In every bottle of Scotch, there's a taste of the place from whence it came. That's what makes Scotch unique amongst liquors and what makes each single malt different than another. Each distillery in Scotland has a long, proud heritage of being able to deliver the very same Scotch, the very same essence of itself, year after year after glorious year. But that may be about to change at one very special distillery.

The Macallan has been distilled and bottled the same way by a family-run distiller since 1824 in the Speyside village of Craigellachie. Based on a tradition of being different, the Macallan derives its unique flavor from a cohesion of using a peculiar strain of barley, a particular mix of yeast, an unusual class of barrel, a costly type of fuel, an odd-sized still, and a finicky warehouse design. They don't know why this combination produces the fine whisky that it does. It just does. And people like it.

But how does one ensure that the yeast and the barrels and the fuel and the still keep producing the same wonderful firey liquid year after year? The Noser has that responsibility - the person who, after years and years of training has developed a nose so sensitive it can detect the presence of rose, green tomatoes, iodine, burnt rubber along with an entire spectrum of scents at the molecular level. The Noser, along with his panel of less mature nosers, continually sniff and taste the product during its various stages of development as well as the barrels and other equipment used. The memory of scent is one of the Best in the human experience and these guardians of The Macallan standard were fanatic in their protection of that standard.

I say "were" because four of the six Nosers were recently let go following a hostile take-over of the old distillery by Highland Distilleries Company, a midsized Scottish whisky maker, and Suntory Limited, a big Japanese liquor company. All they want to do, the new owners say, is to attempt to multiply the sales of the Macallan from 150,000 cases a year by six, thus making it the biggest-selling malt in the world. HS Distillers Ltd, a Highland-Suntory consortium, says it has no plan to change The Macallan. But how can you avoid changing it if you've sacked the Chief Noser and three of his able assistants? Who will guard and protect the standard now?

That's been left to young David Robertson. At age 28, he's had three years experience as a noser at the Macallan-Glenlivet PLC distillery, following his earning a distilling degree at college and being selected to work as a distillery management trainee at United Distillers PLC, a huge consortium owned by Guiness PLC. He walks the walk and talk the talk, but admits he's nervous. When interviewed by Barry Newman of the Wall Street Journal, Mr Robertson was quoted as saying, "My training focused on technology, on efficiency, but I learned one thing from Frank (the erstwhile Chief Noser): If it ain't brok, don't fix it. I see myself as a custodian of The Macallan. At All I can say is that, so far, it has not."

Oh, but it's changed already - maybe not in taste, but surely in philosophy. Mr Stuart McCaffer, The Macallan's finance director, is a 32 year old devotee of spread sheets and bottom lines. Also interviewed by the Wall Street Journal, Mr McCaffer stated, "We believe we can take The Macallan on at a faster pace." His plan is to get quick cash from selling more new spirit to distillers who blend it, and from bottling a raw seven-year-old - something The Macallan, usually aged between 10 and 25 years, hasn't inflicted on any palates but Italy's!

Michael Jackson's Second Edition Complete Guide to Single Malt Scotch describes The Macallan as, "The Rolls-Royce of Single Malts . . ." But without its Chief Nose; able to sniff oloroso casks from Spain and upon selecting 100 of them, meld them into 50 casks that are identical to the ones before them; and with an upper management focused myopically on short-term profits; does it stand any chance at all of retaining this soubriquet? Only the Nose knows. Editor's note: Rumors have it that Rebecca is scouring the countryside for any and all bottles of The Macallan, hoping to build an inventory of the real thing before it is relabeled, at least verbally, to "Not The Macallan". For those of you who prefer to do your scouring via a keyboard, you might start your browsing with the following:

The Macallan Distillery, circa 1979. (Picture courtesy of Mike Seton) There has probably been whisky made on the Macallan site, on a small hill overlooking the Spey near Craigellachie, since the late 1700s. (Craigellachie is pronounced "Crail-ella-ki." The last "i" is short.) A manor house from this period has been restored as a place at which to entertain private visitors. An illustration of the house is used on the box of each bottle of The Macallan. It is intended to convey the sense of a whisky "Chateau" and perhaps to ffset the harder lines of the more functional-looking distillery.

The Macallan is distilled deep in the Speyside area of Scotland -- known for many other fine single malt whiskies...

1 - Aberlour	17 - Glenburgie-Glenlivet	33 - Knockando
2 - Allt A'Bhanne	18 - Glendullan	34 - Linkwood
3 - Auchroisk	19 - Glen Elgin	35 - Longmorn
4 - Aultmore	20 - Glenfarclas	36 - Macallan
5 - Balvenie	21 - Glenfiddich	37 - Mannochmore
6 - Benriach	22 - Glen Grant	38 - Miltonduff-Glenlivet
7 - Benrinnes	23 - Glen Keith	39 - Mortlach
8 - Benromach	24 - Glenlivet, The	40 - Pittyvaich
9 - Braeval	25 - Glenlossie	41 - Speyburn-Glenlivet
10 - Caperdonich	26 - Glen Moray-Glenlivet	42 - Speyside
11 - Cardhu	27 - Glenrothes-Glenlivet	43 - Strathisla
12 - Cragganmore	28 - Glen Spey	44 - Strathmill
13 - Craigellachie	29 - Glentauchers	45 - Tamdhu
14 - Dailuaine	30 - Imperial	46 - Tamnavulin-Glenlivet
15 - Dufftown-Glenlivet	31 - Inchgower	47 - Tomintoul-Speyside
16 - Glenallachie	32 - Kininvie	48 - Tormore

The Pagodas of Scotland can be found in the Highlands, Lowlands, mountains and glens of Scotland. Charles C. Doig, architect and civil engineer of the late nineteenth century, is the acclaimed father of the Scotch Whisky Pagoda.

As this illustration shows however, his picturesque pagodas were not just ornamental, they had a particularly practical function by acting as ventilators to draw the smoke from the peat fires below up through the perforated kiln floor, where the barley was spread to dry and await the aromatic infusion of the peat smoke.

The project 'The Pagodas of Scotland' combines the craft of distilling with the craft of engraving and print making; it is a study of the Scotch Whisky Industry's Kilns with their mystical pagoda chimneys.

The project will make a permanent record of the rapidly disappearing Pagodas of Scotland. The Pagodas are hand printed by the Illustrator personally on the finest quality paper. Each limited print is personally signed with the Illustrator's Chop (personal seal.) First edition prints are embossed with gold sealing wax and known as the Gold Series. For more information contact BD Illustrations, 5 Duddingston House Courtyard, Milton Road West, Edinburgh, EH15 1JG, Scotland, or e-mail bruce@pagodas-of-scotland.co.uk. View the etchings on the world wide web at www.pagodas-of-scotland.co.uk/intro.htm.