The Spiritual Home of Scotch Whisky
A final Quaichshop outing, before coronavirus restrictions began to bite, took us to the wonderful Lindores Abbey Distillery, in the Kingdom of Fife. Lindores justifiably regards itself as the spiritual home of Scotch Whisky. Whisky making on the Lindores site can trace its history back to 1494, when Friar John Cor of the Abbey was commissioned by King James IV to magically transform eight bolls of malt into Aqua Vitae (the Water of Life).
After years of preparation and fundraising, the current owners realised their dream by restarting distilling on the present site, and by setting up the Lindores Preservation Society to help preserve the remains of the Abbey for the pleasure and education of future generations. The distillery is built on the former farm steadings adjacent to the ruins of the Abbey, and both the Distillery and the Abbey ruins will welcome many more visitors over the years.
The distillery tour was probably the best we have ever participated in, beginning in the Cloister exhibition, and moving on through the distillery process proper, with its unique twin still arrangement, the Legacy Bar, and finishing up with a tasting in the Apothecary. The Aqua Vitae sampled is a malt spirit which is infused with fruits, spices, herbs and plants which grow in the gardens within the grounds of the ancient Abbey. It was very palatable neat, and also with ginger ale and ice.
As noted in Blogs Six and Sixteen, Lindores also matures its spirit in wooden casks from Jerez de la Frontera in the sherry triangle of south western Spain, as well as bourbon casks from the USA.
Lindores has not followed suit with a number of other distilleries, by making gin to help see its way through to its first batch of malt whisky. For the time being, Aqua Vitae is the only show in town, until the statutory three year maturation period has been completed. However, as well as being good in the mouth, it is very attractively packaged, in dark brown bottles whose design is based upon the striations in the pillars of the Legacy Bar.
Our visit ended with a stroll through the beautiful ruins of the Abbey, in the slanting late afternoon sunshine, naturally carrying some booty from the Distillery shop! Some excavations visible from the Still Room look likely to reveal the original monks’ stills, which functioned all those years ago – another attraction in waiting for the visitors of the future.
So the legacy of Friar John Cor has been revived by the Water of Life, and is definitely alive and kicking as Lindores looks forward to its first single malt emerging from its gestation period – a re-visit then is definitely on the cards!
