The first record of distilled spirit in Scotland is found in an Exchequer Roll of 1494, where it is written “To Friar John Cor, by order of the King, to make aquavitae, VIII bolls of malt”. The king was James IV (1488-1513), the best loved of all the ill-fated House of Stuart. It has been suggested that he got a taste for aqua vitae on Islay where he had been campaigning that year and the year before. Be that as it may, eight bolls amounts to 1,900 lbs or 870 kg, and this quantity of malt would make around 1,250 bottles of today’s whisky. Source: The Council of Whiskey Masters
