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Possibly the most important book ever to be published on the subject of whisky is Alfred Barnard's classic "The
Whisky Distilleries of the United Kingdom". In the mid-80s of the 19th century, Barnard and several companions
undertook an extraordinary journey - utilising every mode of transport available at the time, from steamer to horse
drawn carriage, they traveled the length and width of the United Kingdom in order to visit every whisky distillery they
could. The commission for this journey came from Harper's Weekly Gazette, who subsequently published
Barnard's book in 1887.
Alfred Barnard began his journey in the spring of 1885 and ended his travels toward the end of the following year
having visited and chronicled an amazing 129 distilleries in Scotland, 28 in Ireland and four in England. In reading
his book, three things become evident. For one, Barnard openly loved the scenery presented to him in his travels.
Secondly his enthusiasm for whisky and the distilling industry and finally, his interest and attention to the technical
details of production. His historical and technical chronicles are invaluable when looking at whisky making in the
late 19th century.
To give you a flavour of the book, here is the introduction to his visit to the Ardbeg distillery:
RESUMING our journey in pursuit of Distilleries, we left the vast Whisky centre, Campbeltown, at the early hour of
six in the morning, bound for the port of Tarbert, to catch the boat to Islay. The air was crisp and the first few hours
of the long drive chilly, but the morning sun soon filled our hearts with gladness, and we were nabled once aain to
enjoy the delightful scenery through which we passed and which has been described in a former chapter. Upon
due arrival at West Tarbert we boarded the steamer bound for Port Ellen, a journey occupying some hours, yet
withal rendered pleasant by weather that was all that could be desired. Tired and hungry after our long day we were
glad to reach our destination, and immediately on landing proceeded to the "White Hart Inn " where for several
days we took up our quarters, and found the accommodation excellent and the attendants obliging.
The next morning we were early astir exploring the town and sea-shore, after which we partook of a substantial
breakfast and started on our way to Ardbeg, distant four miles. The road mostly followed the coast line, but
frequently a turn brought. us almost to the water's edge. The shore is mostly rocky and dangerous, in many places
huge masses of rock rise from the surface of the sea, forming tiny islets round and over which the swell rises and
falls in impressive grandeur. Every now and then as we d rove along, the scene assumed a new aspect; now we
would come suddenly upon some little picturesque bay fringed with fantastic and peculiar shaped rocks, or
ascending a gentle hill some inland view of green slopes and heather covered hills would reveal itself, which lent a
happy contrast to the wild sea-girt shore. Nearly all the way we had in sight the opposite coast of Kintyre, and.
almost fancied we could distinguish the long coach road to Tarbert which we had traversed the day before.
journeying along we were continually reminded by the ruins of castles and churches that we were on one of the
most historic islands of Scotland, in the land of romance and the home of the " Lords of the Isles," rendered classic
by one of Sir Walter Scott's finest poems.
As we reached the top of a hill, a sudden view of beautiful Ardbeg, presented itself to view and recalled our minds
from romantic wanderings. The Ardbeg Distillery is situated on the south-east coast of the island, in a lonely spot
on the very verge of the sea, and its isolation tends to heighten a the romantic sense of its position. It was
established in the year 1815, but long previous to that date it was a noted haunt of smugglers. For many years the
supervisors had been searching for this nest of illicit traffickers without success; most of the band were known by
sight, and endeavours had long been made to catch them when out in their~ boats. At length the spot where they
carried on their nefarious practices was discovered, but the band was too strong for an open attack; however, one
day, when the party were absent with a cargo of whisky, a raid was made and the place destroyed after a seizure of
a large amount of the illicit spirit. As it was impossible to procure other vessels, and finding, their occupation gone,
the whole band was scattered, and most of them migrated to the Kintyre shores. The site of their operations was
shortly after occupied by the founders of Ardbeg Distillery who chose it on account of the water, the chief
characteristics of which arc its softness and purity; it is obtained from Lochs Arinambeast and Uigidale.
