Scottish Blog

The Norn Language was a language spoken in Scotland before the 19th century.

The Norn language was primarily confined to Shetland and Orkney, of the coast of Scotland. Although it is impossible to say that it was not spoken in mainland Scotland, there are no recorded cases of such happening, and it can be safe to assume that if it did happen, it would have been on an individual basis.

The Norn language was technically an Indo-European North Germanic language, specifically a West Scandanavian language. It bears more similarity with Faroese than any other language, as they share some phonological and grammatical similarities. The few remaining Norn language texts that do exist today, confirm this idea.

The Norn language began its demise when Scotland took control of the islands in the 15th century, and instilled Scots as its main language. Some researchers claim that the Norn language was dying in the late 18th century. The last recorded native speaker of the Norn language, Walter Sutherland, passed away somewhere near 1850. Since then there have been individuals who have been able to “repeat sentences” in the Norn language, but far from anything that could be called speaking it.

There is a certain art in understanding a label of a Scotch Whisky bottle, this is a small guide to it.

The most important thing to inspect when looking at any bottle of Scotch Whisky is whether it contains the word “Scotch Whisky”. While it may seem obvious at first, if a label does not have the word Scotch in it, than it is not a real Scotch Whisky. Similarly, the term “whiskey” or “Scottish” as opposed to Scotch, will most likely be a indication of a counterfeit bottle. This is a product of laws governing what can and cannot be called Scotch Whisky, only that which passes all requirements is able to carry the label “Scotch Whisky”.

The terms “pure malt” or “blended malt” are normally indicators that this is a mixture of single malt Scotch Whisky. Although, older bottling that are described as “pure malt” can be in actual fact single malt.

Scotch Labels are the best indicators of the age of the Scotch Whisky. If a certain amount of years is stated on the bottle, than it is the age of the maturation. For instance, “12 year single malt” would indicate a single malt that was matured for 12 years. Otherwise if a year is given, this is the year the Scotch Whisky was distilled. A second year is the year that the Scotch Whisky was bottled. As Scotch Whisky stops ageing when bottled, the difference between the two shows the length of ageing.

Scotch Whisky Maturation is the last stage of Scotch Whisky production before bottling.

Scotch Whisky maturation is the process in which the Scotch Whisky is left to rest in a wooden cask. The purpose of this process is to mature the flavor and add extra colors textures or flavors to the Scotch Whisky.

Scotch Whisky maturation normally takes place in bourbon barrels due to the regulation demanding the use of a fresh barrel for each bourbon production run. While this may be the most common option, it is far from the only one port, Cognac, Madeira, calvados, beer, and Bordeaux wine barrels have been used. Sherry barrels are also a popular type in traditional Scotch Whisky maturation. By regulation, to be legally considered Scotch Whisky, it must be aged for at least three years in a barrel. In those years, there is evaporation of liquid from the cask, resulting in a loss of roughly 0.5% to 2.0 %. This has come to colloquially be called “the Angel’s Share”.

The type of wood used in Scotch Whisky Maturation is betrayed in the color of the final liquid. Typically a Scotch Whisky maturation in sherry barrels yields a amber colored drink, while bourbon barrels will result in a golden or yellow color. Although in recent years there have been trends towards transferring a matured whisky to a different type of barrel to change its color, making it difficult to judge the final product. At this point the color can also be affected by the addition of “spirit caramel”.

1671-1734

Robert Roy MacGregor is a figure in Scottish folklore, comparable to a Scottish Robin Hood.

The birth of Robert Roy MacGregor is not recorded on any public file avalible today, but it is known that he was baptised on the 7th of March, 1671. According to the Register of Baptisms at Buchanan Parish, Robert Roy MacGregor was born in Glengyle, Scotland.

At the age of eighteen Robert Roy MacGregor joined his father in the Jacobite Uprising, under the leadership of Viscount Dundee. This ultimately ended with his father being imprisoned and Robert Roy MacGregor sustaining heavy injuries at the Battle of Glen Shiel.
Eventually Robert Roy MacGregor became a cattleman, stealing cattle and selling protection from theft. Compared to modern times, being a cattleman in Scotland was an honoured profession, and with the habit of Robert Roy MacGregor of helping those in a bad position in life, he became a well respected man.

Eventually, Robert Roy MacGregor wanted to expand his business and took out a loan, but his money and cattle were stolen by his cattle herder, leaving him with nothing and still owing for his loan. This led to a bitter rivalry which led to the imprisonment of Robert Roy MacGregor in 1722. He was released in 1727 and died in 1734.