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Try the 92 per cent weapons-grade whisky that will take your breath away. Literally
The London Times ^ | February 27, 2006 | David Lister

Posted on 02/27/2006 1:04:17 PM PST by Stoat

Try the 92 per cent weapons-grade whisky that will take your breath away. Literally


 
A 17TH-CENTURY firewater, more than two spoonfuls of which was said to be enough to kill a grown man, is to be revived by a whisky distillery in Scotland.

A single drop of the ancient drink of “usquebaugh-baul” was described by the travel writer Martin Martin in 1695 as powerful enough to affect “all members of the body”. He added: “Two spoonfuls of this last liquor is a sufficient dose; if any man should exceed this, it would presently stop his breath, and endanger his life.”

Twelve barrels of the world’s most alcoholic whisky, or enough to wipe out a medium-size army, will be produced when the Bruichladdich distillery revives the ancient tradition of quadruple-distilling today. With an alcohol content of 92 per cent, the drink may not be the most delicate single malt ever produced but it is by far and away the world’s strongest. Malt whisky usually has an alcohol content of between 40 per cent and 63.5 per cent.

 

 
With the first spirit run expected at lunchtime today, the distillery urged whisky lovers to tune in live on its webcams — “that is, if the distillery doesn’t blow up in the process”.

The US Secret Service admitted in 2003 that it had been monitoring the distillery because the difference between distilling a fine whisky and making chemical weapons was “just a small tweak”.

The finished product will not be ready for at least ten years, and even then drinkers will be advised to add perhaps a drop or two of water to their glass . . . and to avoid pouring the dregs over the barbecue.

Although it is impossible to say how much the whisky will sell for, the demand for limited edition malts is such that it is likely to command an exorbitant price. Demand from American and Asian whisky enthusiasts has pushed prices for rare single malts to record levels over the past few years.

Last August a bottle of Irish whiskey dating from the 1890s — believed to be the last surviving bottle from the Nun’s Island Distillery in Co Galway — was put up for sale for a record £100,000. Bottles of Dalmore 62-year-old malt, from the tiny distillery near Inverness, in the Scottish Highlands, have fetched more than £30,000.

Mark Reynier, Bruichladdich’s managing director, said: “We are doing this because we have this ancient recipe and therefore we can. It is unlikely that we will ever produce any more quadruple distilled malt again, so we expect it to become much sought after.”

Jim McEwan, Bruichladdich’s master distiller, said that the quadruple-distilled whisky would be very similar to the spirit sampled by Martin on Islay in 1695, which he later described in A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland, published in 1703. Most whisky is distilled just twice.

He said: “It will be very floral, but most importantly it will take your breath away.”

Bruichladdich has a reputation among Scotland’s distilleries for being one of the more eccentric and outspoken. After the American drinks maker Jim Beam halted production in 1994, the distillery was bought for £6.5 million in 2000 by a group led by Mr Reynier. It is seeking to establish itself as one of a small number of privately run distilleries.

WATER OF LIFE

  • Briuchladdich is one of eight distilleries on Islay

     
  • The term “whisky” derives from the Gaelic “uisge beatha”, or “usquebaugh”, meaning “water of life”

     
  • The earliest reference to a distillery in the Acts of the Scottish Parliament is in 1690, with mention of the Ferintosh distillery owned by Duncan Forbes of Culloden

     
  • In 1995, for the first time in 100 years, the tax on Scotch fell, from £5.77 to £5.54 a bottle (70cl)


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events; United Kingdom
KEYWORDS: alcohol; booze; bruichladdich; distillery; distilling; drinking; islay; scotland; wateroflife; whiskey; whisky
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To: Tijeras_Slim
Heh. Seems like just a wee bit of overkill, ya know?
41 posted on 02/27/2006 1:42:59 PM PST by Constitution Day
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To: Stoat

If it isn't stromg enough for you, pour it through a 2 litre funnel filled with dried grits and recork it.


42 posted on 02/27/2006 1:43:53 PM PST by Old Professer (The critic writes with rapier pen, dips it twice, and writes again.)
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To: GSlob
Well, we have Bacardi 151 - 75% alcohol. Not quite 90% range, true. But there is a catch: the closer to azeotropic 95% concentration in the distillation cutoff, the less flavor. One could add flavoring herbs directly in the pot on the last distillation, and that's what I'd be doing in their place.

Scotch doesn't get its taste from herbs. It absorbs colors and chemicals while aging inside charred barrels. It's just about like vodka when it goes into the barrel.
43 posted on 02/27/2006 1:44:47 PM PST by Colinsky
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To: Stoat

Finally, a whiskey that will fuel my car.


