Uisge Beatha Poem by William Messent

An
Ancient
Alchemy,
Quaint combination:
Heat and water, yeast and barley.

Air.
Mountain,
Sweet and pure;
Warm summer breeze
Caressing barley on the plain.

Fresh
Water,
Crystal clear.
Wild and wilful burn
Lively rushing from the mountain.

Peat.
Ancient,
Rich the reek,
Rising pungent smoke
That fuels the fire to dry the malt.

Bright
Catchlight.
Heart-warming
Heady taste and smell:
The landscape preserved in amber.

A
Process
So simple,
Such complex product
Of copper still and bourbon tun.

Pure
Scottish
Uisge beatha:
The Water of Life -
The essence of the Western Isles.