April 1, 1999 -- I have been immersed in the topic of single malt Scotch whisky for the past few days, researching a story on the subject that will appear in a forthcoming issue of the Globe and Mail newspaper. Over the course of my work, I have read the newly revised Scotch Whisky pocket guidebook by Charles MacLean, the two-year-old Malt Whisky coffee table book by the same author, reread both Michael Jackson's World Guide to Whisky and his Malt Whisky Companion, referenced a number of other spirits-oriented books in my library, and interviewed MacLean at the La Serre bar of Toronto's Four Seasons Hotel. I also, quite naturally enough, sampled more than a few malts on my own.

It was predominantly through the interview that I discovered the greatest number of new and interesting facts related to single malt. And since several of these kernels of whisky wisdom failed to make it into my story, I thought that I would present them here:

-- The top nation in terms of total consumption of Scotch whisky is not Great Britain, Japan or the U.S., as one might think, but France. MacLean attributes this to the sales work that the French drinks giant Pernod-Ricard, owner of a few Scottish distilleries, has done in that country.

-- William Grant & Sons began promoting the Glenfiddich single malt as long ago as 1964, amid fears that industry concentration would make the sourcing of whiskies for their blends that much more difficult.

-- There is more single malt whisky consumed in Italy than there is in Scotland. But for some reason, MacLean says, the Italians tend to prefer their malts quite young.

-- The first ever filmed commercial was a Dewar's whisky spot produced in 1899.

-- Interestingly enough, MacLean feels that Diageo, the food and drinks giant that owns roughly one third of all operating Scottish distilleries, is a good corporate citizen. The concentration of ownership in Scotland, MacLean says, has actually made Diageo's managers more acutely aware of how important and valuable the single malt segment really is. Recent good signs, he adds, include Diagio selling two distilleries and allowing them to stay in production, and the company reversing the terms of an earlier sales agreement to permit distilling to resume at Bladnoch.

For more of MacLean's keen insight on the Scotch whisky market, you'll just have to buy his books for yourself. I'll be reviewing both works on World of Beer in the coming months.

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