Digital Cities (DC): Callum, tell us about your roots. Where did you grow up?
Callum (C): I was born in Leeds and grew up in Sheffield. Yorkshire is not in the slightest connected to whisky though. Neither is my family. The only whisky I tried before moving up here was Bells which was, putting it in mild terms, rather awful.
DC: So how did your relationship with whisky start in Edinburgh?
C: I moved here for university and my friend Dave and I got chatting on our course. We agreed to try the Napier whisky society, even though we expected it to be too posh for our likings. Then we went and it was great! Back in the days meetings were held in the boardroom, the most atmospheric place at Napier. It’s a 16th century tower and is very intimate due to the fact
that you need to mount a spiral staircase to get in. Also, the room has a very high ceiling and there is a long table in the middle that everyone sits around.
DC: What was the society like?
C: Stuart Campbell was the president. He is a very knowledgeable guy. I was a blank canvas when I joined and he was very good because when you want to receive a huge amount of information, he can give you that but he can also simplify and cut it down. Stewart always bought a great mixture of whisky; he developed my knowledge and made me try a great range of malts and regions.
DC: What influence do the regions have on a whisky’s taste?
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C: The distinct regions are Lowland, Highland, Speyside, Islay and Campbelltown. Islay, which is close to the sea, has a lot of salt in the air which affects the end taste. The surrounding temperature will also have an effect – the highlands don’t get as cold as Speyside where it can get cold enough for the alcohol to freeze. Then there is the peating process, and the size of the cask will have an effect on the taste too.
DC: You took responsibilities at the whisky society – tell us about that?
C: I stood for the position of treasurer in my second year and then I moved on to being president after that. As president you organise the meetings, events such as six nations and international night, blind tastings and you arrange trips to distilleries. You have an overview on the finance and you actually buy the whisky which is quite awkward! You find yourself carrying ten bottles of whisky around in public.
DC: Last question. Do you have an all-time favourite whisky?
C: I tried the Yamazaki heavily peated a while ago, which is in fact a Japanese whisky. That was absolutely fantastic!
Many a Scottish man will settle to a fine´whisky after a hard day’s work. He sniffs, smells, drinks. But how is this drink so special? To find some answers, we tracked down Callum Toulson, a man with seemingly limitless wisdom on the ‘water of life’.