From Queen Elizabeth II to King Charles III: A Change of Drams

You could call it the notorious grouse.

He fell from the sky, hitting the late Queen Elizabeth II on the shoulder.

The Queen was out and about in the fields and hills near the River Dee near Balmoral Castle in the Scottish Highlands in the early autumn of 1995. What shocked His Highness was not a piece of space debris or an engine bolt. detached from a plane above.

It was a grouse. A dead.

THE PROCESSION OF QUEEN ELIZABETH II AND THE THANKSGIVING SERVICE IN THE IMAGES

The chicken took flight. But then he met his creator – and the queen – at virtually the same time, falling from the air.

The queen was stunned and slightly bruised. But otherwise, unharmed. This is ironic because one of the Queen’s favorite drinks was The Famous Grouse, a blended Scotch whiskey produced at the Glenturret distillery in the Southern Scottish Highlands.

It is unclear whether the bird that crashed into the queen was really the famous grouse himself.

But the incident made that particular bird perhaps the most famous capercaillie in all of Scotland.

Outside of whiskey, of course.

QUEEN ELIZABETH II, BRITISH ROYAL FAMILY NET WORTH

The Famous Grouse was one of the Queen’s most popular whiskey glasses. Her late sister Princess Margaret loved The Famous Grouse so much that often some bottles were shipped early when she was traveling. British embassies around the world also knew they were stocking The Famous Grouse if Margaret was passing through.

Queen Elizabeth granted The Famous Grouse a “Royal Warrant” in the 1980s. This is a special status that the Crown awards to some businesses and corporations for providing goods and services to royalty.

The British people seem to have taken their cue from the queen. The Famous Grouse is historically the best-selling Scotsman in the UK.

The famous Grouse was known only as “The Grouse” until the beginning of the 20th century. Then the name was changed.

And “The Grouse” became famous.

Other malts that make up The Famous Grouse come from Highland Park in the Orkney Islands to the north, Macallan in the Speyside region and the aforementioned Glenturret.

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While The Famous Grouse may represent one of Balmoral’s most well-versed saloon dramas, the Queen and her predecessors also embraced a more “local” libation.

One mile southeast of Balmoral Castle is the Royal Lochnagar Distillery. “Royal” tells you everything you need to know.

Prince Albert bought the land around Balmoral in the mid-19th century for his wife, Queen Victoria. The valleys and gorges of the Scottish Highlands offered royalty an escape from public view in London. Queen Victoria is said to have taken a liking to the expressions produced along the way by Balmoral at the new distillery.

Victoria granted Royal Lochnagar a royal mandate in 1848.

Royal Lochnagar, aged 12 years, is a creamy, creamy expression you’ll often find on American shelves.

The multinational Diageo now owns Royal Lochnagar. Diageo makes everything from Captain Morgan to Guinness to Pimm’s. It also boasts 28 distilleries in Scotland, each of which helps produce one of the most famous blended scotches on the planet: Johnnie Walker.

You may find a few drops of Caol Ila, Talisker, and Cardhu-based whiskey in Johnnie Walker. But you can bet there are some Royal Lochnagar sketches in Johnnie Walker too.

Diageo has produced a special “Game of Thrones” whiskey set from many of its Scottish distilleries. Among them was “The House of Baratheon”, a 12-year-old malt that pays homage to Stormlands on Westeros’ east coast from the series.

Queen Elizabeth loved the Scottish Highlands and the land around Balmoral. She and her family retreated to Balmoral from July to October each year. A skilled sportswoman, the late queen loved horseback riding in the Highlands. She liked to fish and even hunt deer.

But Scottish Highland malts aren’t the only drams enjoyed by royalty.

Then, travel southwest to the Inner Hebrides islands. There you will find Islay, which calls itself “The Whiskey Isle”.

When it comes to whiskey, Scotland essentially has “two Napas”. Speyside is the largest region located in the north. And then there is Islay.

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Bowmore (pronounced boh-MOHR, with emphasis on the second syllable) is one of Scotland’s oldest distilleries. The government first authorized Bowmore in 1779, although Bowmore is believed to have been distilling illicit whiskey well before that.

Bowmore produced a special cask just for Queen Elizabeth in 1980. But it was never bottled until 2002. Known as the Queen’s Cask, Crown auctioned a few bottles every year for charity.

The UK will undoubtedly witness a myriad of new customs and traditions under the reign of King Charles III.

This includes preferences in Scotch whiskey.

Highland malts like Royal Lochnagar and The Famous Grouse are more floral and sweet. But Islay’s expressions are invigorated by notes of peat, smoke, coal, rope, and even nautical themes.

Laphroaig (pronounced luh-FROYG) is located on the southern tip of Islay. Laphroaig features one of the most distinctive nose and palette presentations in the industry. There’s some banana, cloves, and a surprising sweetness in one gulp of Laphroaig. But Laphroaig is a powerful malt. Laphroaig devotees sometimes compare his tastes to magic markers, bandages, iodine, beach bonfires, and seaweed.

Yours even characterized Laphroaig’s essences as “wet ink for math homework from the 1970s mimeograph machine.”

Laphroaig 10 is the standard version of this distillery and readily available in the United States.

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King Charles – as Prince of Wales – granted Laphroaig a royal mandate in 1994. Charles has visited Islay and Laphroaig in particular on multiple occasions. And while Charles has walked through Laphroaig’s rival over Islay, Ardbeg, Royal Lochnagar and the mainland’s northernmost distillery, Wolfburn in recent years, Laphroaig is said to be the ruler’s favorite drama.

Specifically, Laphroaig 15, if you can find it.

They could be real. But a visit from a royal family member to a distillery doesn’t always have a real impact.

The Queen opened the visitor center at the brand new Isle of Arran distillery in 1997. It was the first legal distillery to open in Arran in 160 years. Elizabeth sailed for Arran on the final voyage of the royal yacht Britannia, now docked in Leith, Scotland.

The distillery displays a photograph of Britannia heading to the island via the Firth of Clyde en route to Arran.

But the Queen’s visit may not have had any resonance.

During a visit to Arran in 2018, this reporter asked to see the location of the plaque commemorating the Queen’s pilgrimage. Several employees of the distillery were quick to see if they could locate the bronze panel, commemorating Elizabeth’s visit.

Unfortunately, the embarrassed workers could not.

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I can only assume one thing:

Perhaps the plaque was taken away by an infamous capercaillie.