Pistoleer: HellBurner by Smith Skye

Author:Smith, Skye
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: civil war, pirates, best, republicans, oliver cromwell, scotch, battle of the downs, bishops war, fireship, guns pistols
Publisher: Skye Smith

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THE PISTOLEER - HellBurner by Skye Smith Copyright 2013-14

Chapter 13 - The sorry state of Scottish Whiskey in May 1639

The long ride north from the English border exhausted them well before they made it to Edinburgh, so the guides that Argyll had provided to Daniel led him to Argyll's home in Dalkeith. There they begged food and a roof from his Lady Margaret. She was so eager to hear news of her husband that she agreed immediately. So it was that Daniel arrived at the brew house in Edinburgh's port village of Leith early in the morning and rested and well fed. There he found the Freisburn docked at the nearest quay, but the watch told him that most of the crew had slept with the whisky in the brew house. Of course.

He had barely walked through a side door to the brew house when Anso called out to him, "Danny, this Scottish whisky we've been traded is so rough that you have to chew it. It gives you a pounding head, and that after only one dram." He was holding a hand over his eyes, even though it was gloomy in the warehouse. "No innkeep with any sense would ever buy it unless we sell it for the price of ale."

"Not to worry. We'll be selling this first lot to the English army in Berwick. They won't care about the quality so long as it burns their throats."

Argyll's brewer was walking forward to introduce himself, but instead asked, "So you are selling this to Englishmen? You should have said so yesterday. I would have brought my bairn here to piss in it."

The thought of children pissing in whisky stopped the Fensmen mid-conversation. They assumed it was meant as an insult and glared at him. "You do realize that we are also English,” Daniel told him with an edge, slowly and clearly.

"No offense, Captain. We always have some virgins piss in our whisky if it is for the English market. The English prefer a lighter drink, and the piss makes the chewy bits drop to the bottom. In Edinburgh virgins are harder to find than unshaved coins, so I use the kiddies."

Daniel stared at the man to gauge if this was a jest, but the brewer was straight-faced and serious. The Scots were actually pissing in their whiskey before selling it to the English. "You are right that we need to lighten the brew, but not with piss." He glanced at his crew who were gathering around looking the worse for a night's drinking, and asked, "What casks did you find? We need small ones, pins or smaller, but they need not be new."

The mate called back, "There's casks enough but they've held a thick red wine by the looks of them, and now they smell like vinegar. We've got plenty of cheesecloth for straining the whisky, but unless we sweeten them casks, the whisky will be tainted." He hefted a small cask and held it out for them to check for themselves.

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