A keen whisky aficionado, Under The Counter was excited to see that Glengoyne – the closest Highland distillery to SLR Towers – has just released a new ‘Teapot Dram’ expression inspired by an old distillery tradition.
Never heard of a ‘Teapot Dram’? Prepare to think you’ve picked the wrong career.
Back in the day, distillery workers received three fingers of whisky three times a shift. That’s almost two whole hands’ worth. And what if you have fingers like bananas? You’d soon have a liver like a walnut, that’s what.
Some of the younger workers – what was wrong with these kids? – chose not to get absolutely hammered at their work and poured their share into a communal teapot to help older colleagues fan the flames of their functioning alcoholism.
However, those days are sadly long gone now, staggering to a hazy halt sometime in the 1970s. Probably when a half-cut cooper set fire to themselves trying to light a candle during one of the decade’s many blackouts.
Under The Counter is no stranger to drinking whisky from a teapot, or indeed blackouts, which goes some way to explaining why he is always so keen to make a brew for his colleagues. And why said brew has notes of oak sherry butts and quiet despair.
If you’re thirsty, Teapot Dram Batch No. 011 has been stewed to an eye-watering 59.7% ABV and is available from the Glengoyne website for £125. Disappointingly, though, it comes in a bottle, not a teapot.
