TOP 10 SELLING SCOTCH WHISKY BRANDS IN 2019

 BESTSELLING SCOTCH WHISKIES THROUGH 2019

1. Johnnie Walker: The No 1 bestselling giant of 2018 continues its reign at the top, albeit with a significant drop in volumes sold vis-à-vis 2018, 2.8% at 18.4m 9-litre cases. It will be celebrating its 200^th year in the business in 2020.

The blended Scotch brand reported disparate sales across its portfolio, benefitting from the successful launch of White Walker and the HBO show Game of Thrones. It also launched the 3rd blend in its Ghost and Rare series ex stocks from the shut Glenury Royal distillery in the Highlands. The JW family use Cameronbridge and North British distilleries for its single grain binders, Auchroisk, Benrinnes, Blair Athol, Caol Ila, Talisker, Dailuaine, Cardhu, Royal Lochnagar, Inchgower, Mannochmore, Teaninich and other distilleries for its malt whiskies.    

 2. Ballantine's: The second placed brand last year, Pernod Ricard’s Ballantine’s retained its position, marking an uptick in sales, which rose 4.6% to 7.7m cases. This brand helped boost PR’s sales with strong double-digit growth in Eastern Europe, Brazil, India and China. 

The blended whiskies in its profile did rather well, from Ballantine's Finest to Ballantine's older bottlings. The former was very prominent in China.

3. Chivas Regal: Pernod Ricard’s Chivas Regal Blended Scotch whisky brand, which dropped by 1.1% to 4.4m 9-litre cases vis-à-vis 2018 has moved up the ladder from fourth to third place in 2019’s top 10. The 12 YO won the Blended Scotch Whisky 12 Year Old award in the 2019 International Whisky Competition.

 

                                                          Chivas Regal Extra 13   Chivas Regal Mizunara   Chivas Regal Ultis

Chivas Brothers has launched a range of four 13-year-old whiskies as part of a new global collection. This Chivas Extra 13 collection reportedly blends Scotch heritage with flavourful casks. Each cask during the whisky-making process contributes to its own unique combination, delivering four different flavour notes: Spanish Oloroso Sherry, Caribbean Rum, American Rye, and Mexican Tequila.

       Chivas Regal Extra Rum            Chivas Regal Extra Rye            Chivas Regal Extra Sherry   Chivas Regal Extra Tequila

4. Grant’s: William Grant & Sons Ltd is an independent Scottish company that distills Scotch whisky among others. Established in 1887 by William Grant, it is run by Grant's descendants as of 2018. It is the largest of the handful of Scotch whisky distillers remaining in family ownership. 

Grant’s whiskies in sum have declined to 4^th spot from 3^rd in 2018. The brand, owned by Scottish spirits group William Grant & Sons, saw a drop of 8.4% in 2019 to 4.2 million 9-L cases. The drop was attributed to a major brand overhaul in July 2018, including packaging redesign, a name change from ‘Family Reserve’ to ‘Triple Wood’, and the launch of new expressions – such as Grant’s Triple Wood Smoky – while other products were discontinued. Other experiments include the launch of the Glenfiddich IPA, XX and a 14 YO in honour of the USA.

Distilleries owned by William Grant & Sons are Glenfiddich, Balvenie, Kininvie, Ailsa Bay and Girvan Grain. They pioneered single malt Scotch whisky as, until Glenfiddich, only blended brands were common. Glenfiddich was first sold as a 6 YO in 1963 and is now the world’s leading single malt Scotch brand with The Balvenie a few slots lower. Another very popular seller is their blended whisky, Monkey Shoulder. 

5. William Lawson’s: A Bacardi brand, Blended Scotch William Lawson’s, witnessed a flat performance in 2019, retaining its fifth spot. Bacardi is looking to double its whisky bottling capacity in India and increase market share through entry-level whisky William Lawson’s. This is its first bottling foray outside Scotland.

 

William Lawson’s Finest Blend is sweet and medium-bodied in style, with a high malt content. At its core is the single malt of Macduff distillery, married with various bold malts and grain whiskies it owns with a difference – no peated whisky is added.

William Lawson started with ‘Lawson’s Liqueur Whiskey’ in 1889. In 1963 Clan Munro Whisky, blender of King of Kings premium whisky, bought the Lawson’s trademark, and agreed to call the brand William Lawson’s. That same year William Lawson Distillers Ltd acquired the 1962/63 Macduff distillery in Banffshire, which distilled and marketed its single malt as Glen Deveron. They expanded with the acquisition of John Dewar & Sons Ltd and five distilleries from Diageo.

