The Gentleman Magazine Issue 12 | December 2018 | Page 64

IS THIS THE OLDEST WHISKY STILL IN THE WORLD?
ARCHAEOLOGISTS UNCOVER MEDIEVAL STRUCTURE
AT LINDORES ABBEY DISTILLERY
Drew McKenzie Smith, MD of Lindores Abbey Distillery and
Gary Haggart, Distillery Manager, inspecting the new discover,
The background shows the original grain store of the Abbey.
Fife - A medieval structure, believed to be the one of the oldest
possible whisky stills ever discovered, has been unearthed
at Lindores Abbey. During the archaeological dig, experts
uncovered what they believe to be an installation that was used
for the distillation process during medieval times.
The archaeologists present at the dig confirmed that the
structure’s features are characteristic of traditional kiln stills of
the mediaeval era, and that the residue found within is certainly
in keeping with brewing and distilling practices of the time.
The stone structure has been excavated and found to contain
traces of charcoal, barley, oats, wheat and pottery that have
been dated back to the medieval times, when the monks first
began to distil their bols of malt, the product that we now know
as Scotch whisky. The structure was unearthed next to the site
of the original grain store, suggesting that grain was essential
for its function.
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The resident archaeologist at the dig commented: ‘It would be
fair to say that the archaeological structures and environmental
deposits that have been found are commensurate in character
with distilling – they have also been found at a medieval
monastery known, from historical records, to have been
distilling on an industrial scale in the late medieval period.
The evidence is however also commensurate with brewing,
cooking, and baking which were practiced at the Abbey.’
Drew McKenzie Smith, MD and founder of Lindores Abbey
Distillery, commented: ‘It is hard to overestimate the potential
significance of this discovery. Many signs point towards this
being one of the earliest stills ever discovered, and this is
almost certainly the site referenced in the Exchequer Rolls of
1494 that include the first ever written record of aqua vitae or
whisky, as we know it today.
Lindores Abbey is the spiritual home of Scotch whisky, and this
discovery underlines the historical importance of this site.’
, Security in Motion”