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23 October 2008
First Minister's Questions
By
Andrew Beach
What does whisky mean to you, and what do you think of when you think of whisky?
AS: The first thing that comes to my mind are long summer evenings on the Isle of Colonsay where I used to go on holiday and had some very happy times. As far as I recall, the first time I tried whisky was one Hogmanay. I can't remember precisely what year, but I am sure it was legal!
Do you drink whisky on a regular basis?
AS: I'm a special occasion whisky drinker, usually as a preliminary to a meal or in the aftermath of a meal. I have quite a collection of whiskies. I would say the single most common gift I receive in Scotland is whisky and certainly the single most common gift I give to international visitors is whisky. It is universally well received.
A word of advice to all politicians around the planet: they will find that, even if they are not Scottish, giving Scotch to people they want to impress is an extremely good way to put themselves in good favour. It is the best received gift of all.
Do you have a favourite style of whisky?
AS: I like the island malts and also some from the north east of Scotland, the Moray and Speyside malts. I wouldn't claim to be a connoisseur, although I think I would probably pass the obvious tests as to which general area a whisky was from. But once we got to which island malt was which and which Speyside malt was which, I would start to struggle, although of course some are very distinctive.
When I am giving whisky as a gift I tend to give the Scottish Parliament whisky, which varies from time to time. We don't favour any one malt or blend.
I was asked by a financial journalist what I thought had provoked Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, to give a rather un-Darling-like interview in the Western Isles [in August, the Chancellor was quoted in The Guardian newspaper as saying the economic times in the UK were 'arguably the worst they've been in 60 years. And I think it's going to be more profound and long-lasting than people thought.'] I replied that I thought it was the 'Lagavulin effect', to which the journalist asked me, what is Lagavulin?
So, perhaps I have introduced some new economic terminology - there's 'demand pull inflation', there's 'cost push inflation', and now there's the 'Lagavulin effect'.
How do you drink your whisky?
AS: I take a touch of water. Many years ago, when I was first an MP, I was visited by an executive from a big French company that was looking to invest in the north east of Scotland. It quickly became clear that he was interested in two things with a passion: one was whisky and the other was salmon fishing.
I was determined that no effort would be lost in getting that contract so I took him to the Macallan Distillery. The head distiller showed us around and my French guest was entranced by the whole thing.
When we were sampling the whisky, the head distiller advised me that a little bit of water was the way to drink malts and, since then, I have followed his advice and added a touch of water, not drowning it, just a touch to take some of the edge off it and let the flavour flow.
You were recently inducted as a Keeper of the Quaich. What does that mean to you?
AS: It is a sense of responsibility towards Scotland's most famous premium product, the awareness that I have a shared responsibility for its welfare and its growth.
How do you see the whisky industry developing and growing and what are your ambitions for it?
AS: Whisky is enormously important to Scotland in financial terms, in employment terms and also in international marketing terms. The ambitions I have for the industry are to see it keep growing in international terms.
One thing we are doing that I think is very important is that we are now relating Scottish whisky to other aspects of Scotland. For example, next year we have the year of Homecoming, the 250th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns, and we are using that to have a nationwide, year-long series of celebrations with invitations to ex-pat Scots around the planet to come and visit our wonderful country.
Along with Scottish golf, Scottish culture in its wider sense, and Scotland's track record of innovation, entrepreneurship and scientific advance, Scotch whisky is a central strand to the celebration. What we will do is relate Scotland's premium product, and the product for which Scotland is most famous, to the other great things about Scotland.
Whisky is recognised around the world as a symbol of Scotland, and when a whisky company markets its product it is marketing Scotland.
Do you keep an eye on how Scotch is being portrayed around the world?
AS: Very much so. Scotland sells whisky and whisky sells Scotland, the two images are one and the same. That is one of the things that people love about whisky, it has a connection and a relationship with its origins, and that means its integrity and quality are its ultimate selling strength.
Your constituencies (Banff and Buchan for Westminster and Gordon for Holyrood) have several distilleries within them is that an important part of your local economy and have you seen changes in the industry?
AS: There has definitely been a greater emphasis on the 'whisky trail' and more recently on the Speyside Festival. I have a number of distilleries in my constituencies, but the real heartland of the whisky country is further north.
Within my constituencies, there have been two very important developments recently. One was the reopening under overseas ownership of the Glenglassaugh distillery, just north of Portsoy, which was I think the last mothballed distillery in Scotland [see our feature on pages 12-15]. Only a few years ago there were a number of mothballed distilleries, but there has been a scramble to bring them back into production, and that indicates the underlying strength of the industry.
Given that growth in the premium market, is there still opportunity to add further value?
AS: There is definitely opportunity to add
more value. The industry has shown a great adaptability in understanding local tastes and understanding their marketplace, which is why they have been so successful in the emerging markets.
It must also be remembered that the blended product is marketed in a very sophisticated way across a variety of markets and is a good quality product itself.
Do you often go to the Society's Members' Rooms?
AS: I was most recently in the Society's Queen Street rooms with Sean Connery, and it was a great experience. It is a venue that I like and appreciate, it's something we definitely use and Sean was most impressed by it.
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