suddenly became more attractive too.
By 1824 there were approximately 167 licenced distilleries registered in Scotland, and by 1826 this had risen sharply to 264.
THE INTRODUCTION OF CASK AND BARREL AGING
Casks
The aging of whisky, that we now know steeps the spirit in its rich tones and enhances its deep flavour profile, was most likely discovered by accident during the 1800s.
Prior to being barrel or cask-aged, whisky was most typically consumed ‘raw’, straight from the still.
Spanish sherry barrels increased in availability in the 19th Century after blight decimated the wine harvest in the Cognac region of France. With Cognac supply being hugely affected in England and Scotland, Spanish sherry was imported as an alternative.
As it was not cost effective to ship empty barrels back to Spain, Scottish distillers seized the opportunity to buy up empty barrels that were likely of much higher quality than the vessels they were previously using to store their whisky produce in.
It is due to this chance discovery that the origin of cask-aged whisky was established.
DISTILLATION METHODS
Up until the 19th Century, Irish and Scottish whisky was distilled in a pot still, in batches. The pot distillation method produced rich, smooth and flavoursome whiskies.
In the 1820s, a new design of still began to emerge that was eventually patented by Aeneas Coffey in 1830. Coffey, the former Inspector General of Excise in Ireland, had developed what was known as a ‘continuous’ or ‘column’ still.
POT STILL
This simple distillation apparatus is synonymous with the tradition of whisky production. Whilst they vary drastically in size and shape, largely depending on the quantity and variety of spirit being distilled, a pot still consists of a single heating chamber with an arm, or piping, leading to a vessel which collects the distilled alcohol.
CONTINUOUS STILL
A column still behaves much like a series of pot stills combined together in a long, vertical tube. The still produces a rising vapour, which is initially low in alcohol, that condenses and becomes more enriched with alcohol as it ascends up through the column.
Coffey’s development of the column still allowed whisky makers to produce their spirits in a more efficient and cost-effective way.
Rather than distilling in batches, Coffey’s still operated on a continuous basis and produced much larger quantities of whisky, that contained a higher alcohol content – although the resulting whisky was largely deemed to be less aromatic and flavoursome than pot still varieties, especially by Irish distillers.
MODERN STILLS
Although column stills became, and still are, the preferred apparatus in the production of many distilled spirits, pot still technology remains part of the modern production of single malt and single pot still varieties of whisky.
Both pot still, and continuous still designs are traditionally made from copper, as this material helps to remove sulphur-based compounds from the alcohol during the distillation process.
Nowadays, many modern stills are made from stainless steel with copper linings. At The Oxford Artisan Distillery, our stills, Nautilus and Nemo, are crafted from copper and were created from scratch by English historical industrial coppersmiths.
Nautilus
A NEW ENTRANT INTO THE WHISKY MARKET
Coffey’s continuous still design pathed the way for the creation of blended varieties of whisky, which opened up a whole new market for whisky production.
Despite Coffey himself being Irish, the majority of the established Irish distilleries of the time rejected his invention, in favour of their traditional pot still method. This led Coffey to take his still design to Scotland, where it was much more enthusiastically received.
In time, the blended Scotch whisky was created and overtook the consumption of Irish whiskey that was created using the traditional pot still method.
2000 BC
Arguably, the art of distillation was founded in ancient Mesopotamia (the modern day equivalent is an area covering parts of Iraq and Syria), often used as a way to produce perfumes and aromatics.
100 AD
Here we find the first written record of distilling. Ancient Greek philosopher Alexander of Aphrodisias describes the process of taking sea water and distilling it into pure drinking water. Medieval civilizations evolved their techniques over the following centuries, although still not resulting in alcohol.
500-1000 AD
Knowledge of distillation spread to Europe along with the traveling Moors of the early first millennia. The process is picked up by those in the Christian religion, using it to produce ingredients for various ceremonies, and also medicines for colic, palsy and smallpox.
1000-1200 AD
The origin of whiskey began over 1000 year ago when distillation made the migration from mainland Europe into Scotland and Ireland via traveling monks. The Scottish and Irish monasteries, lacking the vineyards and grapes of the continent, turn to fermenting grain mash, resulting in the first distillations of modern whisky.
1250
Around this time, the earliest records of alcohol distillation appear in Italy, with it being distilled from wine. The technique was recounted by Ramon Llull (1232 – 1315).
1405
The first written record of ‘whisky’ appears in the Irish Annals of Clonmacnoise, where is was written that the head of a clan died after “taking a surfeit [excessive amount] of aqua vitae” at Christmas.
