A DISTILLERY is making its first foray into blended malt Scotch whisky – re-telling the story of the malt tax protests that took place in Scotland in the 18th century in the process.

The Glasgow Distillery Company’s Malt Riot Blended Malt Scotch Whisky is described as a selected blend of handpicked single malts from across Scotland, with the distillery’s Glasgow 1770 Single Malt at its heart.

The malt tax protests took place in 1725. Held in Glasgow and then across the nation, they demanded the tax on malted barley be overturned. In Glasgow, malt stores were barricaded and excisemen chased from the city. The home of the local MP and former collector of taxes for the Port of Glasgow, who originally supported the introduction of the malt tax, Daniel Campbell, was destroyed.

Campbell was compensated by the city of Glasgow and used the money to purchase the island of Islay and part of Jura. He encouraged local farmers to seed surplus barley and ignited the legal production of single malt Scotch whisky.

Distillery CEO and co-founder Liam Hughes said: “The story of the malt riots is a really powerful one but has been largely forgotten.

“This year has been an extremely challenging time for all in light of Covid-19. For Glasgow Distillery, the launch of Malt Riot, following on from the release of Glasgow 1770 Single Malt Whisky – Triple Distilled Release No.1, is hopefully the start of some return to normality.”