[Opinion] Intoxicated with Whiskey

Those who first visit Scotland are surprised to see creeks of brown-color water, which just looks like whisky. Even considering that the country is a home of whiskey, creeks of hard liquor seems a bit too much. The unusual color, however, has something to do with peat rather than whiskey. A large part of the country is covered with the brown-color peat, and water running in creeks often reflects the color. The peat is also used at the process of barley fermenting at distilleries. The color of whisky, in fact, comes from smoke of peat absorbed in fermented barley.

▷ Like all other alcoholic drinks, the best kind of whiskey is made in places with fresh water. The history of malt whiskey Glenfiddich, which is famous for its deer head brand and a triangle-shaped bottle, also begins with the story of fresh water. The founder of the brewing company Glenfiddich one day dreamt a dream of seeing a large deer drinking spring water. When he woke up, he went to the valley he saw in his dream and found the spring with delicious water in it. Then, he began to brew hard liquor using the spring water, which is now known as Glenfiddich, a word meaning `the valley of deer.`

▷ English people are exerting great effort and energy to making whiskey. They put the undiluted solution of whiskey in an oak barrel and keep it there for at least six years before putting it on sale at high prices. They call evaporated whiskey during the period of ripening `Angel’s hair,` apparently feeling sorry for the loss. In the province of Cognac in France, people also refer to the part of cognac evaporating into the air as angel’s hair.

▷ The Koreans, however, tend to gulp down the liquor considered so invaluable in other parts of the world. It is estimated to 52.7 million 500ml bottles of whiskey consumed in Korea so far this year. Korea, drinking more than 40% of the total global output of Valentine 17 Years every year, takes a significant portion of the high-end hard liquor market. Weekly magazine The Times recently even reported that Korea emerged as a goldmine for the whiskey industry, recording a 20% increase in Scotch whisky imports last year at $256 million. The it cannot be an exaggeration to say Korea is `intoxicated with whiskey.` The intoxication might be the reason for all the fuss about the single presidential candidate with the election only some 20 days away. Hope the day will come when we will enjoy the taste and smell of years-old whiskey taking time.

Bang Hyung-nam, Editorial Writer, hnbhang@donga.com