During the peak of the Roman Empire Scotland was referred to as The Great Wood of Caledon due to the swarms of Scots pine trees which covered the majority of the country. However, over time this once-great woodland has been decimated and now Scotland’s main timber source is Sitka spruce, a species which was introduced post World War II to increase the country’s reserves.
But the Scottish oak, one of the most forgotten native species, could be on the verge of a comeback thanks to the Scotch whisky industry.
According to Scotland’s Forestry Strategy for 2019-29, the landscape is now unrecognisable compared to 4000BC. “Without human intervention, it is likely that much of Scotland would be covered by tree species of a range of types, including Scots pine and birch in the north and east, and oakwoods in the warm and wetter west,” reads the strategy. “Ever since the first foresters entered Scotland’s ancient wildwood over 6,000 years ago, Scotland’s trees and woodlands have been felled and harvested.
“As our population grew, more wood from forests was harvested and many forests disappeared, making space for agriculture, people’s homes and infrastructure. By the early 20th century, forest cover in Scotland, as well as in the rest of the UK, was reduced to around 5%. This chronic lack of trees and timber was recognised as a strategic problem for the country, and so the Forestry Act of 1919 was introduced to address the issue.”
While plans have been in place to rejuvenate native species, Scottish oak remains relatively rare in comparison to years gone by, but it’s starting to gain popularity within the local whisky industry. Generally Scotch producers import ex-bourbon barrels made from American oak as there’s a glut in supply from the States given that bourbon requires new casks be used in production. The trend of finishing whisky in casks sourced from exotic locations, from niche wine regions right through to tequila casks, also leaves local Scottish wood surplus to requirement, but this is slowly changing.
Gregg Glass (pictured), master whisky maker & blender at Whyte & Mackay, has been an advocate of using local oak ever since launching King of Trees under his experimental brand The Whisky Works, which was founded in 2017. The expression is a Highland blended malt matured in a cask made from wind-felled trees in the Scottish Highlands which were air dried for three years. Just less than 15% of the blend is made up of Scottish oak-aged whisky, but that’s enough to leave a significant mark on the whisky, according to Glass.
“For me water does bugger all to the flavour, barley does to an extent, but most comes from the wood, which is coming from abroad from the cheapest available sources. I think it’s bizarre that the industry uses barrels from all over the world when we have it on our doorstep.
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“I think some of the best quality wood in the world comes from Scotland and maybe Hungary, and everything we’re doing is purely focused on improving flavour.
“We’re actually the first brand I know of to send barrels of Scottish oak abroad for ageing in different spirits. We’re waiting for them to come back, which could be exciting.”
The two main varieties of Scottish oak are Quercus robur and Quercus petraea and according to The Whisky Works website, sustainability of Scottish oak is very much on its conscience.
“Scottish oak has not been widely used to make casks for maturing whisky,” the site declares. “It rarely yields the knot-free wood required for making staves for casks and can be expensive to use.
“However, an important part of The Whisky Works was developing a longterm, sustainable approach to sourcing and utilising Scottish oak. Our collaborative partnerships with forest owners, sawmills and cooperages have enabled us to get closer to this part of the whisky-making process.”
Andrew Russell, general manager at the Speyside Cooperage, which collaborates with The Whisky Works, tells Drinks International that, while the company has seen an uptake in the demand for Scottish oak casks, it enjoys working with local wood.
Russell says: “There are no huge differences [between local and foreign oak]. Instead of cutting into stave and heading pieces we cut it into planks, which we then let dry. This allows us to identify the defects, knots and porous parts, however it is difficult to source due to the lack of oak trees available in Scotland. But on the whole, we have noticed an uptake in Scottish oak casks.”
ROBUST AND DISTINCTIVE
Elsewhere, Sandy Hyslop has used Scottish oak for his latest Royal Salute release. The Pernod Ricard master blender says the flavours brought forward by whiskies aged in local oak brings something new to its 26 Year Old Scottish Oak Cask release.
Hyslop says: “For this unique expression, I wanted to really encapsulate and balance the robust and distinctive flavours of wild Scottish oak casks into a blend that carries all the quality hallmarks expected of Royal Salute.
“Working with such precious casks was an extremely meticulous yet exciting task and adding this rare finish to the new blend has not only allowed us to release a whisky that offers a whole new dimension for Royal Salute lovers to discover, it also perfectly depicts the captivating and wondrous characteristics of Scotland.
“We were absolutely delighted with the flavours coming from the Scottish oak cask finish. It brought nutty flavours such as toasted almonds and aromatic notes of toasted oak and subtle spices like cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and crystallised ginger.”
According to Hyslop, the oak came from Killearn near Stirling, was more than 100 years old and the casks were toasted with a heavy char.
Hyslop adds: “Scottish oak has a tight grain and has to be carefully selected for suitability for cask construction. Cooperages in Scotland tend to work on repairs to casks originating from America or Europe. So this project was exciting for them too, drying the oak and fabricating the casks for us from scratch to our exact specification. This process took nearly two years.
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“The flavours from the Scottish oak cask finish were outstanding and I would not hesitate to incorporate them into a project in the future. I am also very excited to see the results from the second fill of the casks, which is work in progress at the moment.”
Another brand experimenting with Scottish oak is The Glenallachie, which recently launched its 15-year-old Scottish Virgin Oak Finish as part of its Virgin Oak Series. The single malt was aged in ex-bourbon barrels and then finished for 18 months in Quercus petrae sourced from the Atlantic coast of Scotland. The wood was also air dried for 36 months before being toasted and charred.
Master distiller Billy Walker says: “I’m particularly proud to release a very rare Scottish Virgin Oak bottling; a long-held ambition of mine, with full appreciation of how challenging and expensive it is to work with. The result, in my humble opinion, is genuinely outstanding.”
In theory the more popular something becomes the more humans produce or farm it. For example, there has never been more American oak in the US than there is today, which is a direct result of the increasing demand for bourbon, and therefore new American oak barrels. However, right now the brands using Scottish oak are being careful about how they’re sourcing the rare wood.
“To ensure we are sourcing oak responsibly, we have recently joined a charity which works to restore and expand the native Caledonian Forest and conserve wildlife habitats through a tree replanting programme,” declares The Whisky Works on its website. And Glass was adamant he did not advocate the felling of ancient Scottish oak trees, rather using wind-felled trees and planting several new ones to help boost its population.
LEGEND OR REALITY?
Even with the emergence of regeneration programmes and Scotch whisky teasing its interest, it seems unlikely Scotland will ever return to the forest-filled landscape of old, but the Romans’ legendary description of the landscape could be more legend than reality.
“I don’t think of the Great Wood of Caledon as a thing of nature at all. I think it was built by the Romans, or at least, its reputation was,” says Scottish natural history writer Jim Crumley in a National Geographic report by Simon Ingram.
Crumley’s theory suggests that the Great Wood was exaggerated by the Romans in order to explain to their superiors why they failed to conquer the Barbarian lands known today as Scotland. In other words, they needed an excuse for their failures when they returned to face those in charge, blaming a much-exaggerated terrain. This means the regeneration projects for native oak may not be as severe as first thought.
Unlike Roman mythology, the few brands currently experimenting with Scottish oak have proven its capability to create accomplished whisky.
But in order to become a more regular fixture in ageing warehouses, there needs to be a change in mentality by the industry from looking far and wide for new exotic casks, to harnessing the wealth of quality oak already in Scotland.