Under Bacardi, William Lawson’s sales have risen dramatically, with volumes almost doubling between 2010 and 2014. Introduced into Russia in 2008, Lawson’s is now the country’s largest imported spirit brand. The blend also now enjoys strong sales in France, Spain, Portugal and Mexico.

In addition to Finest Blend, the William Lawson portfolio includes 12-year-old Scottish Gold, 13-year-old Bourbon-Cask-Finished and Super Spiced – whisky infused with vanilla and spice.

6. Dewar’s:  One of the classic blends, Dewar’s has retained its reputation as an accessible, smooth Scotch while modernising its range in recent years. Dewar’s grew volumes by 6.4% to reach 3m nine litre cases in 2019. Consistent innovation and clever marketing have taken the brand past its 2013 volumes again, and secured Dewar’s the title of Scotch Whisky Brand Champion 2020. It has moved one slot up to lie 7^th.

Last year, the Bacardi-owned brand released its travel retail-exclusive range, Dewar’s Double Double, comprising three whiskies aged for 21, 27 and 32 years, which have each undergone a four‐stage maturation process. The Dewar’s family worked hard to establish their eponymous blended Scotch whisky around the world, with the US market a particular strength.

Dewar’s followed this with its Cask Finish Series, which started with the launch of Dewar’s Caribbean Smooth Rum Cask, created by finishing eight‐year‐old Dewar’s in ex‐rum casks. The Cask Finish Series was extended further this year with the launch of eight‐year‐old, mezcal‐cask‐finished Dewar’s Ilegal Mezcal. At this brand's core, however, is Dewar’s White Label, which delivers Dewar’s signature soft honey, vanilla and floral flavours, though 12, 18 and 25-year-old expressions are also available.

7. J&B: J&B dropped to 7^th on a reduction of sales by -6% to 3 million cases in 2019. Diageo’s J&B brand has unfortunately been falling consistently for five years. J&B is notably popular in southern European markets, and promoted there as the world’s ‘party whisky’.

In May last year, Justerini & Brooks, the maker of J&B, brought distribution of the blended Scotch brand back inhouse after 21 years. The product is a blend of more than 40 Scotch whiskies. Prior to Prohibition (1920-33), J&B had sold modest quantities of whisky in the States, and when the firm’s Director visited the US in 1930 he concluded there would be great opportunities for Scotch once Prohibition ended. Accordingly, in the early 1930s, J&B Rare was developed, designed specifically to appeal to the American palate. 

8. Black & White: A Canadian, James Buchanan formed his own whisky company in 1884 naming his flagship whisky The Buchanan Blend, a light, smooth unpeated expression designed specifically to appeal to the English palate. The malts used were from Dalwhinnie, Clynelish and Glendullan distilleries.

The Buchanan Blend became an instant hit south of the border, reaching the Members Bar at the House of Commons in London. Buchanan then renamed the blend Buchanan’s House of Commons Finest Old Highland whisky, presented in a dark glass bottle with a striking white label. Before long, drinkers began ordering ‘that Black & White whisky’, and in 1902 the name was officially changed to Black and White. By then the brand was being exported across the world, and by 1907 it was being ordered by the emperor of Japan. Two years later it had become the most popular blend in England. Black and White is popular around the world in countries such as India, South Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.

During the 1920s, the Black & White terriers began featuring more heavily in the brand’s advertising, quickly becoming iconic ambassadors for Buchanan’s flagship blend. In 2013 the brand was given a contemporary makeover, and the terriers made the move onto the bottle’s label for the first time.

9. Label 5: La Martiniquaise-Bardinet’s blended Scotch brand Label 5, which grew by 3.5% in 2019, has moved up one place to the ninth position. Last year, the French group updated the bottle design for its core Label 5 expression to spruce up its “contemporarity and impact”. In 2008, La Martiniquaise purchased the Glen Moray single malt distillery from The Glenmorangie Company, a major component in the Label 5 blend. The grain whisky comes from its 2009-built Starlaw distillery.

Over the years the brand has enhanced its portfolio with a ladder of expressions boasting a large quantity of Speyside single malt, from the flagship Label 5 Classic Black and Extra Premium 12 Year Old, through to the Extra Rare 18 Year Old, slightly smoky Gold Heritage and Sherry cask-finished Reserve No. 55.

