Whisky Classified at the 27th International Congress on Genealogical and Heraldic Studies
, Thursday 24 August 2006
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Scotch Whisky Through The Last Millennium
Dr. David Wishart
School of Management
University of St. Andrews
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David will guide you through the history and romance of Scotch whisky, from the aqua vitae of
the early monasteries, the alchemist's science of turning rough barley into liquid gold, and the hedonistic uisge beatha of remote Scottish crofts, to Edinburgh's Royal Mile
taverns and hot toddies in New Town drawing rooms. The Royal romance with Scotch whisky started with George IV, flourished under Queen Victoria, and continues with the Prince of Wales today. Whisky is evoked in the poetry of Burns, the travelogues of Stevenson, and the art of Landseer and Wilkie. London
toasted with brandy in the Regency period, but, when a tiny phylloxera beetle devastated Cognac in 1863, the upper classes turned to whisky and our famous "Scotch" brands were born.
Due to variable peating and cask preparation, the flavours of malt whisky are now more diverse than ever. David introduces his unique market segmentation of Scotch malt whiskies by flavour, as described in the 2006 edition of
Whisky Classified. His talk is illustrated by a PowerPoint presentation featuring art through the ages, and prefaced by his poem "Scotia's
Gold" dedicated to the stillman and sung by Norma Munro on her new CD. It will be followed by a tasting of 
Discover the provenance of whisky through the ages with David Wishart, author of Whisky Classified: Choosing Single Malts by Flavour and Honorary Research Fellow at the Management
School, University of St. Andrews.