Scotch: A Golden Dream

This is a loving doc built on interviews with serious but charming people in the scotch whiskey business. If this doesn't make you want to pour yourself a whiskey, I don't know what would.

Watching this film, you could be forgiven for thinking it was produced by a government-owned tourism bureau. But this is the story of single malts, and those who have devoted their lives to the stewardship of an art form, none more so than Jim McEwan of Bruichladdich Distillery.

If there is a sour note in an otherwise sweet film, it is intentional; like pairing a dram with a lime wedge. The taste of bitterness comes through when the distillers talk about the impact of high taxes on their products. Like their cousins in the American South, these men and women find themselves and their livelihood at the mercy of government and its insatiable need for revenue.

In the end, I envied the characters' - make no mistake, they are "characters" in the best, most playful sense of the word - passion for Scotch, and looked forward to my next opportunity to pour a golden glass.

Perhaps one of the best documentaries about a man, a product, a region, a country, and a ethos I've ever seen. So worth the watching with a wee dram in your hand!

I found this on Amazon streaming movies. I am one of those whisk(e)y lovers, I enjoy all types, including a good Scotch, even though Bourbons are my favorite. Some years back I had the pleasure of visiting Oban and the distillery there, it has a lasting impact on me.

A running time of 90 minutes at first seemed too long but it is so well organized, covering every aspect in turn, and the stories are so well told that when it was over I found myself wishing it had been a bit longer.

The film includes many in the industry of making and marketing Scotch whisky, but more focus is on Jim McEwan, a distiller and master blender, a 52-year industry veteran. He is a quite entertaining person, obviously quite skilled in the subject, and also seems like a very nice person. His is the fairy tale story, as a young boy walking past the Islay distillery he was often detained by looking through a window, as a willowy teen was given a summer job, and through hard work and dedication became one of the giants of the industry.

Good documentary.

What better place to see this film but in the capital of the Highlands - Inverness.

It's a very well structured film both informative and entertaining. It is a good balance between the processes that bring whisky together, along with the people and the landscape.

It is beautifully filmed and holds the viewer's interest, despite being one of the longer documentary type films I've seen on the subject, approx. 90 minutes.

My enjoyment was further enhanced by a Q&A with the director, Andrew Peat, following the screening.

A very interesting, informative and enjoyable movie about Scotland and Scotch whisky.