10. Famous Grouse: Edrington’s Famous Grouse, the best selling whisky in Scotland for the past 40 years reached the 10^th slot, displacing Bell’s, once the No 1 brand in the UK, which suffered a 14.7% drop in sales.

The Famous Grouse has developed into one of the world’s leading Scotch whiskies and in recent years has been flanked by complementary expressions to form a range of its own. The Famous Grouse range also features Smoky Black, which incorporates peated whiskies from Islay and also Glenturret distillery into the blend, as well as a heavily-peated expression, Black Grouse Alpha Edition, which features a higher content of aged malts.

The Naked Grouse was introduced as a premium offering in the range, containing whiskies matured in first-fill Sherry casks for a richer, fruiter flavour. The Famous Grouse Mellow Gold, designed to impart a ‘smoother’ and sweeter palate, is the newest addition to the range. At the same time a distinctly purple-hued redesign of The Famous Grouse’s packaging was implemented in a bid to premiumise the brand.

WAS THE GLENLIVAT A REAL SCOTCH WHISKY OR A SPELLING MISTAKE

GLENLIVAT OR GLENLIVET? 

Why Are Other Whiskies Still Using Glenlivet In Their Name?

Recognised as one of Highland Scotland’s most dazzling river valleys, Glenlivet was a famous location long before The Glenlivet whisky was invented and became an enduring symbol of its place of origin. Glenlivet, or Gleann-liobh-aite in Gaelic, means “valley of the smooth flowing one.”The Livet river flows into the Avon above Ballindaloch.

Writer John Wilson, aka Christopher North, travelled to the village of Tomintoul in 1815, just a few miles south of Glenlivet. Wilson depicted Tomintoul at the height of the smuggling era as “a wild mountain village where drinking, dancing, swearing and quarrelling went on all the time.” This rowdy influence was not lost on all Glenliveters. Wilson also thought that the whisky from Glenlivet was the finest he had ever tasted. As it turned out, lovely Glenlivet, 14 miles long and 6 miles wide, was the most highly favoured location in the Highlands for smugglers. In the small parish of Glenlivet alone it was believed that two hundred small stills were operated. In the little glen, whisky of a special quality has been made for centuries. To ask why would be pointless, for no one could give a finite answer to such a question. Distillers have known it instinctively, which is why there were so many bothy stills in that tiny parish. One of these stills belonged to George Smith.

In the late winter of 1792, what one farmer Andrew Smith’s infant son George could not have known was that he was born in the epicentre of a monumental social earthquake. At its core, this deep-rooted upheaval concerned what the average Scotsman perceived to be his right to distill whisky unfettered by governmental interference, regulation, or taxation. Secluded, remote Glenlivet felt the seismic shudder more than most other places. What took place in Glenlivet over George Smith’s lifetime sent political tremors across the whole of Britain, including deep within the walls of Parliament.

The Glenlivet is the prototypical single malt whisky born in Scotland’s most renowned Highlands river valley, Glenlivet. Smugglers believed that the unusual climate of Glenlivet, the altitude of the glen, and the mossy water of the hill streams there, combined to give the whisky its unique character. As the excisemen rarely visited the glen, the locals could take a long time in distilling new spirits, running the whisky ‘lazily’ over a small fire. This was a luxury not allowed to other smugglers, constantly on the look-out for the gaugers. Glenlivet whisky, fully matured and with its unique flavour, soon became a great favourite of the Lowland connoisseurs.”

Through the beaconlike wattage of its reputation, The Glenlivet by the mid-nineteenth century made Scotland’s malt whiskies the most prized whisky of all.

The father-and-son team of Smiths—George and John Gordon—were Highlands farmers by trade in the bucolic Banffshire district called Glenlivet. As their fledgling malt whisky business grew in fame, they turned to malt whisky distilling as a primary source of income. They operated under the guiding principles that product quality and authenticity and customer service must prevail above all else. Riding those codes through the harrowing peaks and valleys of Scotland’s turbulent whisky industry in the nineteenth century, they adeptly conquered both regional and national marketplaces. They secured these triumphs, however, only at the cost of severe personal and professional tolls.

When British King George IV came to Scotland in 1822, the citizens of Edinburgh painted the whole town red. During his much ballyhooed trip in August 1822, word got out that the King had become smitten with whisky, in particular, the highly respected illicit variety produced in or around Glenlivet. The literary source for this claim is a small passage in the memoirs of Lady Elizabeth Grant of Rothiemurchus, the daughter of a Scottish Member of Parliament:

"Lord Conyngham, the Chamberlain, was looking everywhere for pure Glenlivet   whisky; the King drank nothing else. It was not to be had out of the Highlands. My father sent word to me - I was the cellarer - to empty my pet bin, where was whisky long in wood, long in uncorked bottles, mild as milk, and the true contraband goût in it. Much as I grudged this treasure it made our fortunes afterwards, showing on what trifles great events depend.”

