Hanna Chart
& Cathy Stapells of VisitBritain with
Michael McCuish of VisitScotland
Alex Nicol
– the sign means “Shut your mouth and get on with it!"
What's a Scottish party without a fiddler?
The owner
of the smallest distillery in Scotland, Nichol met with a group of
appropriately-thirsty Torontonians last Thursday to extol the joys of gin,
Scottish style. The evening was co-hosted by Michael McCuish of VisitScotland which is on
a roll to reinvent the public perception of Scottish food and drink.
“People
don't always realize how fantastic our product is – and luxurious!
We have 16 Michelin-starred restaurants including 5 in Edinburgh, the
most in the British isles outside London," he told me. Canadians, he added, are
amongst the highest per-capital spenders as tourists so it's likely we're enjoying
that fresh, local produce in some of the country's swankier restos.
And
certainly the dinner, at the very Scottish-themed Caledonian Restaurant on a
pouring rainy night, was an impressive salute to Scottish cuisine, with nary a
haggis in sight. We tucked into house-cured salmon, pheasant, rhubarb crème
brulee and delightful cheese platters. Each course was paired with one of
Alex's remarkable gins, including the 57% proof Cannonball. “After two," Alex
assured us, “You can't feel your teeth."
So is the
gin-and-Scotland combo just too hard to get your head around? “In 1700 there
were 400 gin distilleries in Scotland," he explained, “Today it's a bit
unusual, but coming up since the cocktail revolution. Edinburgh, for example,
has the highest per capita consumption of gin in Europe."
His
distillery, located in the heart of the city , features gins with such
unforgettable names as Pig's Nose and Sheep Dip – and uses unexpected
ingredients including pepper and even frankincense and myrrh for a limited
edition Christmas bottling from which profits went to a local hospice. Clients
can tour the distillery in groups up to 20 and even make their own gin and
leave with a bottle with their own name on it.
Not wishing
to miss an opportunity to pick a distiller's brains, I asked if he had a tip
for curing a hangover. He certainly did – but it sadly may not be
available to clients who over indulge at the sip-n-dip pool bar of an all
inclusive. “Get out there and chop wood," he counsels. Palm trees, watch out.
Leave a Comment...