Saints and sinner
Robin Laing delves in to the historical connections between the country’s saints and the water of life
Religion and strong drink do not usually seem to mix but having found a number of connections between whisky-making and Scottish holy men I wondered if men of God have always looked at distilling with a disapproving eye.
For example, is there a patron saint of distillers? I checked the Internet and came up with four possible answers. Firstly, the Virgin Mary seems to be patron saint of nearly everything, including coffee house owners, distillers and the human race.
Secondly, we have Saint Seryn the Merciful, patron of brewers, bakers and distillers. Seryn was ‘a pure virgin of modest aspect’ who could heal all diseases.
She would have my vote, for sure. Thirdly, King Louis IX of France became St Louis, the only French monarch ever to be canonized. He is the patron saint of button makers, hairdressers, distillers and difficult marriages. Enough said. Finally there is St Nicholas, best known as patron saint of children, but incidentally also patron saint to unwed maidens, pawnbrokers, sailors, prostitutes and….yes, distillers. Maybe this explains why Santa Claus is usually portrayed as a jolly fellow with a big red nose.
Scotland has a rich panoply of home-grown saints, though the earliest ones were actually the missionaries from Ireland who are reputed to have brought the secrets of distilling to Scotland in the 6th and 7th centuries. However, it was Saint Patrick who taught the Irish the secrets of the wee still and he was born near Dumbarton. So now we see the like.....
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By Robin Laing
Section : Whisky History
Page number : 52
