Glasgow Distillers

[SarahND]

Only slightly off-topic, but well-worth a look, is the diary of John Osborn, a "stiller" in North Carolina in 1800.

http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~ ... index.html

He describes staying up all night running his still. E.g.: "I Masht a run o Whiskey for uncle Then Doubled one for myself made 12-1/2 gallons"

Brilliant stuff! I used to use it in my class on American dialects
Andy, wouldn't you love to find the diary of your John McDonald!

Sarah

[DavidWW]

Only slightly off-topic, but well-worth a look, is the diary of John Osborn, a "stiller" in North Carolina in 1800.

http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~ ... index.html

He describes staying up all night running his still. E.g.: "I Masht a run o Whiskey for uncle Then Doubled one for myself made 12-1/2 gallons"

Brilliant stuff! I used to use it in my class on American dialects
Andy, wouldn't you love to find the diary of your John McDonald!

Sarah

I can only comment ..... Wow!!

David

PS On reflection, interesting to wonder how close a reflection this could be in relation to operating an illegal still in Scotland ??.........
dww

[SarahND]

PS On reflection, interesting to wonder how close a reflection this could be in relation to operating an illegal still in Scotland ??.........

Well, they must have learned how to do it somewhere before going to North Carolina!

[DavidWW]

PS On reflection, interesting to wonder how close a reflection this could be in relation to operating an illegal still in Scotland ??.........

Well, they must have learned how to do it somewhere before going to North Carolina!

And where did an awfy lot of N Carolina folk cumfae (come from)

In the same context, do a Google on the probable origins of "blue grass" music

David

[SarahND]

And where did an awfy lot of N Carolina folk cumfae (come from)

You can still find many old Scots words, sayings and pronunciations in the dialect of Appalachia. No question as to where these folk came from!

For those of you unfamiliar with the area, here from Wikipedia:

"Over twenty million people live in Appalachia, an area roughly the size of the United Kingdom, covering mostly mountainous, often isolated areas from the border of Mississippi and Alabama in the south to Pennsylvania and New York in the north. Appalachia also includes parts of the states of Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Maryland, and the entire state of West Virginia.

... Prior to the 20th century, the people of Appalachia were geographically isolated from the rest of the country. As a result, they preserved the culture of their ancestors (most of them Scottish, Scotch-Irish, Irish and English) who settled the region in the 18th century."

In the same context, do a Google on the probable origins of "blue grass" music

Both my brother and one of my sisters have played in Bluegrass bands since they were teenagers... still got it in the blood, apparently!

Regards,
Sarah

[StewL]

Maybe just a bit off topic but DWW stated that most distilleries closed down their maltings.

Over here in the west not far from where I live, well not too far.
There is a large maltings producing stuff for one market, and that is for a Japanese brewery/distillers.

[Pandabean]

Thanks guys this is really helpful. I will sort through the information at the weekend when I am finished working.