Distilling Scent: Smell, Place and Whisky in Scotland since c .1800

This article explores the central role of smell in the history, production and cultural meaning of Scotch whisky from c.1800 to 2000. It argues that whisky is uniquely bound to olfaction, a connection reinforced through marketing, tasting practices and an expanding sensory vocabulary. Early writers and advertisers drew on the smells and attributes of the Scottish landscape – heather, peat, clean water and damp climate – to frame whisky as an authentic national product. A major focus is the changing status of peat reek, initially criticised as unpleasant but gradually revalued as a prized and distinctive aroma, increasingly associated with Islay. Smell also structured labour within the industry through the rise of the professional blender, or ‘nose’, whose expertise ensured consistency in a globalising market and later became a powerful marketing symbol. Beyond the finished spirit, the article reconstructs the wider distillery smellscape, including production spaces, warehouses and surrounding farmland, showing how these environments and their corresponding scents shifted with changes in fuel, technology and transport. Finally, it argues how, from the 1960s, distillery visitor centres transformed smell into a curated sensory experience, embedding olfaction at the heart of whisky tourism and reinforcing whisky's association with Scottish identity.