[MR] John Cor and Scotch Whisky

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends, Especially Fellow Scots, and All Lovers of Single Malt:

Though I've written about this before, it is too good not to repeat. Today
is the anniversary of the first mention in history of whisky in Scotland.

In King James IV's Exchequer Rolls, there is an entry which in modernized
language reads, "To Brother John Cor, by order of the King, to make *aqua
vitae* VIII bolls of malt." This would have yielded about 1,500 modern
bottles, enough to keep the whole Scottish court bombed for quite a while.
Maybe even a couple of days.

Wikipedia has a brief bio sketch of John Cor at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cor

In the Highlands, whisky was traditionally drunk from a quaich, a wooden
bowl usually with two handles. Post-period these were often made of sliver
and were similar to a "porringer": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quaich .

So raise your quaich and say "Slaint Mharth" (Good health).

Yours Aye,

Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