Whisky Distilleries of the United Kingdom". In the mid-80s of the 19th century, Barnard and several companions
undertook an extraordinary journey - utilising every mode of transport available at the time, from steamer to horse
drawn carriage, they traveled the length and width of the United Kingdom in order to visit every whisky distillery they
could. The commission for this journey came from Harper's Weekly Gazette, who subsequently published
Barnard's book in 1887.
Alfred Barnard began his journey in the spring of 1885 and ended his travels toward the end of the following year
having visited and chronicled an amazing 129 distilleries in Scotland, 28 in Ireland and four in England. In reading
his book, three things become evident. For one, Barnard openly loved the scenery presented to him in his travels.
Secondly his enthusiasm for whisky and the distilling industry and finally, his interest and attention to the technical
details of production. His historical and technical chronicles are invaluable when looking at whisky making in the
late 19th century.
To give you a flavour of the book, here is the introduction to his visit to the Ardbeg distillery:
RESUMING our journey in pursuit of Distilleries, we left the vast Whisky centre, Campbeltown, at the early hour of
six in the morning, bound for the port of Tarbert, to catch the boat to Islay. The air was crisp and the first few hours
of the long drive chilly, but the morning sun soon filled our hearts with gladness, and we were nabled once aain to
enjoy the delightful scenery through which we passed and which has been described in a former chapter. Upon
due arrival at West Tarbert we boarded the steamer bound for Port Ellen, a journey occupying some hours, yet
withal rendered pleasant by weather that was all that could be desired. Tired and hungry after our long day we were
glad to reach our destination, and immediately on landing proceeded to the "White Hart Inn " where for several
days we took up our quarters, and found the accommodation excellent and the attendants obliging.
The next morning we were early astir exploring the town and sea-shore, after which we partook of a substantial
breakfast and started on our way to Ardbeg, distant four miles. The road mostly followed the coast line, but
frequently a turn brought. us almost to the water's edge. The shore is mostly rocky and dangerous, in many places
huge masses of rock rise from the surface of the sea, forming tiny islets round and over which the swell rises and
falls in impressive grandeur. Every now and then as we d rove along, the scene assumed a new aspect; now we
would come suddenly upon some little picturesque bay fringed with fantastic and peculiar shaped rocks, or
ascending a gentle hill some inland view of green slopes and heather covered hills would reveal itself, which lent a
happy contrast to the wild sea-girt shore. Nearly all the way we had in sight the opposite coast of Kintyre, and.
almost fancied we could distinguish the long coach road to Tarbert which we had traversed the day before.
journeying along we were continually reminded by the ruins of castles and churches that we were on one of the
most historic islands of Scotland, in the land of romance and the home of the " Lords of the Isles," rendered classic
by one of Sir Walter Scott's finest poems.
As we reached the top of a hill, a sudden view of beautiful Ardbeg, presented itself to view and recalled our minds
from romantic wanderings. The Ardbeg Distillery is situated on the south-east coast of the island, in a lonely spot
on the very verge of the sea, and its isolation tends to heighten a the romantic sense of its position. It was
established in the year 1815, but long previous to that date it was a noted haunt of smugglers. For many years the
supervisors had been searching for this nest of illicit traffickers without success; most of the band were known by
sight, and endeavours had long been made to catch them when out in their~ boats. At length the spot where they
carried on their nefarious practices was discovered, but the band was too strong for an open attack; however, one
day, when the party were absent with a cargo of whisky, a raid was made and the place destroyed after a seizure of
a large amount of the illicit spirit. As it was impossible to procure other vessels, and finding, their occupation gone,
the whole band was scattered, and most of them migrated to the Kintyre shores. The site of their operations was
shortly after occupied by the founders of Ardbeg Distillery who chose it on account of the water, the chief
characteristics of which arc its softness and purity; it is obtained from Lochs Arinambeast and Uigidale.
