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Highland Spirits
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BMW Rockster
Peter Starr
Summer 2004
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Photography by Chris Close
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Riding through enchanted surroundings steeped in history. (Click image to enlarge) |
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On my arrival at the Craigellachie Hotel in the heart of Scotland’s Speyside
district, I received perhaps the most civilized greeting a hotel can extend—a
quaiche full of whisky inscribed with the words, “Welcome to Craigellachie.”
Lore has it that if the quaiche—a two-handled friendship cup—is offered with
both hands, as it was, it is a sign of friendship; if offered with only one
hand, then look for the “sgian dubh” (dagger) in the other.
I spent the
evening in the Quaiche Bar, tasting whisky and speaking with the barkeep. The
walls of this single room are lined with 530 different bottles of single-malt
scotch, leaving no space for the customary faded prints of noblemen or royals.
Among these many vessels are spirits ranging from the humblest dram to the
opulent 40-year-old Glenfarclas, which can be enjoyed for $250 a glass, not to
mention esters and flavors as sublime as the most finely spun Scottish wool, or
as different from that as Irish linen.
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(Click to enlarge) |
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Monday morning. With rain hanging in
the air, and mist clinging to my helmet visor, I sped along the narrow country
lanes, bidding good day to the local fauna and looking forward to my first
appointment. The stretching landscape so captivated me that I rode past my
destination by five miles before I realized what I’d done. Fully applying the
servo-assisted, ABS-equipped brakes, I reversed direction. This Rockster is pure
fun to ride. Scottish backroads are a major workout for any suspension, but this
motorcycle handled them with aplomb. Although late, I finally arrived, smiling
broadly, at Tamdhu Maltings and Distillery, where I could learn how the process
of making whisky begins.
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(Click to enlarge) |
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The basic ingredients in whisky are barley, water,
yeast and a touch of peat, but, as in haute cuisine, the ingredients are merely
the beginning. The barley is first malted, meaning the starch is converted to
the sugar maltose for later conversion into alcohol during fermentation.
From
Tamdhu, the malted barley is shipped to the neighboring Macallan Distillery,
which sits on a gorgeous estate, complete with the fishing rights to more than
one mile of the River Spey. I was lucky enough to meet with Bob Dalgarno, the
whisky maker and keeper of the black magic of distilling whisky at The Macallan.
Dalgarno weaves his spells to create particular tastes. It can be said it’s all
in Dalgarno’s nose before it graces your palate.
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