WHISKY aficionados have long insisted that a dash of water is vital to enhance the taste of a single malt.
But millions of gallons of seawater, caused by global warming, could wipe out some of the most famous names in the industry, scientists have told Scotland on Sunday.
Coastal distilleries producing a range of internationally famous brands such as B
owmore, Laphroaig, Talisker and Glenmorangie are at risk from storms and encroaching waves.
Dr Jim Hansom, of Glasgow University's Department of Geographical and Earth Science, insisted the threat to the whisky industry posed by climate change were very real.
"All the evidence suggests that sea levels are starting to rise," he said. "All the distilleries that are based on the coast, including a lot of world-famous names, are potentially in danger of flooding.
"People think climate change will be good for Scotland because we'll get warmer summers, but they haven't thought through all the other consequences."
Hansom, an adviser to the Government-funded conservation agency Scottish Natural Heritage, believes that the consequences of rising tides could be seen within 20 years.
He says the impact will be worst in the Inner Hebrides and Orkney, as well as on coastal mainland distilleries such Glenmorangie at Tain and Balblair in Ross-shire.
"Laphroaig and Lagavulin on Islay have cellars below high water mark and that is part of the mystique and allure of the whisky. They claim you can taste the tang of the sea. Well, in future we could see barrels completely surrounded by salt-water. It's that serious.
"Others like Bunnahabhain have got a beach right in front of them and could also be in danger of flooding.
"In the worst-case scenario, they will have to relocate distilleries to higher ground. In other cases they might have to move warehouses where whisky is maturing in a sort of phased withdrawal."
Hansom insisted he was not being alarmist. "My main objective is to alert coastal distilleries to the fact that they will face problems in the future and they need to think about it now. Creating coastal management plans now could save them lots of money in the future."
Scottish Government figures released earlier this year showed that 100,000 homes and businesses in Scotland are considered to be at risk of flooding.
The majority of the properties – 73,000 private homes and 5,000 commercial premises – are inland and close to rivers that could burst their banks.
Another 18,000 are properties around the coast that are vulnerable to rising tides.
Hansom's sentiments were echoed by Dr Toby Sherwin, reader in physical oceanography at the Scottish Association for Marine Science.
"The worst case long-term scenario would see sea levels rising by 60cm," he said. "That should be a real concern for the owners of the low-lying, sea-level distilleries, and they should start thinking about what strategies they should adopt now."
Because of their geographical position the Northern and Western Isles are affected by subsidence, and the slow sinking of land makes them particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels.
Dave Broom, an expert on the national drink and contributing editor to Whisky Magazine, added: "There is no doubt that the whisky industry will be directly affected by climate change. The science is now accepted and becoming increasingly and depressingly precise."
But John McLellan, the manager of Bunnahabhain Distillery on Islay, which directly overlooks the sea, was not overly concerned about being named as one of Scotland's most vulnerable whisky producers.
"Hopefully it is going to be quite a few years before we get to that stage," he said.
"To be honest, I'm more worried about the here and now rather than about things that could happen in the next 50 years. I'll certainly not be losing any sleep over these warnings."
In the summer, torrential downpours caused some of the biggest floods ever seen in England, damaging 15,000 properties and 1,500 businesses. Scotland escaped largely unscathed.
But David Williams, a spokesman for the Scotch Whisky Association, said the industry took the threats seriously and was already planning to secure its future.
"We are currently working with our members to develop an industry environmental sustainability strategy and that will be published next year," he said. "Companies regularly undertake environmental audits of their sites and operations. Best practice is widely shared and most environmental matters are tackled co-operatively."