The King reportedly consumed whisky during his visit in a concoction called the “Atholl-brose,” a thick, sweetish mixture of whisky, honey and ground grain. His supposed appreciation of smuggler’s whisky instigated a national awareness of the superior quality of whisky from Glenlivet, which became something of a brand name for better smugglers’ whisky. This wide recognition catapulted forward the mystique of Scotland’s most famous glen, even though much of the illicit whisky touted as “Glenlivet” was produced in other areas of the Highlands. The king, however, was delighted with the quality of Lady Elizabeth's Glenlivat (sic) whisky. Just one year later, the parliament passed a new tax law, The Excise Act of 1823 that allowed working on small pot stills. Now, finally, the illicit distillers in the Highlands were able to legally produce the kind of whisky that was previously available only on the black market - the “real Glenlivet".

Cardow Distillery(today known as Cardhu) in Knockando was possibly the first Speyside distillery to be licensed under the Act. While women are often absent from the history of Scotch whisky, they actually played a key role in the industry from its inception. One of those early whisky women was Helen Cumming, the founder of Cardhu distillery in Archiestown. Bessie Williamson, who owned Laphroaig in Islay in the 20th century, was equally influential.

George Smith acquired a licence in 1824 for the distillery, which he operated on his farm Upper Drumin until 1859. In old tax documents, it is listed under the name "Drumin". From October 1826 to October 1827, George Smith produced 1,340 gallons of alcohol at the Drumin Distillery, distilled from malted barley. However, the first legal distillery named "Glenlivat" was a completely different distillery. It belonged to Capt. William Grant, and was in Achorachan (now being re-established as the lost distillery of Auchorachan). The river passing by is the very same Livet, but that section was known locally as the river Livat. With a production volume of 1,130 gallons in 1826/1827, it was only slightly smaller than the Smith distillery.        

The Lost Distillery of Auchorachan

George Smith was very successful in the following years as a farmer and distillery owner. In 1837 he acquired the farm Castleton of Blairfindy, in 1838, the Nevie Farm, and in 1839 the Minmore Farm. In 1850 he acquired the farm Delnaboe above Tomintoul, where a distillery was already operating under the name Cairngrom.

By this time, most of the illegal distilleries had disappeared, and in the valley of the Livet River there were only two distilleries left: those of George Smith and Capt. William Grant. In 1852, the Glenlivat Distillery was closed by Captain Grant. In 1859, Smith also closed down his two distilleries and built a complete new distillery on Minmore Farm, and initially this distillery was also called Minmore Distillery. Only in the following years, Smith renamed it to "Glenlivet", and under this name, the former Minmore Distillery later achieved international fame.

George Smith’s The Glenlivet was a raging success when first brought to the market in 1824-25. A host of other distilleries in the Speyside area shamelessly tacked the word Glenlivet to their product, despite being nowhere near the location, some as far away as the Moray coast:                                                           

Aberlour-Glenlivet

Aultmore-Glenlivet

Balmenach-Glenlivet

Balvenie-Glenlivet

Benromach-Glenlivet

Coleburn-Glenlivet

Convalmore-Glenlivet

Cragganmore-Glenlivet

Craigellachie-Glenlivet

Dailuaine-Glenlivet

Dufftown-Glenlivet

Glenburgie-Glenlivet

Glendullan-Glenlivet

Glen Elgin-Glenlivet

Glenfarclas-Glenlivet

Glen Grant-Glenlivet

Glen Keith-Glenlivet

Glenlossie-Glenlivet

Glen Moray-Glenlivet

Glenrothes-Glenlivet

Imperial-Glenlivet

Longmorn-Glenlivet

Macallan-Glenlivet

Miltonduff-Glenlivet

Speyburn-Glenlivet

Tamdhu-Glenlivet

In 1881, George’s grandson, George Smith Grant, by then running the family firm, initiated legal proceedings along with Andrew Usher. ‘…it was not until it was brought prominently under my notice that in the large towns in Scotland and England dealers were beginning to sell as Glenlivet Whisky lower priced Whiskies of a different character bought by them as Glenfarclas Glenlivet or Cragganmore Glenlivet or some similar combination of words calculated to deceive anyone not having local knowledge and to cause such person, by tacking on the word Glenlivet to the name of a particular distillery, to buy a different class of whisky at a higher price than it would have borne in the market if left to find a purchaser under its own name.’

