Authorities tried to get rid of illegal
distilleries which only resulted in a better quality of Highland whisky and the
smugglers quickly learned to better cover their tracks. They used small stills
that could be taken apart quickly and sunk into the lochs to avoid detection.
These stills produced a heavier whisky with more flavor than the lighter
products from Lowland stills. People quickly took a liking to the new whisky.
Stills were built in caves and hillsides
for concealment. They used long tunnels to distract authorities into thinking
the source of the escaping still fire smoke was far away from the actual
source. One area even introduced a warning system. If a tax collector was seen
approaching, the people would hang their washing on the line as a signal.
However, this system was not failproof, as some distillers were caught on
Mondays, which were regular washing days. Occasionally, sly smugglers would tip
off authorities to an old abandoned still to collect a recovery reward, using
it to purchase copper for their own still.
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