New Year's Eve adult beverage for 2008

Slàinte mhòr agus a h-uile beannachd duibh!*

(Found under the Christmas tree - in honor of my Scottish ancestry of course)

Glenlivet 12 Year Old shows a perfectly balanced display of fruity and floral flavours. Oak is present but in the distance. This Classic Speyside conveys beautiful images of a fertile orchard, blossoming at springtime and laden with juicy ripe fruit at summertime. Nose and palate offer a warm experience of Speyside fresh and fragrant air. The single malt to choose for a relaxing moment, enjoyed on its own or with a fruit pudding (plum or apricot pie, Belgian waffle with stewed apples, marzipan biscuits).

Inverness Courier:

A party of Excise officers, led by Mr Mactavish of Braemar, has uncovered a hidden supply of illicit whisky. The amount of spirit seized is described as being of “unusual magnitude”. This is a rare success for the Excisemen in their prolonged battle against the infamous whisky smugglers of Glenlivet.

For many years now this isolated glen has been the centre of whisky smuggling in Scotland, with hundreds of illicit stills secretly operating in the bleak and rugged terrain. Aided and abetted by many resentful of the punitive tax on whisky, the smugglers transport their illegal cargo out of the glen in armed convoys, to the Scottish Lowlands and beyond.

So good is the quality of the Glenlivet whisky that it has become known as “the real stuff”, and for wealthy connoisseurs throughout the land there is no acceptable substitute. But for once, things have not gone the smugglers’ way.

It appears that for some weeks the resourceful Mr Mactavish has been shadowing one of the bands of smugglers as they have gone about their unlawful business. In the process, he has discovered where a large consignment of whisky is to be concealed on its first night in transit. It is a vital piece of information.

While the smugglers sleep soundly some distance away, Mactavish returns to the scene with an armed posse and, under cover of darkness, seizes 20 ankers [casks] of “pure Glenlivet”, worth a small fortune to the outlawed distillers.

Alerted in the nick of time, the smugglers themselves evade capture. Nevertheless, the operation is deemed a success and it is to be hoped that Mr Mactavish is rewarded for his courage and initiative with a dram or two of the prized booty. [22 January 1822 - source]

*Great health and every good blessing to you!