Scotland for sale online #5

Can not name the Scotland without even mentioning one of its best known products: Whiskey. Whiskey is a distillate of ancient barley of millennia, but of not entirely known origin. It is hypothesized that this distillation was invented by the Chinese already a couple of millennia before the birth of Christ and later spread to the rest of the world, thanks to the improvement of the technique by the Arabs and the movements of the crusaders and pilgrims. The distillation then became particularly used in the British monasteries of the Middle Ages. In a state like Scotland, the Whiskey has undergone enormous expansion thanks to the morphology of the territory and the particular climate of the area. Atmospheric phenomena, temperatures and rain are quite unpredictable in this state, but the wild, wet and cool territory guarantees a good growth of the main ingredient of the Whiskey, or barley, but to any environmental difference may correspond variations in taste of the final product. It is generally important to have the sea, the air quality and the mild climate. There are currently five Scottish regions where the Whiskey is produced: the Campbeltown region, the Highlands, the Lowlands, the region of Island and Speyside. Whiskey follows a production method that begins with the maceration of the cereal in water tanks. It follows the germination phase, during which the barley is spread and left to rest, before it naturally turns into malt. Then the barley is dried in special ovens, which also contribute to aromatising it. The infusion is the production phase in which the cereal is ground and then immersed in hot water, before undergoing fermentation together with the yeasts. The whole is then distilled thanks to copper stills and left to age in oak barrels.

Information about Scotland

Region	Scotland
Country	United Kingdom
History	In Ireland and Scotland, the distillate of barley and wheat was given the name uisque que-beatha (meaning "water of life") or uisque-baugh, then simply uiskie in the seventeenth century, words in Gaelic that the Romans, during the occupation of Britain, they would have translated into grapevine, abbreviated wiskie in 1715, and then whiskey in 1736. The spread of this distillate is due to the great economic crisis that pervaded, at that time, Europe. It was considered by the poor disinherited as a simple means of escaping the harsh reality. The first manuscripts that make mention of this distillate date back to 24 August 1494 and report that it was prepared for the first time by the friar John Cor of the Abbey of Lindores (Fife county), using eight bales of barley malt, for the king James IV. In 1560 the monasteries were closed in Scotland and since then the distillation became domestic, familiar. In 1643 the tax on whiskey was imposed in London to finance the Civil War and the following year the tax was extended to Scotland, again for funding reasons. In Edinburgh alone in 1777 there were as many as 400 clandestine distilleries. Finally in 1823 Parliament withdrew the tax and this provision gave an impulse to the creation of new large distilleries. In 1826 Robert Stein innovated the distillation methodology, innovation followed by an even more interesting: the mixture of various whiskeys, that is the birth of the so-called blended. Another fortunate novelty was the mixture of barley distillate with wheat distilalto, operated by Casa Usher.
Typical products	The whiskey par excellence is Scotch whiskey, that is the one produced in Scotland with Scottish barley and local torbate water, in various types. Single malt whiskey is produced from barley in a single distillery. Vatter malt whiskey is produced with a mixture of different malt whiskeys. The rare Grain whiskey is produced using only wheat as a cereal. Blended whiskey is the most widespread and most varied whiskey from an organoleptic point of view and is obtained from a mixture of different malt and wheat whiskeys.
Typical dishes	The cuisine, it is well known, reflects the character, culture and lifestyle of its people. The Scottish dishes are therefore simple, never too elaborate, genuine and nutritious. Let's see some typical specialties. Haggis is one of the most famous Scottish dishes in the world. Very tasty, perhaps it is better not to know that it is prepared with offal of sheep, kidney and oatmeal. However, if your stomach is not ready for these flavors, there is also a vegetarian version, based on walnuts. In the Scottish houses, generally, the Bannocks (or Oatcakes) are never missing: oat and barley flour biscuits and baked, often accompanied by cheese. Remaining on the subject of cheese, you will often meet the Crowdie, prepared with slightly soured milk whey seasoned with salt and pepper. Among the desserts, we also remember the pudding, steamed, to be eaten hot, accompanied by custard (English cream), shortbread, a kind of buttery and crumbly shortcrust pastry and the Dundee cake, cake with raisins and candied orange that often willingly accompanies, the tea of the five.