Having the last laugh
Ian R Mitchell tells the story of the Macraes of Monar, illicit whisky distillers
Though doubtless the odd small scale still might yet be found in remote areas of the West Highlands, the last illicit distiller on a scale large enough to provide his main income must have been Hamish Dhubh Macrae of Monar, who retired from his calling a century ago.
He and his father had outwitted the excisemen for over 60 years, and even in finally giving up his trade, Hamish had the last laugh.
Hamish’s father Alasdair and his wife had originally come to Loch Monar from Kintail in the 1840s. Monar is and was one of the remotest parts of the Scottish mainland, accessible only by drove roads and bridle paths. Alasdair built a house on an island in Loch Monar, and by having the ‘lum reekin’ before he was challenged, gained squatter’s rights.
He also built a causeway to connect the little fortress to the mainland. But the fire in his house was not the only one Alasdair lit.
It seems that the Macraes had come deliberately to Monar to engage in the illicit production of whisky. Monar was 40 miles and hard miles at that from the nearest gauger’s (exciseman’s) office in Dingwall.
Alasdair originally had bothies at a place called Cosaig at the lochside, but when he suffered the indignity of being arrested by the gaugers and taken to Dingwall for trial, he vowed never to be captured again, and to improve his concealment.
He rebuilt his stills high on the side of a mountain overlooking Loch Monar, called Meall Mor, and here Hamish his son was apprenticed to the trad.....
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By Ian Mitchell
Section : Whisky History
Page number : 58
