Zach's Whiskey Corner: The Angel's Share / Mortlach 20 ft. Ewan Morgan, Diageo

0:00 Hey everybody, this is Bob Book, host of Film and Whiskey. For the next couple weeks on the Film and Whiskey Feed, you're going to be hearing from our friend Zach Johnston. Zach is the Spirits Editor for Up Rocks. He is just a really good guy to have in your corner. He's somebody that we are thrilled to have gotten to know over the years on film and whiskey. He's one of our favorite recurring guests and he is one of those guys that you just don't meet very often anymore. He's part of a dying breed. He is incredibly humble, but incredibly learned. He's the kind of guy that after a couple drinks, you find out he lived in Berlin for years and years. He went to film school, so he knows what he's talking about when he comes on our show. But then I read an article like his most recent one in Up Rocks, and he says that he's tried over 2000 samples of whiskey already this year alone. He knows more about whiskey than I will ever hope to. He knows more about film and life and just everything than I will ever hope to.

0:58 And what he's doing for the next few weeks is he is traveling around the world and he is opening up his collection of secrets to you. He's opening doors that we would never have access to to talk with some of the best regarded and highest regarded people in the spirits industry. Zach's traveling not just in the United States, but to Europe as well, to sample incredible and sometimes rare whiskies and to talk about some of his favorite films. Even better than that, he's paired up each movie that he's talking about with a geographical region, and today we are going over to Scotland. I won't spoil for you who the guest is or what the Whiskey is, and in fact, I'm going to throw it over to Zack here in just a minute. I'm presenting all of his interview unedited for your listening pleasure. This is the first of five weeks with Zack, and we're calling this Zack's Whiskey Corner.

1:47 So without further ado, let's listen in to episode one of Zach's Whiskey Corner with Zach Johnston. Hello everyone, This is Zachary Johnston. This is Zach's Whiskey Corner, part of the Film and Whiskey Podcast Special December edition. And this is where I am. Talking through some of my favorite films and drinking beautiful whiskeys with those films and I always have a guest with me to drink most with me and talk about the film. And while this sort of limited series was meant to be about US regions and the favorite films from those regions, we're taking a departure today and we're going over to Scotland. Talk about one of my favorite directors, Ken Loach. One of my favorite all time whiskeys Mortlock 21 of my favorite all time people Mr.

2:48 Ewan Morgan Who is the. Luxury. I'm sorry. Luxury ambassador for Diageo whiskeys and an educator for luxury whiskeys at Diageo Yun, thank you so much for joining us. Well, thank you for having me Zach. I really appreciate it and I'm very excited to talk about this movie for multiple reasons. What we'll we'll get into in a minute and all the sake to taste the delicious more like 20 as we go through. Yes. And so, yeah, I just want to say to everyone listening out there, you and I have known each other for a little while now, you know? Working with Diageo, Mulch and things like that. And you know, meeting up in New York to have a drink, meeting up in New Orleans to have a drink. But I, you know, as you do in this industry and there are a few people that can get you more excited about drinking great Scotch than you and Morgan. So I'm very excited for this opportunity. When you remember the whiskey I gave you in New Orleans when we bumped into each other.

3:44 Yeah, it was a Challisker 44 and it was kelp kelpie, right? Yeah, it was the Telescope 44 when we bumped into each other, yeah. At some someone else's party who can remain him unnamed. Yeah, another industry shindig, yes. Yeah that was a that was a saving grace pour of that night for me because that is as as you know you know but to the whisk filming whiskey fans out there, I'm a very old and deep telescope fan and that whiskey phenomenal like one of the one of the most beautiful. Whiskeys I think I've ever tasted in general, much less from talisker. But as much as I'd love to go deeper on that, we need to get into our film.

4:27 All right, and. So for me, you know, for filming whiskey fans out there, you know Ken Loach is a very, very, very working class focused director. The English director, he's won several poems of yours from Cannes. This film the Angels share actually won the Jury Prize at Cannes. He wrote it with his Long Time collaborative. Long time collaborator Paul Laverty who he's been writing films with for literally decades. And the film follows a group of, I won't say petty criminals, but sort of like young criminals who are sort of like me to why? In the road where they're either going to like become full on criminals for the rest of their lives and probably have short lives, or try and get out of the slums of Glasgow and try to get out of poverty and try to do something more with their lives, given that it's a Ken Loach film. It's all very real.

5:18 It's all very visceral. It's all very sort of like cloak cuts close to the bone, a lot of stolen shots of actual people, you know. And it is a sort of film where you don't really see in the US film market that much. You just don't see American movies that are this close to the bone. Mostly because Hollywood system desires money over anything else, whereas European system desires art and telling people stories and they have. But you know national film boards that support artists like this to tell these stories. So Ewan, what's your initial thoughts of the Angel share? All right, so Full disclosure, I I first watched it when it came out, 2012, and then I I did a refresher. I watched it just just the other day just to remind myself to see if there was any bits that I had missed and there was. There was bits I had completely forgotten about. But to to your point you don't really see that that kind of working class very real style of film here. I suppose the closest you would get something like maybe Larry Clark or something like that.

6:25 But that's kind of kind of more like the kind of teen kind of angst kind of stuff where whereas this is focusing on all people who are, who are effectively kind of living their lives between the cracks and and working class glass where I used to, I used to live in Glasgow. So I I know people who are who are like that and they have, they have a nickname and they're called Neds, Neds, Neds. Yeah. So the people, the the protagonists in this are are probably what we would classify as Neds, which some people say stands for non edged non educated delinquents. I don't know if that's true or not. I like to think that it is but what what were my thoughts on it? So I have a few.

7:12 Fact factually it's it's pretty good. You know, like the whiskey facts and they're they we're going to talk about Charlie McLean in a minute. But you know he was a consultant on this and he, he's a great knowledge on all things whiskey and whiskey history and that's how I first met him actually years years ago so. So factually, it's pretty good. And the whiskeys that they reference, and they're pretty nerdy at the beginning. Thinking Spring Bank 32 on a kitchen team box. And that's like a six grand bowl of whiskey. So, So yeah, the whiskeys are there are pretty nerdy fact factually on other ends of it. I know they had to like make a movie in it and it had to have like a bit of pizzazz and excitement to it. So like they referenced Malt Mill distillery in it that the the cask in it, I'm not going to give too much aware about the plots and I'm going to go through that. But we there is no cask of malt milk in existence that that we're aware of.