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The Whisky Distilleries of the United Kingdom - Alfred Barnard
A very rare book, missing in almost all collections. Original cloth, restored.
Click on the images to enlarge.
SOLD.
A very rare book, missing in almost all collections. Original cloth, restored.
Click on the images to enlarge.
SOLD.
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The bottles have lost their original labels (although on the one bottle there is a faint trace of the label, enough to make out the brand) The
bottles have been sealed with green sealing wax, and may have been recorked in the 1930's. The bottles themselves are 3 part molded
black glass, similar to old Madeira bottles, and likely date from between the 1860's and the 1880's. The Army and Navy Stores was a
prestigious and famous firm in London, founded in 1872, that supplied all types of goods to senior military officers, and especially to the
regimental messes of the British armed forces, which were famous in this era for the very high quality of their wines and spirits. This is
such an unusual find, that I had to try one of the bottles for myself. An absolutely fascinating whisky, a superb old-gold colour, noticeable
wood, peat and a sort of tobacco quality, quite different from modern whisky but also recognizably similar as well. It tastes so soft I thought
the alcohol strength was around 35%, but measured by hydrometer it's 40%, which means that it would have been bottled at probably
42-43% a century ago, the same as modern whisky. A great experience to taste something like this, one of the oldest surviving whiskies.
bottles have been sealed with green sealing wax, and may have been recorked in the 1930's. The bottles themselves are 3 part molded
black glass, similar to old Madeira bottles, and likely date from between the 1860's and the 1880's. The Army and Navy Stores was a
prestigious and famous firm in London, founded in 1872, that supplied all types of goods to senior military officers, and especially to the
regimental messes of the British armed forces, which were famous in this era for the very high quality of their wines and spirits. This is
such an unusual find, that I had to try one of the bottles for myself. An absolutely fascinating whisky, a superb old-gold colour, noticeable
wood, peat and a sort of tobacco quality, quite different from modern whisky but also recognizably similar as well. It tastes so soft I thought
the alcohol strength was around 35%, but measured by hydrometer it's 40%, which means that it would have been bottled at probably
42-43% a century ago, the same as modern whisky. A great experience to taste something like this, one of the oldest surviving whiskies.
Army and Navy Stores Whisky, believed to date from the 1870-1880's.
The cellar tags say "Mid 19th century Army and Navy old Liqueur Whisky".
These are some of the oldest intact whisky bottles ever found.
The cellar tags say "Mid 19th century Army and Navy old Liqueur Whisky".
These are some of the oldest intact whisky bottles ever found.
Click on the button at right to order the last remaining bottle (the right hand bottle in the photos above) at £1795,
inclusive of worldwide shipping
Approx 75cl bottle. Good level, base neck. Green wax on the cork, as per the photographs. Overall very good condition.
The price INCLUDES worldwide airmail shipping, there are NO additional shipping costs.
We guarantee safe arrival of all bottles, and will replace or refund any parcel lost in transit
inclusive of worldwide shipping
Approx 75cl bottle. Good level, base neck. Green wax on the cork, as per the photographs. Overall very good condition.
The price INCLUDES worldwide airmail shipping, there are NO additional shipping costs.
We guarantee safe arrival of all bottles, and will replace or refund any parcel lost in transit
Lagavulin 1875, John Stewart bottling.
Email us for pricing and ordering information.
Email us for pricing and ordering information.
Laphroaig 1887, John Anderson bottling.
Email us for pricing and ordering information.
Email us for pricing and ordering information.
Laphroaig 1899, Mackie & Co.
bottling.
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information.
bottling.
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information.
Laphroaig 1903, Berry Bros & Rudd
bottling.
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information.
bottling.
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information.
Laphroaig 1903, Mackie & Co "Valley of Proig"
distillery bottling.
Email us for pricing and ordering information.
distillery bottling.
Email us for pricing and ordering information.