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A Scottish Hogmanay
Hogmanay, or New Year’s Eve, is quite a big deal in Scotland. In fact, for countless generations, it was the most important event of the festive season. The celebration of Christmas was frowned upon, even illegal, in the wake of the protestant reformation of the 1550s – as was anything else connected with Roman Catholicism. The Scottish Parliament passed a law in 1640 which made the celebration of the Christ’s Mass illegal and even when Scotland joined a Union with England in 1707, old habits remained unchanged. It wasn’t until 1958 that Christmas Day became a public holiday, north of the border.
The ending of one year and the beginning of another was always seen as worthy of a celebration, however. It was a chance to look back on the year, to raise a glass to those departed, and to look ahead in hope of a prosperous year. The festivities could run for days, as people made their way round the houses, “first-footing” their friends and family. Many of those traditions remain in place, today.
Christmas has become a much bigger occasion, of course. Scottish families gather to feast and exchange gifts and spend the day telling bad jokes and wearing silly hats. They pull crackers and play games and raise a glass… but Hogmanay remains significant and the differences in our traditions, when compared to our neighbours, is still quite apparent in many ways. Back when I worked for the Civil Service, I got 4 days off over the festive period. For my English counterparts that was Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day as well as the 1st of January but in Scotland, we worked Christmas Eve and got the 2nd of January instead, allowing for that extra day of partying at New Year!
As for the word, Hogmanay, its origins are somewhat shrouded in mystery. Some claim it came from France with Mary, Queen of Scots, but my favourite suggestion, is that it evolved from the Gaelic saying “Thog mi an èigh” which means, “I raised the shout”. This was an expression used in poems about the new year and its pronunciation is very similar to our current Hogmanay. Mainstream teaching of Scottish history does tend to smother the cultural significance of Gaelic, so it makes perfect sense to me that this link would be buried and forgotten, and the influence of the less Celtic Mary promoted. The proper explanation will very likely remain lost to us, of course, but the relevance of the occasion remains, as friends and loved ones gather to toast the year gone, and to welcome the new.
Whisky of the Year?
At this time of year, News Feeds are clogged with various Whisky Awards as every dram under the Sun announces itself as the best in some category or other. I’ve never found such things particularly useful, because there’s just so many of them that they lose all meaning. Finding a whisky that hasn’t won an award is harder than finding one that has.
The same goes for bloggers selecting their “whisky of the year”, there’s just so many of us! Instead, I like to end the year by picking a dram that’s worthy of toasting the occasion of the new year. Not necessarily the best (who am I to say what the best whisky is?), just the right dram for the occasion. In the past, I tended to pick out something with a premium price tag but last year I took a different approach, and I’ll be doing something similar this time around. Whisky prices continue to spiral out of control and bottles that were once every day drinkers are now expensive luxuries. As such, I wouldn’t feel right highlighting an expensive bottle at this time of year. Instead, I want to pick something that offers quality at a reasonable price. This year, I’m going local.
New Year Dram 2023
This year saw Glasgow release some excellent Small Batch bottles but perhaps most exciting of all was the first arrival of Cask Strength expressions of their Original and Peated whiskies. I thought both were excellent but the peated, unsurprisingly, shaded it for me.
Smell: A heady mix of dried fruits, exotic spices and pungent, perfumed peat. Orange. Cherry. Amaretto. Almonds. Vanilla. Bakewell tart. Raisins and prunes. Ginger liqueur (like the King’s Ginger before they ruined it). There’s a meatiness there too. Like beef brisket with barbecue sauce. Wee bit of hoi sin there too.
Taste: Loads of oak. Plenty of char, too. Then come the dried fruits. Christmas pudding. Orange zest. A woody dryness comes in around the mid-palate. Currants. Big, black pepper. Hickory smoked barbecued ribs! Woodiness to the peat smoke that lingers for an age.
Thoughts: Quite the sensory experience on the nose. It’s rich and spicy. Complex and HUGE. It comes across like a big, barrel strength bourbon in lots of ways, except, of course, for the big burst of peat smoke. Whilst I’m on the peat, it’s big but it doesn’t feel too big. I think that’s because it’s competing with so much flavour from the virgin oak and PX casks. If you like your drams light and delicate, you’re not going to enjoy this one I don’t think, but I’m loving it. I wouldn’t want every dram to be so oak-dominant but when you’re in the mood for something big, such as an occasion like Hogmanay, for example, you won’t find one much bolder than this.
Price: £64. It’s not quite bargain basement but this young, fully flavoured malt has a price point that makes it accessible to the many, not the few.
For more on Glasgow 1770 visit here
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