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As Rebecca and I exit the malting room, I gently steer her toward a doorway on the left side of the corridor. Naturally, I pull the door open for her. Every time I do that, she smiles. The door shuts behind us, and we halt so I can tell her about what's happening in this area.
"What you saw on the malting floor," I explain, "was the process that creates key enzymes that are essential for whisky. Now, the dried malt will be ground into a grist. Hot water is added, and the mixture will be gradually heated to release the sugars."
"I never knew that creating whisky required so many steps."
"Now, it's time to add yeast. Those wee beasties devour the sugar, transforming it into alcohol."
Her brows wrinkle. "Beasties?"
"Aye. Yeast is a living organism."
"Oh. Right. I do remember that now. What's next in the process?"
"Distillation. We distill our whisky twice to get rid of any solids that might still be in there."
She jots down more notes on her pad of paper while tapping her tongue on her bottom front teeth. Once she's done writing, she holds her portfolio to her chest and meets my gaze. "This is very fascinating and useful. But this all sounds like the usual method of doing things. You know, the way everyone crafts whisky. What I need to know now is if you have anything unusual that goes into the process. The more unique your whisky is, the more likely it is that I'll be able to create a memorable marketing campaign."
"I see." What can I tell her? Aye, we do have unusual methods here, but I would be revealing trade secrets. Well, she does work for me, indirectly. And employees are required to sign a nondisclosure agreement. Might as well let the lass do her job as thoroughly as possible. "Since you signed an NDA, I would like to take you into the building where the casks are stored to explain our secret methods."
"That sounds promising. And very intriguing."
"Follow me, then. We'll be leaving the main building to visit the dunnage warehouse."
"Okay. What is that, exactly?"
I give her what I hope looks like an enigmatic smile. I might be enjoying this a wee bit too much, letting Rebecca in on my whisky-making secrets. Dinnae care.
We cross through the malting floor again on our way out of the building, and Dougal winks at me while nodding toward Rebecca. The cacan is implying something that I do not appreciate. The lass would undoubtedly be furious if she noticed what Dougal did. I've known the man long enough to understand the meaning of his gestures. He was encouraging me to do something that I should not under any circumstances even contemplate doing.
No, I will not have a poke with Rebecca ever again.
I keep a hand on her back while we trudge down the path to the wood-and-brick structure set a wee ways from the main building. Pushing the door open, I wait for Rebecca to enter first. She seems to have stopped being surprised by the way I open doors for her, since she doesn't flash me a smile this time. Instead, she tiptoes into the darkened interior, glancing about as if she expects a monster to leap at her.
Once she has passed the threshold, I walk inside and flick on the light switch.
Rebecca winces, shielding her eyes with one hand. "Does whisky have to sleep in the dark? Or do you just like surprising women that way?"
"Why waste money by keeping the lights on all the time? Whisky isn't afraid of the dark." I raise my brows. "Are you?"
"Afraid of the dark? No, of course not." She hugs her portfolio to her chest while scanning the interior. "What did you say this building was called?"
"The dunnage warehouse. We store the casks here to let the whisky age and soak up the flavors of the wood."
She studies her surroundings, beginning with the concrete walkway that stretches from the doors straight down the center of the building. Then she swivels her head left and right to take in the sight of the whisky barrels that lie on their sides in rows three casks high.
Finally, she turns toward me. "Last year, I visited a Jack Daniels facility. But that was just for fun. My kids dragged me there."
"You let children visit a whisky distillery?"
"They were twenty-one at the time, so of legal age. The tour was mostly a historical thing about the history of Jack Daniels himself and how the distillery evolved."
"Didn't you learn about the distilling process? I assumed a famous outfit like Jack Daniels would include such things on their tours."
She shrugs. "My mind wandered during that part. It wasn't as intriguing as getting a personal tour from the master distiller of a Highland whisky brand."
"Ah, well, I'm glad to know Scots do that better too."
"What do you mean 'too'?"
