Abstract ID: 3.14629 | Accepted as Talk | Talk | TBA | TBA

I will explore how mountainous regions have developed whisky and related tourism to diversify their offerings, bring employment to remote areas and convey local history and heritage to visitors. Drinks production offers a tangible product made from the area’s natural resources, including water. The quality of mountain water has long been associated with the drinks industry and utilised in marketing, selling the idea of a product from untouched nature. In the modern-era, since the 1980s, organised tourism developments associated with distilleries have transformed their economic meaning to local communities. Today, a mountain distillery offers tourists an all-weather activity in otherwise extreme environments. I would like to consider how various diverse mountain communities have developed drinks tourism in distinct ways, from Scotland’s Cairngorms, where whisky is an integral part of the tourist trail, to the Lyng Alps in Norway, where Viking heritage is drawn upon, and the Japanese Akaishi Southern Alps, where traditional craftmanship is utilised in a new form to create whisky and present the region nationally and internationally. I would also like to challenge the idea that heritage in whisky can only be authentic in the Celtic homelands of the spirit by demonstrating innovative ways that local culture has been drawn upon by distilleries to create their products, distilleries themselves and tourism offerings. Finally, a brief examination of migration issues would also be included. Distilleries often have highly specialised, non-local staff, which can cause issues regarding tensions with locals requiring work as well as issues surrounding integration and language learning in remote environments.