Summary

Title reads: Scotch Whiskey, a film made for Scotch Whiskey Association

Highlands, Scotland

Commentary is by James McKechnie Various shots of men fishing from rowing boat on large loch Various shots of the men cleaning fish in water (looks like salmon) One man asks his companion for a wee dram, the other man produces bottle of whiskey (aka whisky) and pours some into glasses

Various L/Ss of scenic Speyside countryside Various shots of a whiskey distillery in a valley L/S of horse drawn harvest machines harvesting barley in field Various shots of barley being delivered at distillery by truck

Interior Various shots of large mound of barley in warehouse, men shovel it A man switches on large tap, the barley is soaked in large tank in warm water A man takes temperature Other men turn the germinating barley with shovels Various C/Us of barley in a man's hand seen through a magnifying glass, a comparison of barley straight from field to sprouting, germinated barley

Various shots of distillery and pagoda roofed kiln Various shots of furnace of kiln being stoked with peat and coke Various shots of men cutting peat in a field They stack the blocks of peat to dry Once dry the peat is carries away by horse and cart

Various shots men turning over drying barley (narrator calls in malt) in kiln with shovels, holes in floor allow heat from peat furnaces to rise Various shots of mashing machine where barley is crushed The porridge-like mixture is mixed with very hot water to create sugary solution The solid part of barley is siphoned away down a conveyor belt to be resold as cattle feed

The sugary solution is passed into large barrels We see a man cleaning inside one of the barrels - it is enormous Yeast is added to the solution to make it ferment into alcohol The mixture is then placed in large distilling tanks heated by fires A man knocks a bobbin against tanks to see much liquid has evaporated

Various shots of distillery and large cooling tubs The vaporised whiskey is piped into tanks, pipes are cooled with cold water to turn vapour back to liquid Malt whiskey is distilled twice We see whiskey trickling into test tubes so it can be tested with gauges

L/S of stack of empty casks Various shots of coopers making barrels The casks are filled with whiskey in duty free warehouse, double locked for security Samples are taken from barrels to be tested for alcoholic strength by distillery manager and customs officer The testers use gauges and themometer-like instruments (unfortunately no tasting!) The excise office checks weights and amounts of casks Various shots of men rolling full casks into storage warehouses where they will mature

Note: Reel 2 has also been transferred on tape *PM1297* (film id 129706)

Note: alternative spelling of whisky