Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/44136
ms Tarlogie Springs, source of water for Glenmorangie. PHOTO: W. BLAKE GRAY coastal location and the strong perennial winds which blow the moist sea air, warmed by the Gulf Stream, into the draughty warehouses." That may be true. But Diageo doesn't believe it, and what Diageo believes matters, because the corpora- tion owns 28 single-malt distilleries and produces almost half of the scotch in Scotland. And Diageo, always looking to make its 4000-person operation more efficient, now matures whisky in central warehouses. "We tend to get salty ones coming from the coastal areas. They could mature in the center of Scotland and they still have the same character," says Duncan Tait, Operations Manager for two of Diageo's single malts, Cardhu and Knockando. "We'd love to know exactly where that salty character comes from. No one is sure. But it's not the sea waves lapping on the shore while it sits in the cask." Glenmorangie Distillery Manager Andrew MacDonald says, "I disagree [with Diageo]. We stored barrels elsewhere. It makes a difference." That said, no company has more of an interest in figuring out the essence of Scotch terroir than Diageo, which has invested much time and money into researching it. And still they're baffled. "Every single one of our 28 distilleries produces a slightly different character," Tait says. "They can be using the same malt, the same yeast. But they produce a different character." The shape of the still is extremely important. But if that's all there was to terroir, Japanese whisky makers would be producing perfect scotch. They love whisky in Japan and make some great ones, but they're not the same as scotch because of one factor: water. It's the one item that can't be easily transported in the quantities needed. I drank from Tarlogie Springs, the water source for Glenmorangie. The water tastes quite hard and minerally because of limestone substrate, and has an unusually high pH of 7.8. Glenmorangie Master Blender Rachel Barrie says, "The fruitiness comes from this water. The yeast loves it because of the minerals." This is the essence of the terroir of scotch. Humans can enrich a spirit with exotic barrels or longer aging, and shape it through the stills they build, but at the core of a great whisky, there must be great water. october 201 1 / the tasting panel / 113