Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Food & Drink

Friar John Cor: Father of Scotch Whisky

Steven John
By

scotch on a budget
Image used with permission by copyright holder
History’s first mention of Scotch whisky can be dated to 1494. An entry in the royal Exchequer Rolls (basically a record of taxation and government spending, FYI) from that year reads:

“Eight bolls of malt to Friar John Cor wherewith to make aqua vitae.”

Recommended Videos

Now before we go on with the history of things, let me explain a bit about volume: a “boll” is an archaic unit of measure equal to 64 pecks (the “peck” being almost defunct itself, of course). A peck is equal to 2 dry gallons of material, usually a foodstuff.

Related: DIY Bourbon

King James IV: Lord of the Perm
King James IV: Lord of the Perm Image used with permission by copyright holder

So if we do a bit of math, we see that 8 bolls of malt is in fact equal to 1,024 dry gallons worth of malt, and if we assume it was relatively well compacted, then at the approximate weight of 8 pounds per dry gallon, we can presume the order was for around a bit more than 8,000 pounds of malt. Based on the approximate ratio of malt to mash and mash to distilled whisky, and assuming the final product was watered down to today’s “standard” 80 proof, those “eight bolls of malt” could have made about 790 gallons of aqua vitae. Damn, that’s a lotta hooch.

Related

Anyway, forgive the mathematical digression; back to the history lesson.

That massive malt order was issued by Scotland’s King James IV, who sat on the Scottish throne from 1488 to 1513 and is generally considered to be have been rather good at being king.

King James was also generally known to be quite fond of hard liquor, thus the order for nearly 800 gallons of booze he dispatched to this mysterious John Cor fellow.

Precious little is known about Friar John Cor, and there’s certainly no reliable way to know what he looked like, so instead here’s a picture of some other friar who can’t call us up to complain about the misrepresentation, having been dead for centuries before Alexander Graham Bell even invented phones:

This is NOT Friar John Cor
This is NOT Friar John Cor Image used with permission by copyright holder

In fact, pretty much all we do know about Friar Cor is that he knew how to make large batches of Scotch whisky. Now at this point, you might be saying to yourself (or shouting drunkenly to all the people on the subway): “Wait a minute, where exactly is this mention of Scotch whisky you keep gum flapping about anyway?”

Ah, it’s all there, my friend, if you unlock the magic of entomology! Er… wait, no that’s bugs. I meant etymology. Right. Onward we go.

The king’s vaunted boll order ends with the words “aqua vitae,” see? That means, of course, “water of life.” But that there is Latin. The way to say “water of life” in Gaelic (dialects of which made their way from Ireland to Scotland, as in fact did the art of distillation itself, if we’re to believe that tale – thank you St. Patrick!) you use the words “usque baugh.” That first word, the one meaning water, is pronounced phonetically as “oos-key.” And it’s pronounced drunkenly as…

        …whisky.

So! A Scottish king orders whisky from a Scottish friar. Guess what we got there? We got Scotch, baby.

Editors' Recommendations

Steven John
Steven John
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Steven John is a writer and journalist living just outside New York City, by way of 12 years in Los Angeles, by way of…
Old Pulteney Relaunches With New Design and Whisky Lineup
Old Pulteney 12

Old Pulteney is a Highlands single malt distillery on the Caithness coast that may not have as much name recognition as big players like The Macallan or Glenfiddich. But this smaller operation, nicknamed "the Maritime Malt" due to its close proximity to the ocean, does produce some very fine whiskies. The core lineup has just been relaunched in the U.S. with redesigned bottles and a few brand-new expressions joining the flagship 12-year-old: Old Pulteney 15, Old Pulteney 18, and the NAS Huddart. Distillery Manager Malcolm Waring recently described these four whiskies as highlighting various defining characteristics of the distillery: The 12 focuses on the influence of the sea, the 15 showcases the influence of warehouse maturation (as opposed to wood), the 18 proves that the location in the warehouse where the whisky matures has an effect, and Huddart adds a touch of peat to the mix.

Previous

Read more
Bruichladdich Distillery Unveils its New Octomore Scotch Whisky Series
Octomore 10s Lineup 2019

Bruichladdich is a modern distillery using old equipment that tends to do things a bit differently than its contemporaries. It's located on Islay, an island just off Scotland's west coast that is known for its big, peaty single malts. The eponymous core whisky from Bruichladdich is actually unpeated, with some expressions in this range really focusing on the concept of terroir by using barley from a single farm, or only from Islay itself. The Port Charlotte range, though, is heavily peated, sort of an homage to what people have come to expect from Islay whisky. But the annual Octomore series, now in its tenth edition, is where the distillery really gets a chance to experiment with terroir, cask type, age, and peat levels.

The new Octomore 10s series may not reach the lofty 300-plus PPM peat level of releases past, but that's not the point here. As head distiller Adam Hannett put it, Bruichladdich has moved on from releasing "peat monsters" in the Octomore range to toying with the "impossible equation" of making whisky that shouldn't work based on its age, strength, and still aggressive peat levels.

Read more
William Grant and Sons Launches New Single Malt Whisky Brand
Aerstone Sea Cask Land Cask

William Grant and Sons is a family-owned business best known for its two well-regarded and popular Speyside whiskey distilleries, The Balvenie and Glenfiddich. Glenfiddich is one of the best-selling single malt brands in the world, although the company prefers to label it "most awarded." The Balvenie is its smaller sister distillery located right next door that produces a lineup of whiskies that are finished in a variety of cask types. But WGS has a few smaller brands in its portfolio as well, like Ailsa Bay which is distilled at the company's sprawling Girvan distillery about 55 miles south of Glasgow. Hendrick's Gin is also distilled here, along with a large amount of grain whisky used in various WGS blends. And now a new brand called Aerstone, consisting of two 10-year-old single malt expressions -- Land Cask and Sea Cask -- has been introduced.

These are two easy-sipping whiskies meant more for those who are new to the whisky category than for seasoned drinkers. This is not to say that they are bad whiskies, but they are subtle and soft with flavors and alcohol (40%) that are not meant to challenge your palate. Sea Cask is described as "smooth and easy" on the packaging, and this Speyside-style whisky is indeed light, slightly sweet, and a little spicy, a satisfying if unremarkable introduction to the single malt category. Sea Cask would work well in a highball or other scotch whisky cocktail. Land Cask, on the other hand, is described as "rich and smoky," and it has a noticeable and assertive peatiness, although nothing like what you might expect from an Islay whisky like Ardbeg or Laphroaig.

Read more