8:10 We have a one sample bottle of new make which is a lag of wool and distillery but everything else in it from that distillery which only ran from nineteen O 8 to 1962 and we could chat we there by that as we go through this as well. But most of it went into Mackey's ancient age and oh white and also White Horse. So I actually have an auto here. See World War 2 that actually references malt milk on it. So wow. Yeah, so they that's. Incredible. Yeah, they couldn't, they couldn't really find the kind of a single malt outlet for it because you know, between us the the liquid wasn't deemed of a high enough quality to be released as a single malt, so they blended it out. So it's a very a very, it is a very, very rare whiskey because there's no bottle in existence.

9:01 So I know why they picked it. But it's it's a good film. I I will say this, and this doesn't really spoil the story of it. The the ending is slightly weird for me because most stories are supposed to have kind of this kind of moral compass, especially with Ken Loach. And then at the end of it you you find out that crime actually does pay. Pace, Yeah, I mean, we'll get there. But you know, you're very on point with Ken Loach in that. You know, you watch like the win, the shakes, the barley or you know Carlos song or even you know his more recent stuff. Sorry we missed you. And tends to be devastating endings like true tragic, real world consequences. Just like you leave there, you leave the cinema and you're like, I need a drink.

9:51 This is a happy ending and it you know, spoiler alert, happy ending. This cry pays. So let's let's let's let's take the journal there. So you know the film film opens with our our sort of we were introduced for our lead Robbie who's in courts at least play by Paul Brannigan and basically you get this introduction where the. The judges reading off like who he is and like his parents were drug addicts and he grew up on the streets and he's been in gangs and he's blah, blah, blah. And that's pace basically just Paul Brannigan's actual history. Because Paul Laverty found Paul Brannigan in a like halfway house when he was doing research for the script, so he could make like the dialogue sound correct for Neds, basically. And finally got him to audition and so that half like classical smile he has on his face is from when he was in a gang he got in a fight like so this is a very visceral sort of real performance by somebody who was living that life. And you can see as the characters are sort of introduced in court it it is has a Versila matute to it. That's just something that Ken Loach was able to capture the magic of and you kind of get a sense. And this is still the opening credits technically, where? Yeah, these people, they're not, they're not murderers and like hardcore criminals yet.

11:20 But all these people are very much on that relative, you know, just a few more breaks and you get that sense really on that first courthouse scene. Yeah, yeah. I mean, I mean, they set it up really well in the way that, you know, he's kind of been, he's kind of been living this life of like, crime because he was born into that. And there's no real hope for a lot of people like that. But then the judge, and again, this doesn't spoil the story, The judge gives some leniency to him and gives them community service. So which means he doesn't have to get reprimanded and go to jail. So he's given a second chance and and it's really that fork in the road does. Does he continue down a life of crime or does he then try and and turn his life around because you know his his girlfriend is pregnant?

12:10 As well, so. And we learned it's sort of like he's getting almost a third chance, but we'll get to that plot point because it comes becomes very important later. But yeah, so you can community service, which it's called community payback I believe. Yeah, we are. We, yeah, we call it community service as well, but in the script I think we call it that. Not sure why they choose the verbiage of it. So yeah, it's extensively, you know, you have to go into the community and and work and. Either you know, you're cleaning the sides of roads or in their case they're they're going into I think an old school and and trying to renovate it. Yeah, and you know, I I'm going to fully admit here and not be embarrassed about it, but I had to have the subtitles on for this full film because the Scottish brogue, the very like working class class region was tough, Yeah. Yeah, same if you watch Trainspotting. Most, most folks over the the side of the pond will turn on subtitles and if it's tough without it, because there's a lot of kind of colloquialism, slang, that kind of stuff. So yeah, I could understand it because I lived there, but I I fully get where you're coming from. Yeah, and so for anyone who's going to watch this bill bump around, don't be afraid to turn on those subtitles people. It's it's totally OK.

13:32 But so sort of by the next. Jump right into the story after the opening credits were were deduced to Harry, who's the man who is in charge of everybody doing their community service and he's checking people in. And of course Robbie's leg has to like almost beg to get on the team because he doesn't want to go back to jail. And it's also the same day that Leonie, played by Siobhan Riley is having his baby. Of course Leonie is also from a, you know, pseudo crime family and Leonie's. Father and brothers kick the ever loving shit out of Robbie at the hospital for even daring to show up to his son's birth. Which is funny, kind of, but also it's tragic, but kind of funny because it's kind of like, yeah, he's a piece of shit, but they they don't want him there.

14:20 And I can see his. I can see Leonie's father's and brother's point of view very easily. Yeah, Even though they're part of a crying family themselves, Yeah. Yeah, there's a certain, there's a certain element of irony in there that you know they they're successful gangsters and and he like street street level kind of guy who they have no respect for and doesn't doesn't want their family being involved with him. And sort of the, the beauty of us as well as like Leonie's father does come back later. And you know, he still plays it to the story in a more human way, but we'll get to that. But basically, Harry takes him home. You know, cleans up his bloody face and broken ribs and sits him down in his in his kitchen.

15:04 And you know, he finds out that, you know, you only did have a son, Luke, And Harry being, you know, a very nice older gentleman like we have to celebrate. And this is where the whiskey is interested in a story. And actually, he pulls down a bottle of Spring Bank 32 like it's just on the shelf in his kitchen. He's like you said, that's like a 5-6 grand bottle. You know, something amazingly rare. Like if if you pulled that out when I was at your house, I'd just be like, you're not going to open that, right? Yeah, yeah. I actually went online to see if you could buy here in the United States.

15:46 I only found one retailer in Los Angeles who are selling it. I think they're selling it for 16,000. Here in the US, but in the day, you know you can pick it up. Pick it up for a thrifty like 6. K Thrifty 6K, but this is so this is sort of you know, the inciting instrument. This is where you know Robbie first has a breed of real whiskey and it it it seems like he's never even had whiskey before. Because again, you know the these kids, these you know, young people are coming from such poverty that the idea of like you know going down to the pub and having a a weed ram is just not in their reality at all. Yeah. And so, you know, he of course, thinks it tastes like dirt.