The Glenlivet Distillery

By 1882, Smith and Usher began forwarding individual affidavits against each of the offending distillers. This provoked countersuits, with his competitors claiming that ‘Glenlivet’ had become a generic term during the illicit era and could now be used in the same way as ‘Islay’ to define a style of whisky. By 1883, Smith and Usher’s legal bill had reached £30,000, and 400 affidavits had been served.

By May 1884, all the parties were ready to compromise, and a deed was signed stipulating that the trademark for Glenlivet stood, and only Smith’s whisky could call itself ‘The Glenlivet’. The Smiths and Usher didn’t, however, succeed in banning other distillers from using the word.

Rather, they agreed to drop all charges against the other distillers and not prevent the use of the term by 10 distilleries: Glenlossie, Macallan, Aberlour, Benrinnes, Cragganmore, Linkwood, Glenrothes, Glen Grant, Mortlach and Glenfarclas, providing that ‘Glenlivet’ was only used as a suffix, in conjunction with the distillery name. At some point, it became common practise for the ‘Glenlivet’ part of the name to be joined to the distillery name by a hyphen.

By the 1980s, 28 distilleries were either registered as being ‘X-Glenlivet’ or using the term as a trademark, or on their labels. It’s only in recent years that Macallan, for example, has dropped the suffix.

The majority of the trademarks are now dead, and most of the distilleries are now registered under their own names. Some, however, have retained the suffix. Tamnavulin, Glen Moray, Speyburn and Tomintoul all still carry -Glenlivet in their registered name. The suffix is now only used on the labels of some independent bottlers.

THAT PEG OF SCOTCH

A RELOOK AT THE PEG OF SCOTCH

Aqua vitae (‘water of life’ in Latin) was the generic term for distilled spirits throughout the Roman Empire, widely used during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance and translated into many languages. In Gaelic, it was uisge beatha, in Irish uisce beatha. Whisky connoisseur Charles MacLean says that this was Anglicised from uiskie (c.1618) to whiskie (1715) to whisky (1746). F Paul Pacult, the author of ‘A Double Scotch’, 2005, says that Aqua Vitae ultimately became whisky in 1736.

I found the spelling Whiskey equally common in those days. In fact, the Hansard of 1896 uses the term Whiskey. Whisky or whiskey is by convention, not law: the Royal Commission on Whiskey and Other Potable Spirits (1908/09) spelt both Irish and Scotch with an ‘e’ throughout. Interestingly, it was the Irish Association headed by the 'Big Four' (John Jameson & Son, John Power & Son, George Roe & Co. and Willam Jameson & Co.) who argued before the Commission that their spirit was better than that distilled in Scotland and that the correct spelling was 'Whisky', to differentiate it from the inferior Scottish and English 'Whiskey'.Rather ironic, one would say, looking back today at facts as they lay.

Gavin Smith writes in his A-Z of Whisky: "The first use of Scotch with the sense of specifically relating to whisky occurs in 1855, 'while malt liquors give our Scotch and Irish whiskies”…

I have already written that at least 92 nations/nation-states around the globe are trying their hand at making and selling whisky. Of these countries, all but four spell Aqua Vitae ‘Whisky’. The term ‘Whiskey’ is used in Ireland (since 1960), Mexico and Peru and for most, but not all, American brands.

Albania, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chile, China, Corsica, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Holland, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Israel, Ivory Coast, Japan, Kosovo, Latvia, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mongolia, Montenegro, Mozambique, Nepal, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Congo, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Tasmania, The Philippines, Uruguay, Vietnam, Wales, Zimbabwe, Zambia & possibly a couple more spell it Whisky. 

The Americans keep their idiosyncratic asininity intact. George Dickel, Makers Mark, Old Forester and Rittenhouse Rye all use the “whisky” spelling for different reasons. Makers Mark uses the Scottish spelling of whisky as a nod to the Scottish heritage of their creator, T. William Samuels Sr. Similarly, George Dickel used this spelling because he believed his whisky was smooth and mellow like Scotch. Old Forester was produced before the “whiskey” spelling became mainstream in the US. Rittenhouse rye was originally produced by the Continental Distilling Corporation in Philadelphia, where they chose to drop the “e” for their rye ,but they kept the “e” for their bourbon. When Heaven Hill purchased the rights to Rittenhouse in the 1980s they kept that spelling.

