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The whiskey islands were cut off and survived without a covid-19 case this spring. But all of Scotland’s distilleries were forced to close and now producers are struggling with a hangover – lost income and a dwindling flow of tourists.
All Scottish distilleries closed this spring. Stock Photography.
Off the south west coast of Scotland are several islands that are world famous for their whiskey. They are the cornerstones of the Scotch whiskey industry, which in turn is important to the economy.
Last year, 1.3 billion bottles were exported to 175 markets around the world, bringing in revenue of 4.9 billion pounds (about 56 billion kronor).
However, the pandemic has been palpable.
On March 29, all of Scotland’s distilleries were forced to close, laying off many of the roughly 10,000 people who work in the whiskey industry. When the distilleries closed, visitors and hotels followed suit, and the annual whiskey festival, which typically increases the number of people on Islay from 3,000 to 10,000 in May, was canceled.
“The weather this spring was beautiful and I could spend a lot of time on the beach with my son,” Jane Deakin, who runs a hotel on the island, told CNN.
– But we had to stay closed for four months. Whiskey tourism is very important to us. Last year, the Whiskey Association registered more than two million visitors to Scottish distilleries and a tenth of them came to Islay.
Deakin believes it will take two to three years to recover the revenue lost during the closing.
The distilleries have reopened. But few tourists come to the islands because there are still restrictions on public gatherings. Some have completely closed their whiskey business to visitors, while others are open to some extent.
Many producers claim that it is impossible for them to economically cover the millions of liters of whiskey that were lost during the production stoppage of up to two months.
Mythical story
Whiskey (whiskey) is a spirit drink made from cereals, aged in oak barrels and native to Scotland and Ireland. The alcohol content is usually 40 percent, sometimes more. The EU requires at least three years of storage in oak barrels for the schnapps to be described as whiskey.
The history of the production is shrouded in obscurity and surrounded by unreliable legends. It is possible that production was started by monks in Ireland and transferred from there to Scotland by returning soldiers.
There are three main types of Scotch whiskey: grain whiskey, single malt, and blended whiskey.
Scottish distilleries are divided into four geographical areas. The Lowland distilleries are located south of a line drawn between Dundee in the east and Greenock in the west. The whiskey that comes from the north of that line is called Highland single malt whiskey. The Campbeltown area is often considered a separate district, although it is actually part of the Highlands. Islay single malt whiskey comes from the island of Islay.
Source: Nationalencyklopedin