16:26 And then Harry very, you know, kind of was like, no, give it time. He puts a little drop of water in there. He opened up and sort of, you know, the the film kind of moves on where it's, you know, of course, you know what the film's about. It's called the Angel's Share. You all bought into the concept. Watch it. But it it isn't like Harry's not there to, like, drive it into him or anything. He just wants to celebrate, which is I found him a nice scene. Yeah, I would, I would say that they that the Neds. And and it's alluded to in the film a few times. They actually referenced it a few times in the film. They drink Bug fast. And if you've ever been to Scotland then you will see bug fast in in many a store, liquor store, convenience store.

17:10 And it's a fortified wine made by Benedictine monks in southern England. But it's only really in the the the kind of central belt of Scotland that young. Teenagers drink it and it's it's full of caffeine. It's nickname is either Bucky or Buckaroo and and it's notorious. Yeah, yeah. That sounds very dangerous, especially when you said caffeine. Yeah, yeah, I And you know, it was sort of, I guess, kind of like Bad Dog 2020, but with caffeine in it or something like that. Or boom. Yeah, they're they're they're of the same elk. Right after, sorry. So after that we sort of, you know, luckily Robbie goes and meets his son and Leonie's like kind of get your shit together, please.

17:59 And basically the next scene is a big is a big set piece where Harry on their day off, because all of his Nets were, you know, doing good work, he's taking them to a distillery as a special sort of visit just to show them something nice in the world, which again, Harry seems like. The nicest guy on the planet, basically. Like he's truly devoted to you know, giving people who are down on their like a chance. And so they go to. Glen going. Yeah, yeah. The other Glen going but inside is Deanston, so. Yeah, yeah, the mash ton that they walk around is Deanston and then right. And then when they taste from the barrel, it's it's Deanson as well.

18:41 So yeah, a bit of a kind of kind of a hodgepodge going on there and and weirdly, my, my friend Brendan. Used to run Deanston Distillery. In fact the last time I was back in Scotland I got I got a tour around there. A bit fascinating distillery run by hydroelectricity as well, but the only distillery in Scotland that is. Right. That's fast. Yes. Yeah. See that we're learning. I had no idea Deanston was run by Hydra. That's incredible. But this this sort of set piece is crucial because we kind of really the gang comes together in this point where the character MO Jasmine Riggins, who we saw in the credits. Was in court for Eddie theft and then Rhino played by William Rain who's sort of like, I don't know like big sort of blokey guy like, but kind of like nice and jokey.

19:29 And then Albert played by Cherry Maitland who's a very a very simple young man. That's not that he's. Fraud and Trainspotting. Right, right. It's the bud. Yeah, there we go. Yeah. And so and it's there. You know there's a lot of this is played for comedy during these scenes too. You know, they're they're talking about how cute the the host is that's walking them around and they're, you know, they're having a whiskey tasting and they don't know they can't smell anything. But then also at the end of the scene when they are having whiskey tasting, you kind of see that they do kind of start taking it seriously. Like, you know, Rhino and Robbie are actually saying things that they smell like, I think.

20:15 MO says it smells like a stats breath when he was a kid, and like Rhydo says it smells like his this old pup down at the end of the street. And Robbie says it smells like Christmas pudding his nan made once. And so it's look like they're taking it kind of seriously, which is kind of cool at that point, you know? Yeah, it's the it's the first point in there that you really start to see like real whiskey vernacular comes. And them having this kind of like sensory awakening, I guess, where they're tasting the whiskey seriously for the first time, because the first time you see Robbie drinking it is the springback 32 and he doesn't like it, even though it's a phenomenal whiskey. He doesn't. He didn't like it because he did his palate, wasn't accustomed to it because he had been drinking other things up to that point.

21:01 So it's a far departure in terms of flavour profile. But then you see them go to the distillery and then they kind of had this. It's kind of epiphany, I suppose. Yeah. And it's it's a nice thing because I feel like it is very indicative of things we've seen 1000 times in our line of work where people have that almost like, no, I do smell that Christmas cake from, you know, my grandma's Christmas. And I do remember that. It's making me remember that pup from the end of the street and you know, when I was on that trip or wherever. And it's nice to see because that is literally how it starts. Like it isn't about, oh, I'm getting, you know, asparagus and Stilton cheese and all these, like, refined flavour nose. No, it's it's about finding those little memories or unlocking them through the profile, Yeah. And it's very honest, very real.

21:52 I see that a lot with my job as well, people having those light bulb moments and and then they they start to suggest things and it's the first time that they've probably done it. So it's like the basic building blocks. It's like. To get vanilla, it's a very common one. Fruitcake, which they obviously referenced in that film as well, and these things. And then you start to see them get more and more confident with it. And that's one of the things I genuinely love about my job is where you start to see people getting excited about it because they're not only discovering something new, they're discovering how how evocative it is to them and then how they describe it.

22:32 And that's just the gateway for them. So, so many people at the end of tastings and stuff that I do kind of walk away from it with a with a genuine new respect for for whiskey and also that thirst for learning because they want to try other things, because they all taste it, as you know, they all taste so different. So it's kind of them kind of going down the rabbit hole, which is wonderful. Yeah. And so sort of building on that. So MO, actually, because she's such a kleptomaniac, she steals a whole bunch of miniatures from the distillery. And obviously, you know, Robbie's smart enough to hear the bottles flanking in her bag. And I I love the line she gives when he calls her out before they get the bad.

23:15 And she's just like, what? It's so easy in there, But I couldn't know it. But she's like, I don't even like whiskey. Do you want them? And instead they go back to Robbie's, you know, shithole apartment and they do a whiskey tasting, you know, and Robbie, MO, Rhino and Albert sit around and like and Robbie sort of leading the way because he got some books from the library and they have a sort of like, you know, you can tell that, you know, they do kind of care. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, that. There's a pretty disgusting part of that as well. Yeah, that scene's capped off this. A gag induced scene show. Robbie's flatmates, who like his flat, is a shit bowl like his bed is a small mattress on the floor with the lamp without a shade. His his flatmate is an alcoholic to the point where he needs hair of the dog so bad he chugs the spitter from their whiskey tasting, and there's a scene before that that sets that up to make it even more gay.

