THE LITTLE CASK THAT COULD

As with the advent of many of history’s great inventions, the octave cask was not the product of fastidiously and carefully developed methodology, but rather the consequence of serendipity – a happy accident. It stands among countless other items that we now take for granted: penicillin, Coca-Cola, microwave ovens, and even cornflakes were unexpected and fortuitous discoveries made whilst in pursuit of something else. Indeed, the same can be said of the effect oak casks used to transport Scotch across the country – sometimes legally, sometimes not – had on the colour, aroma, and flavour of the spirit contained within.

In the often-romanticised 18th and early 19th century,