Scotch on the Rocks [Paperback]

Scotch on the Rocks is a journal of an investigation too understand the anomolies in the real story that was the basis for the book and movie "Whiskey Galore". It is a little slow in the beginning, but it picks up pace later in the investigation. The book is well written and entertaining. I not only recommend it to the interested reader, but I shared it with friends and family.

Scotch on the Rocks: The True Story Behind Whisky Galore

"In the war (the duty on whiskey) was increased several times and in 1941 the price was 16s. per bottle of which 11s. 4d. was tax." - from SCOTCH ON THE ROCKS

In the early morning hours of February 5, 1941, the 8000-ton cargo ship S.S. Politician ran aground in the narrows between the islands of South Uist and Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides. Among other things, the ship was carrying 20,000 cases - roughly a quarter million bottles - of Scotch whisky in its number 5 hold.

For over a month, the Politician's owners salvaged what they could from the vessel. Finally, they abandoned to the sea what remained, including the whisky, which was considered not worth the effort. This was what the local island residents, suffering wartime shortages of everything including the national drink, had been waiting for, and they began rescue efforts, a surreptitious activity that brought them into direct conflict with the law and , more specifically, the local (and perhaps overzealous) Customs officer, Charles McColl.

The story of the S.S. Politician served as a basis for the 1947 novel Whisky Galore by Compton Mackenzie, which was itself made into a comedic film in 1949 (Whisky Galore).

Author Arthur Swinson first heard of the shipwreck in 1943 while serving as an army staff officer in Burma. By 1962, he was a documentary writer in London researching a possible series on Her Majesty's Customs and Excise. One thing led to another and what resulted was SCOTCH ON THE ROCKS, originally published in 1963, a journalistic investigation of the affair of the S.S. Politician and its now-famous liquid cargo.

To the interested reader, SCOTCH ON THE ROCKS presents as an engaging historical narrative of a peripheral incident during Britain's wartime effort, an interesting travel essay about a remote place, and a social commentary about the effect of a sudden, unexpected windfall on an ordinary populace. Above all, it's the cautionary tale of the ridiculous extremes to which a government will go in the pursuit of revenue under the guise of law - Section 536 of the 1894 Merchant Ship Act forbids the removal of any cargo from a stranded ship - and the measures a wily and aroused citizenry will take to thwart that authority.

Swinson's narrative style is relaxed and appealing. By the end of the story, his sympathies clearly, and perhaps not surprisingly, lie with the islanders. He included in the volume a barely adequate section of black and white photos and a couple of maps.

SCOTCH ON THE ROCKS is a diverting read that's sure to complement a wee dram of Scotland's best savored next to the cozy warmth of a peat fire.

According to the Web, as late as 1989 twenty-four Polly bottles were recovered from the remains of the hulk. Sláinte!