[Sca-cooks] Brewing...along similar lines...

[Elaine Koogler]

Thanks, Bear.  After sending out the message, I looked in Wikipedia and
found the same reference.  I also followed one of their footnote links to a
page, www.whisky.com, which had a longer history section.  There they noted
that in the 19th c. a still was invented that permitted the distillation of
grain-based alcohol, which produced a lighter, less intense whisky that was
then blended with the more potent malt whisky to produce what we now have as
blends.  For anyone who's interested, this is a wonderful page that gives a
more in-depth history.

As I said, I can't document the cordial itself...but I can at least document
the ingredients.  Guess that'll have to do!

Kiri

On Sun, Jun 22, 2008 at 9:50 AM, Terry Decker <t.d.decker at worldnet.att.net>
wrote:

> "To Friar John Cor, by order of the King, to make aqua vitae VIII bolls of
> malt." - Exchequer Rolls 1494-95, vol x, p. 487
>
> Lord High Treasurer's Accounts: "Et per liberacionem factam fratri Johanni
> Cor per perceptum compotorum rotulatoris, ut asserit, de mandato domini
> regis ad faciendum aquavite infra hoc compotum viij bolle brasii" vol 1, p.
> 176.
>
> Courtesy of Wikipedi (and saving me the hassle of trying to find the
> reference), this is the first known record of distillation in Scotland.
> There is no record of whether or not the product met the modern legal
> definition of Scotch whisky.  Barley is the basic ingredient of Scotch,
> aquavita is liquor produced by distillation and Friar John Cor was in
> Scotland, so it can be inferred that some form of Scotch whisky was produced
> prior to 1600.
>
> A boll is six bushels of grain.
>
> Bear
>
>