The best scotch whiskey history guide

The first time scotch was mentioned as a written word is on the 1st of June, 1495, on page 487 in Volume X of the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland: “To Friar John Cor, by order of the King, to make aqua vitae VIII bolls of malt”. The Exchequer Rolls are the bookkeeping records of the incomes and expenses of the king, however, what we can take away from this is that in the 15th century, distillation was an ongoing process. In fact, 1,500 bottles of whisky were produced in the distant 1495 in Scotland, and today, 39 bottles are shipped overseas every second. It sounds like Scotland does indeed have the best scotch whiskey.

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Just like vodka means “water” in Russian, whisky comes from the Scottish “uisge beatha”, which means “water of life”. King James IV supposedly used to buy his whisky from the local barber, which was the way back in the old times, and by “old,” we mean 1506, when he visited Dundee. By 1505, the Guild of Surgeon Barbers in Edinburg was holding a monopoly over the manufacture of scotch. The reason this was possible is that the spirit was perceived as a cure. Barbers were treated as medicinal practitioners at the time thus their monopoly over the spirit.

By 1644, scotch was being taxed by the government because it grew so much in popularity between the people. However, Scotland’s biggest distilleries had a mind of their own, and soon after the tax was imposed, they started selling the whisky illegally on the “black market.” Almost one century later, in 1780 there, were only eight legal distilleries in all of Scotland, and more than four hundred illegal set-ups. In 1823, the Parliament decided they would have to loosen the restrictions if they wanted to tax scotch, and that is how the popular “excise act” was born.

By the end of 1880, another great invention boosted the love for scotch between the masses, and that’s the invention of the column still. The column still allowed distilleries around the country to produce a smoother spirit at a significantly lesser cost, and in larger quantity.

Another, somewhat lucky coincidence for scotch, not so much for brandy and wine, was the entrance of the phylloxera bug in France. The bug started to destroy vineyards all across the country, which put an instant halt to the production of wine and brandy. This gave scotch the room to become the worlds' new favourite drink.

Scotch came a long way since then. Today, when we’re talking about the best scotch whiskey, we are in fact talking about the artisanship of the distillery Masters, and the deep pleasures of life. The spirit became a symbol of manhood, luxury and extravagance across all Western societies. The cheapest single malt bottle is around $50.

Almost every brand comes with a rich history filled with enchanting stories and traditions that inspire you even more and make you feel like you’re a part of something greater. All of that is in each and every bottle of scotch.

In the words of David Daiches, a Scottish literary historian and literary critic, scholar and writer: “The proper drinking of Scotch whisky is more than indulgence: it is a toast to civilization, a tribute to the continuity of culture, a manifesto of man’s determination to use the resources of nature to refresh mind and body and enjoy to the full the senses with which he has been endowed.”

The scotch whiskey brands we feature at the EC Proof store

The EC Proof online store features over 80 brands of whiskies and approximately 30 scotch whiskey brands on stock. We are very proud of our whiskey collection because it involves some of the best brands in the world. You can sip your scotch neat, on the rocks, or you can stir up a cocktail. The most delicious scotch cocktails are Rusty Nail, Rob Roy, Blood and Sand, Scotch Sour, Robert Burns, Godfather and many others. Below you can find the list of all scotches we have available for purchase.

In Scotland, for a spirit to be considered as scotch whiskey, it has to mature in oak casks for at least three years. There are over 20 million casks maturing in warehouses in Scotland at the moment you’re reading this.

The scotch whisky price in Singapore

The scotch whisky price in Singapore ranges from $200 to $2,500 for the more premium bottles. The most expensive scotch you can drink in the world is the Macallan 15 Year Old 1947 (bottled 1962) Fine & Rare for a price of $ 37,734. In our personal collection, the finest bottle of scotch is the Boutique-y Whisky: Macallan 29 Year for a price of $2,300. The brand is worldly famous when it comes to scotch, and it’s one of the biggest distilleries on the globe. They produce over 10 million litres of alcohol a year. Undoubtedly, the Macallan brand is the best scotch whiskey you can find on the market today.
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