24:15 Can do. See that? Let the audience discover for themselves. Yeah, but this is sort of where, you know, the the, the, the film sort of turns, right? So back to reality for Robbie. Like yeah, that's nice he act, which will decelerate all this. But like he's got a rival, another St. gang of, you know, young thugs led by this guy Clancy, played by Scott Kyle. They basically chase Robbie down in the streets that are about to beat his ass down. When Leona, his father, shows up in his Land Cruiser, of course, and rescues him from the scene, but with some tough love where he he takes them to round a corridor. And you know, there's a whole bunch of probably more neds, if you will, hanging out, sort of scrapping, drinking, you know, doing their thing.

25:02 And he's like, look at them badly. You are never going to escape this. You cannot stay here. They are always going to. They're always going to treat you like this. You're out. You're like you're just in a cycle. You can't get out of unless you leave and then offers Robbie a chance to go to London. He'll give him £5000, get the hell out of there and just start over. But he has to leave his daughter behind and it is a ridiculous proposition because like you know he doesn't want to leave his son and the only behind. But also like, it tells him something very important that comes up later. He is in a he is in a spiral he cannot get out of. It's too late for him in Glasgow. Yeah.

25:43 Yeah it's kind of it's kind of like the the Glaswegian version of Sophie's Choice. It's suppose right. Yeah I'll I'll be at less train stations and Nazis. But it's it's it's a it's a tough decision for him but ultimately you know you you see his fortitude come through and he he wants to stay with his girlfriend and his baby. So yeah, like he can't compromise his, his, you know, but is obsessively his wife I guess and his and his child. But that seed is planted correctly where it's like, yeah, you want to keep them but you can't stay here bro, which I think he's smart to recognize as the story sort of progresses And then well, whole back half of the film is kind of a a fairy tale heist almost. Yeah, but it's it's segued in when when they all go to Edinburgh together on and then end up a whiskey tasting. And I feel like that that's where it starts to to kind of be off.

26:55 There's a there's a nice comedic beach where Harry and the crew is at a cemetery and they're cleaning it up just, you know, as you do because it's part of their community service and Harry comes over in front of everyone else. So kind of on in and ask Robbie if you'd like to go to Edinborough to whiskey tasting and those like, oh, I'll come too. And then right. And Albert just wander over and be like, oh, we're Harry's taking us to Edinborough. And it's a nice comedic scene. We've seen it 100 times where Harry's like sort of, you know, accidentally goaded into taking the whole crew. But it it's a nice, it's a nice funny scene and that gets us to Edinborough and that gets us to a very, very famous whiskey man and a good old friend of yours, Charlie.

27:38 Yeah, Charlie McLean, yeah. So Charlie and I first met at Royal Royal Lochngar Distillery in D side a long time ago. Diageo at that point had a internal education course called the Malt Advocate where you would go and do an internship and then travel around Scotland with with a industry mentor. And he he was the industry mentor of that trip. I did that trip multiple times. And they vacillated between Charlie and and Dave Broom, another very famous whiskey writers they had. They had phenomenal talent taking people around Scotland and if they had any questions or anything on history, whether or not it was, you know, Diageo distilleries or any distillery, then they were.

28:24 They were a font of knowledge. So that's when we first met. So we travelled around Scotland together and and got to know each other and what a, what a phenomenal human being he is. As his knowledge of whiskey is just incredible. Yeah, none really. And that's why I sort of love this film as one of a slice of life film. Ken Loach slice of life film, but also as a whiskey film because it didn't cut any corners like it got like be whiskey expert, you know. And Charlie can actually be in the film and and to, you know, consult on the film to make sure that, you know, things were respected and done correctly in a way that still made sense to a casual viewer.

29:10 Right. And so gets this film, this, this sort of realism that it just draws you in more. And that's what I that's what I appreciate about it. Yeah. And the other great thing about that is that Charlie isn't acting in that film. CC in that film, if you've ever met him, he's he's kind of larger than life character. And and that that's that's basically who he plays. He just plays himself. So he had. He had the easiest gig ever, Yeah. Where he just got up there and and talked about talked about whiskey. They actually referenced Dragonmore in that scene as well. We do a blank taste thing and he asked which one. He asked the Robbie when he gets up on up on the front, they have a few people who they have to guess which whiskey they're blank tasting.

29:59 And I think he says Clint Barkless or Dragonmore. And so yeah, and it was Dragon War, but he had guessed Glenn Fortless and and Charlie had guessed correctly. So there's there's little kind of comedy and light hearted moment there. But again, it's just kind of reinforcing not not only the credibility of the film where they got a real expert and but also the point that the main character, Robbie, is actually getting more and more. Knowledgeable and being able to pinpoint fairly accurately, you know, regions and styles of whiskey. Absolutely. And this is a little bit of where the fairy tale starts. Because right after that scene character played by Rodger Allum, another great chapter whiskey collector, Thaddeus comes up to Robbie and hands him his business card in case he ever wants to chat.

30:48 That's like, oh, I wish, you know millionaires walk up to begin do that sometimes. But you know that does happen too. It's and that sort of was what then propels us to the rest of the film, which is the heist of a malt mill cast, because Charlie's character mentions that that there's this priceless cast that's coming up for for auction soon. And what happens then is Robbie and crew go back home and Robbie slowly starts thinking about a plan. And then you see him go with Leonie, his his girlfriend and baby, to go look at a possible flat for them to rent for six months.

31:30 And in doing that he sees one of Clancy's men has been following him. So he what Leonie's father said about him never being able to get away in Glasgow sinks in in the fact that even if he moved to this nice flat with Leonie, Clancy already knows where he is and he's going to come for him no matter what. And that's when Robbie's like, OK, I need enough money to get out. I know about this small bill thing. He prings MO, Albert and Rhino together and they start hatching their plan. And their plan is they're going to hike their way up or hitchhike their way up to back up to the Highlands. They're going to camp up there.

32:10 They're going to go to the auction, the Malt Mill auction, as huge whiskey fans, the Whiskey Club, and they're able to use saving when I, you know, it's as important as landing on the moon to them, this auction of a a malt mill. And they're going to get some of that whiskey and they're going to, they're going to fence it. And then that's what the film becomes, and it's sort of. Disguised in kilts? Yes, disguised in kilts that they're not even wearing correctly, it's pointed out. Yeah, and and even, weirdly, even more weirdly. And the distillery? That's. Got this Malt mill isn't even on Isla. It's Bow Blair Distillery, which is up northern in the Highlands of Scotland, Right.

