"I must study politics and war, that our sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. Our sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history and naval architecture, navigation, commerce and agriculture in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry and porcelain." — John Adams
Over 10,000 years ago the people of the Fertile Crescent cultivated a grain, they used it to make a beer and bread which both became staples of their diets. In Sumer, it was used for the first official currency that we know of as 1 shekel was equal to the weight of about 180 grains of barley.
In Europe the grain spread and became very important in Northern areas as they were not conducive to fruit growing and thus the Beer/Wine line of Europe started as the civilizations used the resources around them for alcohol manufacturing.
Distilling made its way up to the Irish and Scottish through monks and was important for these groups because even though they could grow the grain, they didn't have a climate that was good for growing hops, the preservative added to beer to make it last.
Farmers in the Highlands of Scotland and on the Emerald Isle now had an answer to the question they had finally had to start asking. What do we do when we have more grain than we need for immediate survival?
Farming comes in various stages:
First — we have enough to eat
Second — we have enough to eat and some left over to store
Third — we have enough to eat and store and still have some left over
But grain doesn't last forever, it goes bad and is bulky to transport over the hills with no roads. Distilling allows the concentration of these grains allowing for easier transport, will not go bad given proper storage, and actually sells for more than the basic grain. Thus whiskey was born.
But farming isn't the only thing that comes in stages, in fact most of the processes and goods in life follow the same process that John Adams imagined for his family.
First — you do something for survival
Second — you are past survival so you look for value
Third — you do something for self expression and purpose
John studied politics and war for survival. He wanted his sons to be able to study commerce, geography, and math when they no longer had to just study for survival but laying the foundations of their future and adding value to their lives. Finally, he wanted his grandchildren to be able to study poetry, art, and music, to add richness to life, secure on the foundations of those that came before.
When whiskey was first created it was done so out of survival, the need to store grain for nutritional value, for barter, for transportation. It was a harsh spirit, stored in barrels but not aged as we think of it today, which is why people often added fruits, spice, and herbs to improve the taste. But slowly, whiskey became an industry, young, looking for a way to get ahead, the first commercial distilleries started. Blends were created by grocers and markets, creating a consistent product with improved taste. Column stilled whiskey was added to make it lighter and less expensive for the consumer who had turned to gin from the heavy malts. Through hardships, war, famine, changing tastes, and it all, whiskey endured. Now, it is no longer a matter of survival, and no longer a value proposition but has become an art. A renaissance of whiskey floods the market with craft distilleries, big budget brands, blending houses, independent bottlers, custom grains and barrels, unique barrel finishing, and special one time limited productions.
If Poitin was for survival, and Johnnie Walker was for value, now that we live through the age of the Art of Whiskey...we look to makers like Bardstown Bourbon, Starlight Distilling, Westland, and Ironroot Republic. It is Waterford Irish and Method & Madness, Bruichladdich and Glenmorangie, Amrut and Hven, Shelter Point and Don Michael's Black Corn Peruvian Whiskey.
Barley started our journey, now countless grains bring us the whiskies we love across the globe, more than a drink they are expressions of us as a people, our journey, and constantly exploring to find what is next.
Also....it's really easy to malt.