Whisky flavours from the early 1800s are to be revived by scientists who aim to bring them back into production.
Researchers at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, are testing how well once-common crops respond to modern processing.
Over the next six years, they will test eight varieties of heritage barley to see whether they can create distinctive new whiskies.
One of the varieties is a 200-year-old chevallier, said to be the most popular barley in Britain for 100 years. They will also test hana, originally grown in Cwhiskyzech Moravia and used to make the first blond pilsner lager in 1842. Another is golden promise, best known as the barley used in the iconic Macallan bottlings of the 1960s.
The team hopes the research will create new single malts for the Holyrood Distillery in Edinburgh. “Varieties of malting barley are developed regularly to improve processability and agronomic traits, and it’s not uncommon to find some predominate the industry for a period of time,” Calum Holmes, from Heriot-Watt, told the BBC
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“However, there’s increasing interest within the malting and distilling industries to explore a role for older barley varieties. There’s hope that using these heritage varieties of barley might allow for recovery of favourable aroma characteristics.”
Marc Watson, the head of spirit operations at Holyrood Distillery, said: “We think there are clear sensory differences with using heritage barleys but we want to back it up with science.
“It’s using innovation to bring back flavours and aromas that haven’t been present in whisky for decades.”