32:55 Right. Yeah, it's what I found that funny too. It's like, why is it up there? But maybe they found that it's just like I said, it gets a little fairy tale ish in this this section, which is fine because it's it's sort of, you know, it's a, it's a fun heist wherein, you know, four friends on the road, you know, they're meeting people, they're hitchhiking, they're having a good time. You know, Albert's of course, being gross and dumb, which is, you know, all the comedy beats you want. And they do genuinely earnestly talk their way into the auction and the tasting. And you know, Charlie shows back up to do the B single tasting of the barrel and then literally go right into them, into the hives where they've set up plans for Robbie to stay inside.

33:45 There's a little crack in the window where they put the hose through. They put the hose into the whiskey barrel. They start filling up iron brew bottles. I have a question, how big were those bottles? Were they one litre? 2 litre? Iron brew bottles, Yeah, that's a great question. I actually know I they'd probably be around about, I don't know, like 700 mils, right? So basically a whiskey bottle, right? Yeah, yeah. So it's pretty much one to one for a whiskey bottle. Yeah, yeah, I would. I would actually need to Google it, but yeah, they're around about the same size, right? It's not like A2 litre. No, no. And this is where we sort of see that Robbie's, he is actually pretty smart. You know, we've seen him study and stuff like that and obviously he's got a he's got a little bit of a ability or a palette to develop.

34:37 But while he's sightseeing off whiskey, Thaddeus comes back in with the head of the distillery and he gets himself a little nip to actually taste it and offers the head of the distillery a chance to hey, I can get 3 bottles, I can sell them and we can make some money. Head of the distillery says he doesn't have the nerve for it. Robbie listens to all this and we are already seeing that. Robbie's already taking a little 100 mil bottle for himself and now he knows that Thaddeus has actually had the whiskey from that barrel. So once they leave, you know Robbie very again, I found this very funny. He he fills up Iron Group bottles from other barrels and just refills the barrel with.

35:21 It's random, I guess, Paul Blair, which, yeah, I found that very funny. Yeah, thus, thus ostensibly teaspooning it and and making it not worthless, but certainly not the value that they they allude to in the film. Right. And it pays off very well later. But yeah, so the next day the auction happens and you know, Robbie sort of comes out of the shadows with the rest of the crew and there's a bidding war. This, you know, dude from Boston ends up winning Or Connecticut, but he's got a Boston hat on, pays over 1.1 million. Of course they open the barrel and this pays off wonderfully. Cases like, oh, it's amazing, of course. And I feel like we've both been in situations like that as well, where, you know, somebody tastes. The whiskey they're told is amazing, and of course it's amazing because they're crying for it. So you sort of see that in spades? Yeah, that I I found.

36:22 I found that that whole scene quite, quite interesting. It was like. I don't know why he took the guy into the warehouse, just to give him a drama of it. I don't know what he thought was going to happen there, but he just thought it was going to end there and he was doing kindness. And then, you know, he basically offered, offers him hard cash for three bottles that he's going to then give give to a collector and you know, fair play to the distillery manager where he says no, no, but he's already there Like if you already brought him in like and you know, this guy is like representing collectors like you got to kind of know there's some, yeah. I know, I know what they were trying to do. It was like a set piece of intrigue and they waited, they waited, they Robbie, to overhear what was going on. So he saw the financial opportunity. So yes, a little, a little bit of convenience, but it it works in AI can say the fairy tale sort of way. But yeah, then so Robbie very smartly tracks Thaddeus down at a bar.

37:28 You know, sits down direct, you know, no bullshit. Pours him a little bit out of that fifty mil he took for himself. Thaddeus instantaneously knows what it is because he just sat at 9:00 to 4:00 and he makes a deal and basically all Robbie and crew have to do is get home to Glasgow. And then the the tragedy of Ken Loach Sort of seeing sin. It's not as like, again, not as tragic as most and Loach films, because I feel like had he been in a different mood, none of that was he could have made it. Yeah, on a on a scale of 1 to Loach, it was pretty low.

38:08 On the nihilism scale, it was. It was at three out of, yeah. Yeah. So, yeah, so they they basically cut back and they're already back in Glasgow. But, you know, as soon as they're walking down the street, of course the cops stop them because they're known criminals, all of them. And they go through their bags and they, you know, pack them down and then they, maybe you can speak to this. But they, they, the other men, show them their, their genitals in their butt underneath the kilt. And then it's what's happening. Yeah. So there, there's this thing in Scotland. If you're a true Scotsman, you you don't wear underwear underneath your kilt.

38:50 And and I think, I think it was just a bit of a comedic set again where they they had to show underneath their kilts. Thankfully they don't show it. No, just leave them from behind. And then there's there's like another comedic moment there with the the one of the policemen's disgusted by what I think and what not. But yeah. And then and then and then we get the the tragedy moment, which I'll let you talk about. So as we mentioned, you know, Albert is boisterous but also bit of a klutz, leave it at that. And he's holding one of the Iron Brew bottles and he's the old tool glass bottles, So they're not, they're not plastic. And he's sort of like shouting after your tops being like, yeah, you don't know what I've had. And he goes to cheers the bottle with with MO, who's also holding the glass bottle of Iron Brew.

39:44 And as they cheers, old bottles just disintegrate in a crash and the whiskey's gone. Yeah, so out of four bottles that they filled, I think we have two. And it is a devastating moment. Like MO is just sitting there like frozen, shocked with whiskey all over her, a glass in her hand and obviously Rhino and Robbie not too pleased. Now that's an understatement. There's some, There's some spicy Laswegian banter and that's. But always got lost, thankfully. Not lost well and also Albert had fisted.

40:27 Lee has a point or makes a point that you know well. If 4 bottles were priceless, 2 bottles must be more priceless as the gist of his point And it's not wrong but he's kind of an asshole still because it's just like it's such a such an on forced error to destroy those two bottles. But. Anyway, Robbie's still meeting with Thaddeus at a pub in Glasgow. You know, I think Thaddeus is just so happy to have any of it. He still gets a deal. Deal ends up being or 100,000 lbs for one bottle. Plus Robbie gets a job and so he directs important job where he, I think he's working for a whiskey collector driving around to the Scottish distilleries looking for barrels and things like that and everybody gets their cuts AT25K each and as a sort of.

