Teacher's

- William Teacher started work in a cotton mill aged seven; in 1830 he was employed by a small grocer in Glasgow. He married the owner's daughter, persuaded the firm to take out a licence to sell wines and spirits and expanded into 'dram shops'. These were basic public houses selling reliable spirits, with rules against buying rounds and having loud conversations; drunks and rowdies were quickly removed. Within twenty years he was the largest licence holder in Glasgow.
- By this time he had been joined in the business by his sons, Adam and William. Following the example of others they moved into wholesaling, providing special blends for specific customers. One of these became very popular, so they concentrated their energies on producing and marketing it as Teacher's Highland Cream (it was registered in 1884). Export growth was the next move: as early as 1903 the brand was being exported to America.
- During the First World War, the company voluntarily reduced sales of its whisky, by giving customers a ration card which entitled them to only five glasses a week or a bottle a fortnight. As a result, when peace returned the company had a great deal of whisky in store.
- The demand for teacher's Highland Cream grew steadily over the years - so much so that the company was able to build a modern blending and bottling plant in Glasgow in 1962.
- In 1976 William Teacher & Sons Ltd joined Allied Distillers, and today their key brand is among the top five best-selling whiskies in Britain, with a strong position in the world market.

TASTING NOTES: Colour: This whisky has honey colouring and shimmering gold tints.Aroma: On the nose, malt scents rise above all else, melding with smells of peat and smoke. In the background, sweet scents of apples and honey help to balance the scent profile. Taste: Heated oak spices mix with malt flavours to provide for a warm mouth-feel. The sweet fruity and honey flavours add something unique to the mix. This drink has a full-bodied finish. The oak spices provide a slight burn that leaves the malt and fruit flavours lingering in the mouth for a few moments after the whisky is swallowed. PRODUCER: Teacher's was first legally distilled and sold in the 1930s. The original recipe was created by William Teacher. Over the years, the distillery was passed down throughout the Teacher family. Today, Teacher's has a variety of aged Scotches that it sells around the world. Oddly enough, this drink is most popular in England and India. COUNTRY: ScotlandPRODUCTION DETAILS: The Ardmore distillery is famous for using peated single malt barley in all of its whisky. Once the barley is harvested, it is quickly mashed into a flour-like substant and mixed with water. This mixture is then fermented with added yeasts. Next, the drink is distilled in copper stills, twice over. The scotch is then put into oak casks for a minimum of three years before it is bottled. ALCOHOL: 40%