There has perhaps not been a better time for whisky than in the 2020s, with so many incredible distilleries open, cask ownership more popular than ever, historical barrels unearthed and formerly silent distilleries opening again.

Part of the reason for this goes back to an old saying by the Scottish football manager Bill 

Shankly, who famously noted that whilst form is temporary, class is eternal. 

There is something timeless about a high-quality single malt, and in an increasingly fast-paced world, these anchors to history matter.

However, whilst it can feel from the summit of the present that whisky has always been popular, there have been some fallow periods where the demand for whisky has been tempered by legal complications, world events and actions taken by the industry not in keeping with their place as stewards of the craft.

The Fall Of Aqua Vitae And The Rise Of Moonshine

The first whisky bust in recorded history was the introduction of strict taxation, but this was largely a technicality; whisky was always popular but much of it was made from illegal stills in the Highlands, benefitting from sympathetic magistrates who looked the other way.

This ultimately ended with the Excise Act of 1823, which paved the way for Glenlivet to become the first licensed distillery in 1824.

This led to a boom period that lasted nearly a century, aided in part by the invention of the Coffey Still that allowed for distilling to be continuous and more efficient, with a result that was smoother and more intense than had been popular in the era of King James IV.

This popularity coincided with a major shortage of wine in France due to a parasitic infection that devastated vineyards. This meant that by the 1880s, the spirit of choice in France was not brandy but instead Scotch.

The March Of War And What The Doctor Ordered

The good times could not always last, however, and the start of the First World War was the end of this golden century of whisky.

As distilleries are extremely energy-intensive, coal and gas supplies were diverted towards the war effort, forcing many distilleries to go silent. Some would never reopen, whilst others would take decades to return.

Oddly enough, a ban on alcohol in the 1920s in the United States helped the Scotch trade across the Atlantic. As homegrown whiskeys were illegal, bootleggers, rum runners and doctors taking advantage of a prescription loophole took to Scotch instead as an alternative.

However, this unexpected boom would largely subside when Wall Street crashed in 1929, as the Great Depression and Second World War was a one-two blow for the industry that ensured that some mothballed stills would never sing again.

The Whisky Loch

For four centuries, it took acts of the King, acts of war and acts of God to stop whisky, but in the 1980s, there was a devastating crash of the industry caused by the industry itself.

Whisky distilleries forewent quality in favour of maximising the quantity of whisky available for blending in the 1970s, which worked until tastes changed in the 1980s, forcing a lot of distilleries to close entirely, some permanently, whilst the oversupply was sold for pennies on the pound.

It would take until the early 2000s for tastes to change, the market to reset, and an appreciation for Scotch to reach the heights we see today.