41:18 Like nice cherry on top. We realized, well, there were two bottles. We only sold one. The final bottle. You see Harry come home to his flat and waiting on his desk is the final bottle. And then they've given it to Harry Wood. And Robbie writes a note, you know, thanking him and saying thank you for leaving it and giving me a chance. And you know, Harry pours, pours a DRAM for himself and then go back to Robbie in his now new in the VW vintage camper van that he's got for work. He's loading up Leonie and Luke his his old friend and son says goodbye to the crew. You'll watch him drive away and they actually, hey, let's go get drunk. And you kind of know there's Ken loads coming in again where you're like all three of them are going to go through that 25 grand in about a weekend and be back to 21. And Robbie and family drive off into the Scottish Ray sunset. It's a fun, fun fact, Zach.

42:11 The scene, that scene with the camper van, where they're where they go off. I used to live on that street. Oh my God. Yeah, it's incredible. Yeah. Jedburg Gardens, North Carolina side, Glasgow right side. Yeah, I live in that street. Yeah, it's incredible. And I mean it is a happy ending. Like Robbie rides off into the sunset with his his girlfriend and son and you know they they've done what they come to do. He's got a life out of him. He's going to Sterling, I think. And yeah, it's, it's it's kind of a happy film, I'm not going to lie. I had a little tear in my eye when Harry came home and saw that bottle sitting there. You know, it's it's a very nice ending. It's and it's a nice film that I know I used the word fairy tale for the high section, but there's nothing unrealistic about it.

43:02 Like there it, it is all very, very grounded in reality. And you know how? Yeah, the way that it ends, you know, there's like a genuine sense of hope that he is going to turn his life around and you know, be be the father that he promised that he would be to his girlfriend. And he's not. He's been given a second chance and a very and a very rare opportunity and he's going to work in the whiskey industry that he now loves. But yeah, the the back end of it, you know the the the spine of the back of the movie is and we said this at the beginning is that ultimately crime pays at the end.

43:45 Yeah, I mean there's there's more details we left out. You know, with the sort of a crime in Glasgow. And you know what you see we as in sort of getting back to the initial point where he's been getting a lot of chances like he has been to prison or being another kid in the streets. And you see that and he has to sort of confront that as well. So there are more details that make this Bury, Ken, Loach and Bury. You know, cutting to the bone. But the overall story, it is happy ending. It is a fun whiskey story and you actually do learn a little bit about the whiskey world in Scotland and there's a lot of laughs and he said, I I'm not going to lie, I watched it stay and there was a tear in my eye that scene with Barry at the end and so I I find that to be a successful film.

44:33 You know, you you're it's emotional, but it's also fun. But it's also, you know, yeah. Mostly away from it. Most of the time when you talk about Ken Loach films you wouldn't use the word charming. Don't feel like you could use that that word here quite easily and and because it is you know the end of the day it's it's like a happy ending and no one's hurt and you know it. It kind of just tails off of them going off into the sunset. Not not that you ever see the sun in Scotland. But if there weren't sun they'd be going off into the sunset. We. Had to sunlight once or twice a year, but yeah. Well, let's let's go off into the Highlands ourselves here and this. And you know, you probably hear people like me say this a lot just because of the child, but I have. But this is legitimately one of my favorite all time whiskeys, and that's Mortlock 20 and.

45:31 This is something I do legitimately sit at home, like when I do reach for whiskey. This is one of them that I do reach for. House. For a team would be up there as well and it's what I love about the Mortlock 20. I'll let you explain it more is it is so approachable, so just beautifully sippable even meet. Like would have poured over a rock. I'm not going to stop you but like experiencing it neat. You get this sense of place so well and I feel like I love pairing it with this film because in this film you get a sense of place so well. Like get a piece of Glasgow you could normally see especially as a tourist you get it, you know you get the sense of Scotland and the whiskey community in Scotland and I feel like with this more like when you immediately get that sense of place of more locked and island.

46:19 So. So I'll let you take it from here. All right. More than happy to, OK. I mean, pull my court back in here. Yeah, so more like. Obviously I have a huge soft spot for this distillery. I was born 250 feet away from it. Oh wow, almost the well. I turned 50 next Saturday. So 1973, born in the Stevenson Cottage Hospital, which George Kelly and his wife, they they were actually chairman and chairwoman of of that hospital. They laid the foundation stone. All that. So I have, I have a fairly strong connection to this distillery.

47:04 First time I ever tasted more like though was back in the early 1990s, and it was actually this the old more like 16. Who will care which is part of the the old flora and fauna rage like you made in 1992. That ball so discontinued now but we do have a new version of of the 16 which is very close to that And why did I like it? I liked it because of the depth of flavor. What is the P side? Whiskeys are are lighter, more floral orchard fruits and and they're obviously very delicious. But if you're looking for something with more kind of grip, more Sherry influence because that 16 was all in first fell all or also Sherry barrels, then you're going to get a little bit more of a tannic note to it, certainly more of a fruity note to it, more like. He's also known for having a heavy kind of sulfury quality to it now and that comes about in in different ways, but we do a very unique distillation at that distillery which equates to 2.81.

48:10 We don't really have enough time to go into the distillation, but ostensibly what we do is a a double distillation on 2 cells and we split wash on wash cells two and three. First 80% goes into spirit still #2 so that's like a quasi triple distillation. So we're producing a a multi spirit and we're producing a floral spirit and then we have the Wee Witchy and if people talk about more like the oldest reference the Wee Witchy, the remainder 20% of those two buy that wash cells go into it. We do 2 dud runs and then we do a a third run where we're taking both heads and tails from those worst stills and that produced the heavy rich almost boom mammy savory character all go through traditional worm tubs.

48:53 Those three different liquids are then married together and that's what goes into barrel. So the math of it is 2.81 when you add it all up. Someone far more intelligent than me came up with that equation. So yeah, it's it's a very weird, unique distillery. We don't know where that concept came from. It was Alexander Cowie implemented it in 1896 when he took over the distillery when his father retired. And we have no idea where he got the concept from. None. Part of the reason is when he sold the distillery in the early 1920s, he destroyed all of his records. Yeah, he just, he sold it to the Walker family. They love that whiskey so much they wanted to own the distillery, so they bought it.