44 posted on 02/27/2006 1:46:03 PM PST by Navy Patriot
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To: Constitution Day

Heck, I'll still try it. If you seem me posting at DU, you'll know I killed 85% of my brain cells.


45 posted on 02/27/2006 1:46:33 PM PST by Tijeras_Slim
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To: Lurker
Try a touch of Lagavulin, another Islay Isle native.

It rates an 86 from the pro tasters (the highest ever recorded), but you've got to love the smokey peat aroma to get to the glass for your first sip.


46 posted on 02/27/2006 1:51:35 PM PST by FreedomFarmer (Push Me, Shove You - Oh, Yeah? Says Who? Push Me, Shove You -Oh, Yeah? Says Who?)
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To: Navy Patriot
Finally, a whiskey that will fuel my car.

Or the space shuttle.

47 posted on 02/27/2006 1:52:04 PM PST by al_c
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To: feinswinesuksass
How can we forget Bacardi 151? The shot that gets lit on fire....

I was a sophomore in college when the guy down the hall decided to get loaded on 151 rum. His adventure ended when he chose to take a swing at the biggest campus cop I ever saw. It's stuff like this that probably gave liquor its name , "spirits".

48 posted on 02/27/2006 1:52:07 PM PST by Celtic Conservative (Billy Tauzin about Louisiana: "half the state is under water, the other half is under indictment")
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To: Stoat

95% Ethyl Alcohol (Ethanol) has been around about as long as humans have had stills. At this concentration it is unpalatable. Note that straight vodka is about 40%. The only thing I use Everclear for is making transparent soap!


49 posted on 02/27/2006 1:52:27 PM PST by Panzerlied ("We shall never surrender!")
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To: Stoat
I seriously doubt if the author has ever slugged down a big jolt of Everclear (Alaskan antifreeze) straight from the bottle.
50 posted on 02/27/2006 1:53:12 PM PST by Ursus arctos horribilis (Does)
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To: dead

That was not 100% EtOH. It was 100% anhydrous EtOH. It contained benzene and other drying agents.

Stick with the 95%.


51 posted on 02/27/2006 1:53:34 PM PST by yianni ("there was the tyranny of the lawyers and their charges."-Belloc,1936)
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To: mtbopfuyn
But that was for rheumatism...
52 posted on 02/27/2006 1:54:16 PM PST by weegee ("Remember Chappaquiddick!"-Paul Trost (during speech by Ted Kennedy at Massasoit Community College))
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To: Ursus arctos horribilis

Forgot to add, it is 95% (190 proof)
http://www.drinksmixer.com/desc494.html


53 posted on 02/27/2006 1:54:41 PM PST by Ursus arctos horribilis (Does)
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To: Tijeras_Slim

Only 85%? You're being generous to the DUmmies.


54 posted on 02/27/2006 1:54:43 PM PST by Constitution Day
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To: FreedomFarmer

Ahhh. My absolute favorite.


55 posted on 02/27/2006 1:55:09 PM PST by Constitution Day
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To: feinswinesuksass
"I have had Smirnoff Blue Label vodka at 100 proof and that is undrinkable without a mixer."
It is perfectly drinkable straight, like water even, if you chill it first. But woe to you if you try it warm!
56 posted on 02/27/2006 1:55:20 PM PST by GSlob
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To: GSlob

I know several men who drink it straight...one who even likes it warm. I prefer my vodka smooth.


57 posted on 02/27/2006 1:57:56 PM PST by Feiny ("Muslims are the only people who make feminists seem laid-back." Ann Coulter)
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To: FreedomFarmer
Try a touch of Lagavulin, another Islay Isle native,

Have you ever tried (or heard of) kardhu?. Scottish single malt, small producer, small batches. Remarkably smooth.

58 posted on 02/27/2006 1:59:18 PM PST by Celtic Conservative (Billy Tauzin about Louisiana: "half the state is under water, the other half is under indictment")
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To: Constitution Day
You have impeccable taste in Whisky.
59 posted on 02/27/2006 1:59:29 PM PST by FreedomFarmer (Push Me, Shove You - Oh, Yeah? Says Who? Push Me, Shove You -Oh, Yeah? Says Who?)
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To: Lurker

Laphroaig!

Gesundheit.


60 posted on 02/27/2006 2:01:12 PM PST by Noumenon (Yesterday's Communist sympathizers are todays terrorist sympathizers)
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