Save the distilleries... and the world

Global warming causes the overflow of millions of gallons of sea water that could wipe out coastal distilleries known for their brands such as Glenmorangie, Laphroaig and Talisker.

So here’s a sobering thought for all of you sceptics whose only environmental concern is whether your icebox has enough ice cubes for your evening drink. Glasgow University’s Department of Geographical and Earth Science has issued a warning that global warming could see the end of Scotch as we know it. Here’s the doomsday connection. Global warming causes the overflow of millions of gallons of sea water that could wipe out coastal distilleries known for their brands such as Glenmorangie, Laphroaig and Talisker.

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Unlike Chinese toys or Indian BPOs, top-end whisky production is not something that can be shifted in the face of environmental difficulties. Like wine, whisky has its own flavour and character. Lagavulin, for instance, is known for its mix of smoky and peaty flavour (peat being the accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter) that is a characteristic of Islay, the island off the south-western coast of the Scottish mainland. For extra smokiness, however, there’s Highland Park hailing from the Orkney Islands north of Scotland.

Ubiquitous warnings about greenhouse gas emissions cut little ice compared to any shortages of the little pleasures in life. So the connection between what is bad for humanity and what is sad for the Epicurean inside you has been made. So will you get up and save the planet? Oh God, you’re not planning to finish the contents of that non-biodegradable bottle now, are you?