49:41 But yeah, he destroyed all of his records. We have a letter from 1936 with them bemoaning the fact that Doctor Curry made an extraordinary decision to destroy all of his papers. So. Yeah, power means. Yeah, right. That created all sorts of chaos because he had been selling to Macy's prior to Prohibition. Was Prohibition finished? Obviously the walkers then owned it and they went to Macy's to continue selling them whiskey, and they did. No idea what the previous arrangements were in terms of how much they paid for it or anything like that, because Alexander Cowie destroyed everything and he wouldn't tell them either. He lived right next to the distillery and he still wouldn't tell them anything.

50:28 So yeah, weird. What a what a wild story. Yeah, WW nerds love that. They love that kind of anarchy that went on their back. Back at that that time in whiskey when, you know you didn't do those kind of things, it was all like a business deal was a business deal and there was a lot of formality to it. So to have to have him like sell it to them and then destroy all the records was extremely unusual. But yeah, we now today we have three main expressions for more like you're available in the United States. There's a 12/16 and the one that we're we're going to taste which is obviously the 20, the the 12 is actually in a combination of X bourbon and Sherry.

51:15 The 16 is all first fill Sherry. The 20 is also all Sherry, but we're using some refill as well as first fill in here. So what what are we going to see here? Well, it it's got that quintessential DNA of more like which is that that heavy rich umami note. But then there's a little bit of red Berry and that that's one of the other thing if you ever like blind taste or blind nose and taste more like, then if you get that kind of almost like red Berry like tartness on the nose, that's one of the biggest tells for me If I'm ever doing a blind.

51:56 And then I I come across more like there's always that little bit of red red Berry in there. There's a little bit of a spicy note. There's a little bit of almost like bergamot, aromatic citrus note that comes. For me. And then at the at the back end of it, it's it's, it's that Sherry, it's that all are also punched. That fruitcake richness that's coming through from it. It's almost. Like the others, every lobby to it. Like it is not overly sweet. Yeah, so that that Mammy actually comes through mainly on the wee witchy, but also because of the fact that we're using traditional worm tubs.

52:40 So you've got less copper contact and copper works as a purifier and the more copper contact you get, the lighter and brighter the spirit is. So the less, the more dense the flavours are. And there's there's chemicals called mirror captains. And not to get nerdy, but I'm going to get nerdy and you're going to get, you're going to get chemicals like dimethyl and trimethyl disulphide and they have a kind of heavy, heavy, meaty sulfury note to them. And that's where that umami comes from. And if you taste old Ben Rennes, if you taste Daluan from Space Eye, you're going to get the same kind of umami effect. In fact, when we just released Johnny Walker Umami, Blue Label Umami, and it's got both Ben Rennes and and Mortlick in it, and that was going to give that kind of meaty, umami, savoury characteristic to it. So on the on the nose and on the palate, it's actually quite different, whereas you've got that kind of that bergamot, that red Berry, and then obviously that that site could have spent much sulphur.

53:45 But then on the pallet, it's way more, way more savoury. And that's really where it's almost like if you like far and you get that far broth and then you can't finish it, and then you'll take it home and then you'll strain all the bits out and then just heat up the broth, which I do. Then you get a really nice, almost like spicy, savoury note, a little bit of a noose in there as well. And that. And that's why I love about this. It's like on the nose, it's a very different beast. And then very palette. You've got way more of that kind of savoury characteristic, more of that spicy note. Still, it's very juicy as well.

54:31 Yes, and I'll see it turns the corners well there. It's quite a ride on the palate, like 100% on board with the savouriness up front and that will. What's a little bit of like dried chili spice? But then on the on the back end it gets a little creamy and it gets a little softer and it kind of starts matching towards toffee and nuttiness and then pulls back, if you know what I mean. Like it it it there's a layer to it. Oh yeah, this is still, this is still on Peta's wall. Like, don't worry, we're not going too too off into the distance here, but it it becomes this complex chair of ride through. Jitter into dessert and then back again.

55:13 Now yeah, it's almost like you're having your far. You pop a where there's originally in your mouth for a little bit. Right, freaking out. Go back, go back to your far. Also that EBV on this one's got usual is at 43.4 and we get asked a lot why. And the reason is when we when we sold whiskey to Macy's. When Cowie's originally sold it, it was at 43.4 when it was sold in Macy's. So when they re released it as a heart back to those old days, they kept the ABV the same 43.4. Gotcha. So it's it's classic. Yeah. Yeah.

55:54 So you're you're tasting like this kind of old old world spirit and and it's a it's an unusual distillery. It's got a really rich interesting history. It was a it was an old battle site then it was an Abbey. At one point there was a secret church inside one of the warehouses because there there was a a subset of of religion in in Scotland called the We Free Kirk And they were they were quasi persecuted, but there was like communities all over Scotland and they they had their services in one of the warehouses. That's crazy yeah so the really it's a really strange distillery but that's that's why, that's why I love it and and they you have to be very experienced to work at this distillery as well. So the people who weren't there actually have worked at multiple sites.

56:47 The guy, the guy, the guy who runs it called Andrew Millsop, very, very nice guy and like a distilling savant. And he he's, he's in charge of that site. Yeah, it's it's a tricky distillery to work at because it's so complex. And it is. It comes through and we'll see. Like going back now to the nose, I get this sort of sense of almost like a warehouse or where like the straws been packed into the clay. And like you get this like sense of bold, not must, but like the barrel houses better. Like like an old cherry barrel house, honestly. Where there's that, that tart fruit is there, but also there be sure like Christmas cakes are there and you get this combination of you know the the lighter cherries and the older darker cherries and it all sort of is coming together with this bit of multi base.

57:37 And yeah, some people some people actually make a comparison between this and old Jamaican pot still rum where you've got that kind of funky note behind there. But we're not we're obviously not using dunder like they do in in Jamaica by playing that kind of some people see barnyard aroma which which I. Not quite there. Oh yeah, it's like the nicest way of of explaining it. But yeah, there's like an old oaky dustiness. To that, Yeah, exactly. It's it's definitely not in the barnyard. I can see where people will go that direction. Yeah, like I said, like that straw poundage in the play into a floor.

