Whisky has often served as a lubricant driving the cogs of diplomacy and politics. But as Chris Hill reports,it has also been a hinderance as well as a help
The idea and image of the drunken politician is essentially a cliché, and like most clichés it is not without its basis in truth.
Politicians, like the leaders in any industry (business, entertainment etc), have been known to indulge and overindulge in alcohol. Unlike other industries, however, th...
By Chris Hill
from Issue 51 published on 07/10/2005
Handsome dividends could be in store for whisky drinkers and the Scotch industry, now Scotland has its own government.Tom Bruce-Gardyne reports
The southernmost distillery in Scotland is William Grant’s at Girvan, in Ayrshire, 400 miles from where the British Parliament sits in the House of Commons in London. If Scotch whisky workers ever felt neglected by the Government, such a distance can hardly have helped. So when Scotland finally ach...
By Tom Bruce-Gardyne
from Issue 8 published on 16/2/2000
Jens Tholstrup describes being taxed to the hilt in his native country, and deprived of a decent choice of malts into the bargain
Denmark is not the cheapest place to live. Any normal taxpayer will be relieved of 50 per cent of his salary before he even bothers the bank with what is left. Above a certain income this rises to 70 per cent. On top of this comes heavy indirect taxation; there is taxation of something like 220 per ...
By James Tholstrup
from Issue 1 published on 12/1/1999
