The Exciseman the distiller’s devil.

To start my blog off I wanted to look in to the history of my favourite night cap, the poem below was written by Robert Burns, it is about the Exciseman, scary I know, but there is an interesting story behind him.

The Deil's Awa'

The deil cam fiddlin’ thro’ the town,
And danc’d awa wi’ the Exciseman,
And ilka wife cries ‘Auld Mahoun,
I wish you luck o’ the prize, man.’

The deil’s awa, the deil’s awa,
The deil’s awa wi’ the Exciseman,
He’s danc’d awa, he’s danc’d awa,
He’s danc’d awa wi’ th’ Exciseman.

We’ll mak our maut and we’ll brew our drink,
We’ll laugh, sing and rejoice, man
And mony braw thanks to the meikle black deil
That danc’d awa wi’ th’ Exciseman.

There’s threesome reels, there’s four­some reels,
There’s hornpipes and strathspeys, man,
But the ae best dance e’er cam to the Land,
Was The deil’s awa wi’ th’ Exciseman!
Robert Burns

Let me take you back to the beginning of the 17^th century to when the first taxes were introduced to whisky and to the act of union in 1707 when the English began to increase taxes in a bid to tame the unruly Scottish clansmen.  But increasing taxes and the introduction of the excisemen didn’t stop the scots the distiller’s. Even the men of the kirk were in on it allowing the elicit dealers to stash there liquid gold under the pulpits and allowing them to smuggle there whisky out the churches in coffins. The Clandestine stills where hidden up among the bonnie heather in the hills of Scotland. Where the smugglers could use their own systems to warn each other of incoming excisemen.

But thank god for the Duke of Gordon, the man was a genius. Maybe it was because his land produced some of the finest illicit whisky in Scotland, he suggested to the House of Lords that the government could make some money off of the whisky. Finally in 1823 the Excise Act was passed.  Which seen that in return for a £10 license fee the distillers would receive a set payment for each gallon of whiskey produced. It was the passing of this act the formed the foundations of the Scottish whisky industry as we know it today.

As someone who is interested in looking back at the history of my clans I find it rather amusing to think of my ancestors running around the hills smuggling something which I enjoy drinking today.

One line of this poem leads me on to some of the traditions surrounding probably one of Scotland’s best known desserts which has whiskey in it. Crowdie Cream or what is more commonly known as Cranachan.

“We’ll laugh, sing and rejoice, man”

This line I feel links in with the occasion at which Cranachan was traditionally served at. Scottish summer weddings it was the dessert of the bride and groom as it was thought to bring luck to the newlyweds. The line reflects the joy and the celebration that the Scottish people would have felt when the excisemen had gone and whiskey had become legal and profitable. I feel like it reflects the general mood of weddings to or at least the way I act after I have had a couple of my favourite drams.

 Although this dessert is fabulous in its own right and I have used it on many occasions such as turning it in to a sweet haggis for burns day I felt like I wanted to do another twist on it and make Cranachan semi-freddo. I made it using Islay Mist which was beautiful although I wouldn’t advise it if you don’t like peaty whiskey

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My Cranachan semi-freddo

Cranachan Semifreddo with Raspberry Coulis.

A delicious fruity desert with a bit of a kick. The whiskey isn’t overpowering so it’s good for those who don’t consider themselves whiskey lovers. 

You will need: 2 Individual dessert moulds


Serves:2

Ingredients:

Semifreddo:                                         Coulis:

50g fresh raspberries                            50g fresh raspberries

22g golden caster sugar                        2g golden caster sugar

70mls double cream                              2.5mls honey

15mls whisky                                      2.5mls whisky

25mls crème fraiche

25mls Crowdie

15mls honey

10g medium oatmeal, toasted

Method:

Semifreddo:

In a bowl mash the raspberries,  sugar and the honey and put to the side.

In a separate bowl whisk the cream, sugar and whisky until it forms soft peaks.

*Soft peaks are when the whipped cream just stands up to form peaks.

In another bowl beat the crowdie and crème fraiche together, then add to the whipped cream and fold together.

*If you can’t get crowdie the recipe works with extra crème fraiche instead of the crowdie.

Finally fold the raspberry mix and the oatmeal through the cream mixture until swirled through but not fully combined.

Separate and divide into the desert moulds. Cover and place in the freezer, preferably overnight but will be solid enough to turn out after 4 hours.

*To make the semifreddo come out the moulds easier you can line them with cling film.

Raspberry Coulis:

Mash remaining raspberries sugar whisky and honey in a small bowl then pass through a sieve to get a smooth coulis.

*The coulis can be made at the same time as the semifreddo or can be made just before serving if you are making it the night before make sure you cover it and store it in the fridge.

To serve turn out the semifreddo onto serving plate and drizzle with a little of the coulis, garnish with some fresh raspberries.