This piper is serenading casks of whisky to ‘enhance its flavour’

A whiskey brand has enlisted the help of a Scottish piper and whistle player to enhance the flavour of its drink.

Ali Levack, a musician from Dingwall, a small town in the north of Scotland, has been playing the tin whistle to casks of Wee Smoky’s new limited-edition whisky.

Last year, Levack’s band, Project Smok auctioned off the naming rights of its new single in a bid to generate income following the cancellation of live gigs during the pandemic. At the time, Wee Smoky won the bid, and the single was named after the distillery.

Now, Wee Smoky has announced it is releasing a bottle of single grain scotch whisky which has been “enhanced” by Levack, in a process known as “sonic-ageing”.

The concept of sonic-ageing comes from the technique of ageing whisky at sea, where vibrations from the movement of water to oak casks increase contact between the liquid and the wood, speeding up the ageing process.

In recent years, the concept has been adapted by distilleries mostly in the US, which emulate these vibrations through sound.

Joe Heron, a founder of US-based distillery Copper & Kings previously spoke about the process in an interview with Billboard, explaining that the musical notes pulsate through the barrel.

This causes the alcohol molecule to move away from the sound wave, hitting the wall of the barrel, sliding upwards until it loses momentum, and then falling. The process, which repeats as the music plays, is thought to accelerate the interaction between the alcohol and the wood of the casks.

In a bid to enhance Wee Smoky’s whisky, Levack has been playing the tin whistle to casks of the liquor.

“Playing to whisky casks was a new experience. I loved being part of the whole process, from playing our music to the whisky while it aged to drinking it while listening to our recorded song,” Levack said.

Wee Smoky’s founder, Rory Gammell, said it is the first time the brand has used the process for making its whisky.

“Our whisky is best enjoyed with music so it was natural to experiment to see how music could enhance the flavour,” Gammell said.

The Scotch Whisky Association told The Independent that under UK regulations, a traditional method of ageing whisky must be used alongside sonic-ageing.

“In the UK and EU whisky requires maturation for at least three years. As long as the product meets the legal requirements in the country of sale, people are free to play whatever music to the whisky they wish,” a spokesperson for the association said.