The US Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau always uses the 'whisky' sans the 'e'.

North Korea's Samilpo has two blends, Black Label @ 40% ABV and Red Label @ 42% ABV in 620 ml bottles that resemble the Johnnie Walker bottles, except for that odd volume. Their third brand at 45% ABV is expected soon. Other than the numbers in volume and ABV, nothing is in English; I suppose whisky would be right since Kim loves Trump! Or would it be the concerned writer’s choice?

87 or 88/92 should be above par for concluding that the global spelling of this type of alcoholic beverage is whisky. Except for morons! Yes, the Yanks are up to it again, forcing one into American spellings in the software in use and putting out, by default, their spellings. OK, grant them their peccadilloes, but can't we have a simple tab on the keyboard to choose Type of English?

Changing tack entirely, The East India Company (EIC), having first landed on Indian soil in 1608, stated that they were only a trading company. Accepted without demur, they showed their true intent as they slowly but surely realised that India was a divided country, involved in internecine squabbles. The Islamic Mughals ran their empire from Delhi, fought off invaders from Persia, and were involved in far too many petty skirmishes. Exploiting this divide, the Brits turned into rapacious plunderers, looting Indian states with gay abandon. Shashi Tharoor, a polemicist of renown, avers in the annual Oxford Debate (2015) that the British Raj became what it was till WWII off 43 trillion GBP looted from India over 200 years.

In 1765, the EIC had an irregular army of 20,000 with a few Civil Servants strung out over the country and company-appointed British Army Officers under the command of one Major-General Stringer Lawrence. This would imply that there would have been at least three Brigadier Generals, six Cols, twelve majors and 48 Capt/Lts then.

The British Parliament now needed to shelter their troops as they fought in the French War, and 10 years later, against the Americans. So, the Crown did what they liked to do and made a decision that benefited British troops. They enacted the Quartering Acts of 1765, which stated that inns, stables, taverns, and wineries were required to house troops at the discretion of a British officer. Troops were allowed to take as they pleased, which would run taverns and wineries dry. This facility was accorded to the East India Company’s British officers and troops as well.

The cost of quartering troops would often fall on the shoulders of local landowners and Rajas. Eventually, their expenses were reimbursed by colonial kingdoms — not the British government. Soon, British troops started taking refuge in private homes. Without fear of penalty, they could barge into your house, kick you out of your bed, take your food, and tell you that you'd (maybe) be paid back in a few months.

As their reach expanded over India from Peshawar in the north to Sind in the west (in Pakistan now) and Rangoon (Yangon) in the east to the recaptured Madras in the South along the eastern coastline, so did their Armies, reaching 200,000 by 1790 and 260,000 by 1803. They dominated the Muslims who constituted the majority of the populace north of a line joining Pune (Poona) on the western coast and Bhubaneswar on the eastern coast (part of the Bengal Presidency). They also controlled Punjab. By now, they had established over 45 Residencies, one in every princely state they took over, under Residents, a Civil Service officer who was boss of all he could see, helped by around 6,000 sepoys under British Officers. The officers were housed in Cantonments and the sepoys in adjuncts to the official Cantonment. As a composite army, it was complete, with Artillery, Cavalry, Infantry, Sappers/ Miners and Staff Corps in a Commissariat. The British had arrived, bringing their customs along. Their Officers’ Messes became the focal point for whist, croquet, dinner dances and dining-in nights with their G&Ts, Claret, Port and Madeira. Perhaps a cigar as well!

The Gwalior Residency was set up in 1782. The Resident had his own railway station, now used by the Army as their Institute (Club).

The word burra means big/large and chota means small. Both are obviously relative. The Sahib would dress for dinner and at 1830 hrs, order his first drink, a burra peg of whisky (Blended Malt) and a siphon of soda. A little white or red wine with dinner and a chota peg of French brandy/cognac thereafter. The Brits were not known to be moderate drinkers, happy with just the one burra peg.

The term burra/chota peg could not have come before 1765; in all probability, it would have been introduced circa 1780. The British Crown assumed direct control of the Indian subcontinent in the form of the new British Raj in 1858 when the East India Company mishandled the Indian uprising of 1857. It assumed the Company's governmental functions and absorbed its navy and its armies. Blended Scotch would have arrived in 1860-61, initially in limited quantities, the volume increasing with time and expansion of the Industry post-1863.

