I’ve just returned from Scotland where I spent an inordinate amount of time with the spirits — the ones that occupy Balvenie Castle (above) and those that come from the Glenfiddich Distillery.

Both are located in Dufftown, a small village in the north, halfway between Inverness and Aberdeen. They say Rome was built on “seven hills”. Well, Dufftown was built on seven stills. The ones that make Malt Whisky. Which is why I was there in the first place.

The story begins last winter when I purchased a piece of conceptual art by Toronto artist Dave Dyment. Dave’s idea, an exploration of emptiness, was to let a cask of whisky mature for 100 years. He involved a number of people from the Glenfiddich Distillery to create the piece, including the most experienced malt master in the Scottish Whisky Industry, Dave Stewart. His piece, entitled A Drink To Us (When We’re Both Dead) offers 25 empty hand-carved boxes  (see picture) together with a legal contract that assures the delivery of a bottle of 100 year old spirit in the year 2108. In effect, you were purchasing nothing.

Here’s the rub. I’ll be dead when the cask is unearthed. That much is pretty certain. So, I can only hope that there really is an afterlife and I can haunt the Distillery and make a lot of spooky sounds.

Which brings me back to Balvanie Castle. As the first person to purchase one of the art pieces, I was invited to stay at the castle for a week with my son Jesse.  Balvenie Castle dates to the 1200s and has a colourful past, to say the least. Robert the Bruce crops up in its history and Mary Queen of Scots once slept there.

In 1460, the Castle was owned by the Fair Maid of Galloway, Margaret Douglas, but following the rebellion of the infamous Black Douglasses against the King, all of the family’s titles and estates were forfeit to the Crown. The King, however, had a thing for Margaret and allowed her to live at Balvenie Castle for the unusual annual rent of a single red rose.

Which is more than I paid.

To see more, go to

http://www.davedyment.com/100.html