58:19 But it's it's not funky. It's just but it's not musty. Like it's not. It doesn't feel like, it's like, you know that black mold you get from a barrel house and everything. It's just like this subtle vibe like you're walking through an old warehouse drinking a really, really good glass of whiskey and then taking the 2nd sip again. The sort of the complexity really just comes through and. Again, I can't overstate the the creamy end and you get this little whispering vanilla in the end in the survey kind of telling you where the barrels were, which barrel, I'm sorry which barrels were involved here, but it's just such a night. I mean, and at the very, very, very end I get this almost like a it's not a star fruit, but like something where little tiny bit of like a sharp, savory fruit and it's such a nice journey.

59:14 Yeah, it it really is beautiful. And every time you go back to it, you'll pick out something else as well. For sure, like every every time I I come to this, I'll pick something else. And this that last sip I got, I got a little bit of kind of tiramazu. There was a little bit of like chocolatey, little bit of espresso, but then there's that creaminess in there. Yeah, I can see that 100% especially again I keep going back to that creaminess that you get so nice and. Yeah, a little bit of espresso for sure. That's really phenomenal pour of whiskey to the filming whiskey listeners if you're still here with us. Thank you. First of all, but you know this is obviously this is a premium product.

59:59 We'll have a premium price. However, you do see this on shelves in liquor stores around the country. It's not something that is impossible to fight. So you and just to let you know at our last episode we sampled a very rare release that only. You know, there's only like 2000 bottles a year and that's it. And if you don't get it, you don't get it. This is findable. It's got a price tag on it, but it is findable. And so, you know, since this is the holiday season, you know this is the sort of bottle that would be an amazing gift to a whiskey lover because of all the history that you had just mentioned. You know the this is such a insider's distillery that is so unique.

1:00:41 Like just the the space is so unique. People are so unique. Whiskey is so unique. But this whatever I recommend more like is or like. If you really want to impress a whiskey nerd, you can have one of these. Yeah, yeah, it definitely sits in that that wheelhouse of immediate credibility. Yes. Where if you give them more like then they they they're like, oh wow I because they're they're used to gang. Lots of other like more readily available whiskeys. And you give them something like, you know, morally and you know, it's it's cult favorite for sure. Absolutely. And it and it lives up to that cold hype.

1:01:22 I mean, this is one of those whiskeys that you can go back to again and again and you'll find more nuanced work, depth work, beauty. And I'm so glad we got to drink this together. So let's give our final thoughts. I mean, I'm going to give you my final thoughts on the Whiskey A+. What did you think of the movie? I I liked it for and I like I said at the beginning for multiple reasons but also nostalgia because I I lived in Glasgow for a for a long period of time. So like seeing places that I saw on a on a day-to-day basis made me a little bit, little bit homesick, but it was really nice to see. And then they obviously show that the beauty of the Scottish landscape, but there as well. But kind of at the bottom line of it, it's like it's a movie with like genuine hope and and I suppose that's like the underlying message is that there's always hope because it starts off with desperation and there's no hope And then he sees this kind of window opportunity and at the end of it you've got this really nice way that would they be kind of tail off and like I say they they drive off to a new life and. And it's all because of all because of whiskey, ultimately. So I really like that, Yeah.

1:02:43 And you know, I remember seeing this film back in 2012 in the in the theater at the really, really feeling moved by it. And of course, having known Ken Loach, nice to see him have a happy ending to a film. But it is that sort of thing where I feel, you know, to who are American film listeners out there, You know, if if you don't know Ken Loach, it's really worse. You know, going back and watching, you know, the one that shakes Barley or you know, a number of his films. He's been making movies since the 60s. Everybody, There's a lot out there and they are politically motivated. They are, you know, they are looking at, you know, impoverished people in the world and their struggles in in a very realistic way. I think like if you look at American film makers, like maybe Sean Baker sort of does that with his, you know, Florida Man films and a little bit of Alexander Payne. But even then it's it's not that cutting as as Ken Loach's films are.

1:03:43 And if you watch the winner, Shakespearlie, you get to see a very fresh faced Florian Murphy. That's a great yeah, that's a we're talking about an ending not. This point, but yeah, not this morning, but wow 30. 30 The same feel good. Movie ending as we do see in this angels chair. No and no. I was thinking about this whiskey and you know, I I've said this again, but I want to reiterate it. You know, I I love whiskeys that tell you a story when you sip them and and this Morlock 20 tells you a story when you sip it. And I feel like it's a a perfect carrying board film. Like the angels share that you feel good at the end of the pool and so it'll leave it at that.

1:04:28 And you know, can you tell a good film and whiskey audience where they can find you and how they can find this wonderful whiskey? Yes, you can. You can find me on the social medias at Ewan Morgan there on on Instagram and you'll you'll follow my whiskey travels and see how baristas misspell my name across across I put I put. I post that quite frequently. I do. I do a lot of tastings all over the country as well. Whiskey shows and. And I also do a lot of private client work, so I work on Diagio's Prima and Ultima. If you go to diagiorareandexceptional.com you will see the full line there. So that's it from me.

1:05:12 Yeah. And I will just you back off that amazing whiskeys. Ewan works with amazing whiskey, so please follow him. Follow rare and exceptional. It is a gateway into some of the most unique and special stuff coming out of Scotland, full stop right now. So please, please give him the follow up. Please, you know, keep an eye on it, especially if you are really wanting to get into some phenomenal scratches that are available now from my end. You know me, I'm Zach Johnston. You can find me at ZTP Whiskey on Instagram. Don't do any other social media. Then you can find me at UP rocks.com where I get to write about the wonderful whiskeys I'm privileged and honored to taste with people like you.

1:05:56 And next week we are going to be jumping back into the United States. We're going to be talking about a film near and dear to my heart that was filmed to ride from. So a sort of piggybacking off of you. And then the Glaswegian, the feeling of this. We're going to Pacific Northwest and we're going to be watching First Blood and we're going to be drinking a wonderful Washington Whiskey while we talk about how Rambo isn't what you think he is and while also being in my backyard basically. So thank you everyone for listening. It's greatly appreciated. And do it. See you next time. Cheers. Thank you so much, wish me to take care.