The standard term ‘peg’ is a vestige of British colonialism and was/is used extensively in the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent and eastern Asia, i.e., wherever there were Indians to be found.

Starting in 1780, the only term used to define volume in the Indian Defence, Paramilitary and Police Forces was/is a peg. This is because the British overlords had decreed that every soldier/sailor would be issued four pegs of Rum every evening, requiring them to define the volume of a peg. 

When dealers in potable spirits changed over to glass bottles circa 1780-1810, the largest bottle suitable for enclosing spirits was a function of the type of furnace, the material used and the glassblower's lung capacity and dexterity. Most bottles came out in the 26.5-27.0 fluid-ounce capacity. The invention of the automatic glass bottle-blowing machine in 1880 industrialised the process of making bottles and sizing on demand.

One 26½ oz (750 ml) bottle was taken to hold 26 pegs, mathematically working out to 28.8 ml/peg. The 26½ oz bottle was thirteen (13) fingers tall, with a few ml (1/2 oz) left over at the very top of the neck. This extra 1/2 oz was then considered a provision made for evaporation in the Raj’s hot weather and spillage; the hourglass-shaped ‘peg measure’ poured out just that bit less. The standard measure then became 28.4 ml, one Imperial ounce. The field ration was thus two fingers in height, from the top of the forefinger to the underside of the middle finger when held horizontally across a bottle (four pegs).

In the Punjab of yore, the hefty Sardars (Sikhs) refused to accept the then piffling ration. The Maharaja of Patiala, with one eye on the British, solved this problem by a covert redefinition of the peg. He ruled that all Sikhs would be given two “Patiala pegs.” A Patiala peg is the amount of liquor poured into a standard glass and equal to the height between the top of the index finger and the bottom of the little finger of the stoutest Sardar around when held parallel to one another across the sides of the bottle. The middle and ring fingers would be folded inwards, so the basic tenet of two-finger rationing was observed, if only in spirit.

Today, a peg that represented 28.4 ml, one Imperial ounce, or 29.57 ml (one US oz) has been increased to 30 ml for convenience in bars on civvy street.

ADDENDA

Weights and Measures in the USA

The United States uniqueness is reflected in omnifarious facets of life. Consider units of measurement. While most nations use the metric system, the US retains, for the most part, its own standardised system, often, and erroneously, referred to as the Imperial system. In truth, the US uses the US Customary System, which was standardised decades before the British Imperial System. However, the two have similar roots that have fed into their shared units. 

How Units of Measurement Were Created 

Units of measurement have been around since the early days of civilisation. They were, much like everything else at the time, birthed out of necessity. Without shared units to define quantifiable goods, there can be no basis for commercialism or trade. Therefore, units of measurement were needed as populations swelled and measurements were needed for common exchanges. They also helped in comprehending the world around us.

Traditionally, archaic units of measurement were based on the parts of the body. This makes sense for several reasons. Firstly, when you are perceiving the natural world, the easiest method of engaging with space is with your body parts, specifically your hands and arms. Furthermore, these units would be similar person-to-person, considering that people of similar backgrounds and builds would be performing similar construction or other tasks requiring measurements. However, there likely were issues with accuracy. It is also important to consider that measurements with the arms and hands simplified the entire process, as you always had your measuring tool with you.

Some early units of measurement included the digit (the width of the finger, now about 0.75 inch), the palm (width of the palm, now about 3 inches), the span (width of the outstretched hand, from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the finger, or 3 palms or 9 inches), and the cubit (length of the forearm, approximately 18 inches.) These practices fed into what would eventually become British Imperial and US Customary units, but the manner in which they developed is dependent on the varied history and peoples of Ancient Britain.

History of English Units

During the Bronze Age, the Celtic Britons infiltrated modern-day Britain. A lot of cultural detail has been lost about the Celts, but it is possible that some of their measurement units influenced modern systems.

Starting around 450 CE, Germanic tribes invaded England, displacing the Briton population. With these tribes in control, Anglo-Saxon England saw distance measurements that have persisted until today. The inch (ynce) was the length of 3 barleycorns, an amount that actually is remarkably close to its current length. They also used several foot measurements, with one being equal to 12 inches, but another, which consisted of two shaftments, equalled 13 inches. The Saxon unit for area was the acre, which also retains its usage in almost all English-speaking countries. The word “acre” literally meant “field,” and this unit was considered a field the size that a farmer could plough in a single day.