1494
By this time, the distilling of whisky in Scotland is fully underway, as evident by a record in the Exchequer Rolls of 1494 where King James IV of Scotland granted a large amount of malt “To Friar John Cor, by order of the king, to make aquavitae.”
1536-1541
The production of whisky shifted to the general public, after King Henry VIII of England dissolved the monasteries, making a large number of monks independent and looking for new ways to make a living. Distillation was it.
1600-onwards
As the European colonists began to arrive in America, they brought with them the practice of distilling whiskey. Many Scottish and Irish immigrants settled in their new territories, eventually beginning to distill their new types of grains and mash.
1608
The Old Bushmills Distillery is licensed in Northern Ireland, and today holds the title of oldest licensed whiskey distillery in the world.
1707-1725
The Acts of Union resulted in the merging of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland, creating Great Britain, and in the following years, taxes rose dramatically. The English Malt Tax of 1725 seriously threatened the production of whisky, and led the majority of Scottish distilleries to head underground and begin production at night, giving whisky one if its finest nicknames, “moonshine.”
1775-1783
After many years of producing their own whiskey, and seeing its value to the general population, distillers often used whiskey as a currency during the American Revolutionary War.
1783
The first commercial distillery is founded in Louisville, Kentucky on the banks of the Ohio River by Evan Williams.
1791
A new excise was introduced to help fund debt from the Revolutionary War. Import duties were already high, and so an excise tax on domestically produced distilled spirits was levied – the first of its kind by the new national government. Although the tax applied to distilled spirits of any kind, whiskey was the most popular, and so the excise became commonly known as the “Whiskey Tax.”
1791-1794
The ensuing unrest between grain farmers and the US government was soon dubbed the “Whiskey Rebellion“. Farmers were used to distilling their surplus grains into whiskey and a united protest gathered speed, particularly in the western counties of Pennsylvania where federal officials were intimidated in order to deny collection of the tax.
The rebellion came to a turning point in July 1794 when the home of tax inspector General John Neville was attacked by nearly 600 armed men. President Washington responded by sending in a militia force of around 13,000 to march west and meet any resistance with force. The rebels disbanded before their arrival, key leaders fled to safety, and the mass protesting came to an end.
1801
While the physical rebellion halted, opposition to the Whiskey Tax continued, and became a significant issue in following political elections. The newly formed Democratic-Republican Party, led by Thomas Jefferson, would pledge to repeal the tax if voted into power, and when Jefferson took office in 1801, he did just that.
1820
A certain Scottish grocer named John Walker began producing his own whisky, which would become one of the most famous and most widely distributed brands of Scotch whisky in the world. John Walker himself, was a teetotaller.
1823
The United Kingdom brought “moonshine” production to an end, when they gave Scottish distilleries an option to legalize their operations by paying a fee.
1823
The process that is sour mash was developed by Dr. James C. Crow at what is now the Woodford Reserve Distillery in Kentucky. In the process, an amount of spent mash is added to a new mash, and the balance of acid and live yeast that is contained controls the growth of foreign bacteria, improving consistency between batches so that every bottle is as close to the previous as possible. This revolutionized the way in which bourbon is made, and is also a current legal requirement when producing Tennessee whiskey.
1831
After inventing a “continuous still” and improving the technology involved in distillation, Irish inventor Aeneas Coffey patented the Coffey still, allowing manufacturers to produce whiskey more efficiently, and at a lower cost.
1840
Old Bourbon County had been producing “Old Bourbon County Whiskey” for some years; the name was used to differentiate it from other whiskeys because Old Bourbon was the first corn whiskey that most people had come across. It wasn’t until 1840 that it was officially given the name Bourbon, when a distiller by the name of Jacob Spears was the first to label his product as “Bourbon whiskey. “
1850
The first blended whisky comes into production. Andrew Usher mixed traditional pot still whiskey with that of a new batch produced in a Coffey still. Usher met stubborn resistance from traditional Irish distillers, many of whom claimed that this new blend was not whisky at all. Still, his company became the first to produce and mass-market a bottled blended scotch, and even became a popular import in the U.S. after finding distribution with Nicholas & Co. in 1853.
1920-1933
For 13 years, the American Prohibition era banned all production, sale, and use of alcohol. However, the federal government made an exception: the prescription of medicinal whiskey from a doctor, to be sold through a licensed pharmacy. (During this same timeframe, the pharmacy chain Walgreens used this to their advantage, growing from 20 stores to nearly 400.)
1964
Bourbon really hit the big time, as American Congress declared bourbon whiskey the country’s official distilled spirit. They also laid out the specific regulations that are to be met in order to label a whiskey as bourbon.
2004
The American Whiskey Trail is launched to promote many of the historical sites and operating distilleries in Kentucky, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Virginia and New York.
