Fact of life

Alcohol Poisoning 

Whisky is a drink that has very large percentage of alcohol in its structure (around 40%), much more than beer or wine (around 8-13%). Because of that, people can lose track of intake while drinking whisky, which can lead to the alcohol poisoning. This illness is a result of the elevated alcohol level in our blood, which can induce difficulties in breathing, gag reflex and elevated heart rate.

Impaired Judgment  

Very small amount of whiskey can produce strong side-effects, most noticeably almost immediate impairment to our judgment. People under the influence of alcohol often make rash, risky or illogical decisions, they lose their sense of fear or sometimes get paranoid, afraid and aggressive. The most common examples of impaired judgment caused by drinking are aggressive behavior, drink driving, sexual irresponsibility and in some cases suicidal tendencies.

Cirrhosis 

Constant abuse of alcoholic beverages such as scotch whiskey over long periods of time can produce serious side effects and can damage our metabolism. One of the most famous fatal effects of this kind of prolonged whiskey intake is cirrhosis of the liver, which is hardening of the liver that is caused by the buildup of the scar tissue caused by alcohol. This scar tissue restricts the blood flow through the liver, which in turn reduces its potential to purify our blood from harmful toxins, fight infections and regulate blood clotting.

Addiction 

Regular intake of alcohol can create very serious physical and mental disorder in which person gets very strongly addicted to alcohol. This very serious addiction can be found all over the world, and governments, medical personnel and various public organizations are fighting daily for better control, prevention, diagnosis and recovery methods to fight against it.

Pregnancy problems 

Large intake of alcohol during pregnancy can cause spontaneous abortion and physical or mental disabilities for the fetus (malformations and other birth problems).

Stroke 

Because of the strong influence alcohol can have on our metabolism, blood, heart and liver, large and regular intake of whiskey can cause stroke, serious injuries of heart muscle, and in some cases death.

Interference with other diseases 

Persons who are affected by the conditions of the liver, affections of the pancreas, Precancerous stages of the digestive system and survivors of the hemorrhagic stroke MUST NOT drink whiskey or any other type of alcohol.

Interference with medication  

Whiskey and all other alcohol beverages can strongly interact with some types of medicine, causing severe reaction that can seriously affects our health. Persons who are taking anticoagulants, medication for diabetes, beta blockers, antihistamines, antibiotics, antidepressants, pain relievers and sleeping pills must avoid alcohol.

Whisky has been distilled in Scotland for hundreds of years. There is some evidence to show that the art of distilling could have been brought to the country by Christian missionary monks, but it has never been proved that Highland farmers did not themselves discover how to distil spirits from their surplus barley. 

The earliest historical reference to whisky comes much later, Mr J Marshall Robb, in his book ‘Scotch Whisky’, says: ‘The oldest reference to whisky occurs in the Scottish Exchequer Rolls for 1494, where there is an entry of ‘eight bolls of malt to Friar John Cor wherewith to make aquavitae’. A boll was an old Scottish measure of not more than six bushels. (One bushel is equivalent to 25.4 kilograms) 

When King James IV was in Inverness during September 1506, his Treasurer’s Accounts had entries for the 15th and 17th of the month respectively: ‘For aqua vite to the King. . .’ and ‘For ane flacat of aqua vite to the King. . .’. lt is probable that the aquavitae in this case was spirit for drinking. 

The earliest reference to a distillery in the Acts of the Scottish Parliament appears to be in 1690, when mention is made of the famous Ferintosh distillery owned by Duncan Forbes of Culloden. 

There is also a reference to distilling in a private house in the parish of Gamrie in Banffshire in 1614. This occurs in the Register of the Privy Council, where a man accused of the crime of breaking into a private house, combined with assault, was said to have knocked over some ‘aquavitie’. 

One of the earliest references to ‘uiskie’ occurs in the funeral account of a Highland laird about 1618. 

An unpublished letter of February 1622, written by Sir Duncan Campbell of Glenorchy to the Earl of Mar, reported that certain officers sent to Glenorchy by the King had been given the best entertainment that the season and the country allowed. It stated: ‘For they wantit not wine nor aquavite.’ This ‘aquavite’ was no doubt locally distilled whisky. 

Another writer affirms that aquavitae occasionally formed part of the rent paid for Highland farms, at any rate in Perthshire, but no actual date is given for this practice.