Aberdeen could have been the site of the first whisky still, according to researchers who have uncovered a reference from 1505 mentioning apparatus in the city for making aquavite or “water of life”, as it was known in Middle Scots.
The discovery – locating the still 85 miles north of mediaeval abbey ruins where some believe the spirit was first produced – was made during a digitisation project involving the city’s municipal registers.
The reference appears in inheritance documents belonging to Sir Andrew Gray, an Aberdeen chaplain. Among his “moveable possessions” listed is “ane stellatour for aquavite and rose water”.
The Aberdeen university researchers say a previously known reference from 1494 concerning the king ordering aquavite from John Cor, a monk at Lindores Abbey near Newburgh, could have related to use of the spirit for the preparation of gunpowder rather than drink.
Jackson Armstrong, the university’s deputy head of divinity, history and philosophy, said: “Some other early references to aquavite refer to the spirit used in the preparation of gunpowder for the king. The Aberdeen still being for aquavite and rose water may suggest, by contrast, that it was for making whisky to drink.
“This is the earliest record directly mentioning the apparatus for distilling aquavite, and that equipment was at the heart of renaissance Aberdeen.
“This find places the development of whisky in the heart of this movement, an interesting counterpoint to the established story of early aquavite in Scotland within the court of King James IV.”
Other experts insist, however, that Lindores was the birthplace of Scotland’s national drink. Blair Bowman, a whisky consultant, said: “It sounds like they are trying to trump Lindores, but the abbey has still got a good 11 years on them. It is exciting that something like this has been found. But they can’t steal the crown from Lindores. This is very close, but it is still 11 years off.”
He said history was crucial to marketing Scotch across the world. “You can’t mess with heritage. It is such an important factor in Scotch whisky’s status in the world. There are so many distilleries that claim to be the oldest in Scotland. People in Scotch whisky marketing departments are always trying to find their angle of difference in a crowded market.”
Drew McKenzie Smith, managing director of Lindores Abbey distillery, which was built near the site of the abbey, said the Aberdeen discovery was thrilling but that the abbey remained the spiritual home of the drink.
He said: “Last year, during an archaeological dig, we uncovered a physical structure which is believed to be one of the earliest stills in existence, so it is wonderful to hear of records of distillation less than 85 miles up the coast in Aberdeen, a mere 11 years after John Cor was ordered by the king to create his aqua vitae.”