We’ve recently been contacted by the makers of Glenfiddich whisky, William Grant and Sons, about doing a project for them using some of the barrels they use. It’ll be an extension of a project they started last year, called ‘Barrel Art’, where they asked various artists, designers etc to take a barrel each and decorate it in some way.
We’ve agreed with William Grant’s that it would be interesting, unusual and a bit different to record the project as we go along on Thought for the week, rather than just reveal a fait accompli in a few months time.
The first step took place just recently where we visited the distillery deep in the Scottish Highlands.
Not being experts in whisky production they gave us a tour, which began with things like underbacks, which look great but we’ve forgotten what they do (sorry).
This bizarre looking copper out-take from a Jules Verne movie is one of two Mashtuns, where the malted barley is mixed and, er, mashed, for few days.
Then it goes into these vast wooden Washbacks.
Things get pretty impressive when the raw liquid is then put through these amazing looking copper stills. It’s a bit like that scene in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the Toot Sweets factory. Without the sweets (or the dog).
Then the process slows down somewhat, because (at this point) the incredibly strong raw liquor is stored into wooden barrels for a long, long time. Here’s a fairly pretty warehouse...
...here’s a more normal warehouse.
Every now and again the barrels are opened to make some actual whisky - the youngest version being 12 years old. This is an open vat of the 15 year-old stuff, which of course had to be tasted.
As you wander around, there’s quite a bit of weird designer vernacular to keep your mind occupied...
...but eventually you get to the Cooperage, where the barrels are re-furbished after their 12, 15, 18, 21 or 30 year stints as the liquid’s gatekeepers.
The Glenfiddich distillery is pretty unusual in having a team of coopers on site - as you might imagine the barrels in their various states of repair and disrepair are fascinating.
Before they receive new liquid, the insides are charred, or re-charred by an extraordinary flame-throwing-type machine, which leaves the insides looking like this.
The coopers have to be able to re-furbish dozens of barrels a day, because outside there’s a huge yard, with barrels as far as the eye can see. Extraordinary.
Our attempts to rebuild one were pretty hopeless, it must be said.
Our next task is to start to work out what the heck to do with all this. We’re going to go and re-read the brief now. Hopefully more cogent thoughts will follow next week.