In historical England, various units of weight were related as multiples of the grain, which was originally the weight of one barleycorn. For volume, the gallon was utilized. Originally, it was the volume of eight pounds of wheat. Larger volumes of liquids may have been carried in hogsheads, a unit of volume that unsurprisingly has vanished from common use. In 1066, the Normans invaded England. Hailing from France and having a blend of Norse Viking, Frankish, and Gallo-Roman ancestry, the Normans retained a lot of Saxon culture, such as units of measurement. All land in England was measured traditionally by the rod (gyrd), an old Saxon unit about equal to 20 feet. 40 rods made a furlong (fuhrlang), the length of a traditional furrow ploughed by ox teams on Saxon farms. Norman kings fixed the length of the rod at 5.5 yards, which is still unchanged today.

The Normans also brought numerous Roman units to England. Please note, however, that the Romans invaded England throughout Celtic times, so these units of measurement may have been acquired through numerous means. For example, the mile is a Roman unit, originally defined as the length of 1000 paces of a Roman legion. Eventually, in 1592, the British Parliament set the length of a mile at 8 furlongs—5280 feet. The Normans also brought to England the Roman tradition of the 12-inch foot. When this became official, Norman King Henry I ordered the construction of 3-foot standards, which were called yards.

In fact, according to legend, King Henry I decreed that the yard was the distance from the tip of his nose to the end of his outstretched thumb. In reality, however, this is unlikely, as both the foot and the yard were based on the Saxon ynce, the foot at 36 barleycorns and the yard 108.

The pound was also a Roman measurement, originally 12 ounces, but later shifted to 16 after a preference by European merchants. Ultimately, Saxon, Norman, and Roman influences shaped the English units, as they were called. These were used in both Great Britain and the American Colonies.

Standardisation of Units in the Early United States

However, there was an even wider influence on American units of measurement than there was in Britain. Even before the American Revolution, the colonists were faced with a hodgepodge of units of measurement from England, Holland, France, and Spain. Such preponderance, coupled with nationalistic obduracy, created a great deal of confusion.

It wasn't surprising that measurements weren’t always the same between colonies. One telling example is the measure 'bushel'. In Connecticut, a bushel was 28 pounds. In New Jersey, a bushel was larger, at 32 pounds. Ultimately, after independence, the states developed uniform weights and measurements. This birthed the US Customary System.

Differences Between US Customary and British Imperial Units

To add to the divide between formerly English units, the British Imperial System was established in 1824. This made some specific changes to the existing units from which the US system had derived. Furthermore, the Mendenhall Order of 1893 defined the US yard and pound, as well as related US Customary units, in terms of the metric meter and kilogram. Therefore, there is no longer any direct relationship between US Customary and Imperial units of the same name.

Regardless, the US Customary and British Imperial Systems remain almost identical. The most substantial differences are found in volume. There are differences in the following:

• The British Imperial fluid ounce is equal to 28.413 millilitres, while the US Customary fluid ounce is 29.573 ml.
• The British Imperial pint is 568.261 ml (20 fluid ounces), while the US Customary pint is 473.176 ml (16 fl oz).
• The British Imperial quart is 1.13 litres (40 fl oz), while the US Customary quart is 0.94 L (32 fl oz).
• The British Imperial gallon is 4.54 L (160 fl oz), while the US Customary gallon is 3.78 L (128 fl oz).

Throughout the 1900s, the United Kingdom underwent significant metrification. As a result, the Imperial System’s official usage in the UK is confined to the above units for volume, as well as miles per hour (MPH) for vehicle speed. In the US, the US Customary units retain usage for commercial and everyday purposes. However, in both nations, the metric system generally is heralded for scientific measurements. 

US Customary Units

Even though the US Customary and Imperial Systems are not used internationally, there is a need to comprehend their equivalents in the metric system. Some common conversions include 1 yard=0.9144 meter, 1 lb=0.45359237 kilogram, 1 joule=1 watt second, and 1 Newton=0.224809 pound force. In some cases, the reciprocals make more sense: 1 meter = 1.094 yards; 1 Kg = 2.204 lbs.

Please note that mechanical units in inches (e.g. for fasteners) are sometimes referred to colloquially as SAE units. This derives from ANSI-accredited standards developing organisation SAE International, which traditionally used the US Customary System. However, SAE has since switched to metric for specifications in its standards.

Addenda courtesy ansi.org blog: US Customary System: An Origin Story of June 18, 2018 Brad Kelechava