When Whisky Science Crossed Borders
Between 1960 and 1980, spirits research programmes across Finland, California, France, Japan and Scotland were investigating flavour compounds, distillation chemistry, and oak maturation. The researchers connected through international conferences, sharing findings and building upon each other's work.
Jim Swan participated in this network, presenting PSWR's research at conferences in Athens 1981 and Helsinki in 1984 alongside leading flavour scientists from multiple countries.
Understanding Oak Maturation
In 1970, Finnish researchers Lalli Nykänen and Heikki Suomalainen at ALKO Research Laboratories identified whisky lactone (cis-3-methyl-4-octanolide)—the compound responsible for the woody, coconut-like characteristics that oak ageing imparted to spirits. This provided a scientific explanation for effects distillers had long observed.
ALKO's research also revealed synergistic relationships between flavour compounds. Carbonyl compounds enhanced each other, esters worked additively to create complex flavour profiles, whilst acids reduced each other's influence through antagonistic interactions. This helped explain why traditional whisky-making produced balanced, complex flavours.
Parallel Research Programmes
At the University of California Davis, Dr. James F. Guymon's systematic studies of pot still distillation for brandy production provided insights applicable to Scotch whisky. In France, J.L. Puech at INRA investigated oak maturation chemistry, explaining why French oak casks behaved differently from American oak. At the University of Strathclyde, John Piggott developed statistical methods demonstrating that trained panels could achieve strong consistency (correlation coefficients exceeding 0.9) across different sensory frameworks.
International Conferences
A photograph from Helsinki in 1984 shows Jim Swan, A.A. Williams from Long Ashton Research Station, and John Piggott at an international research conference. These gatherings facilitated knowledge exchange and collaborative development of analytical methods.
Applied Benefits
This international network enabled PSWR members to access research from Finland on odour thresholds, California on distillation science, France on maturation chemistry, and Britain on statistical validation. When PSWR's research reached similar conclusions to work from other institutions, it provided confidence in the universal applicability of the principles being discovered.
Read more about this international collaboration
Learn how this global network of research transformed whisky production whilst preserving traditional character—from ALKO's comprehensive flavour studies to Guymon's 77 publications, and from Puech's oak chemistry to Williams' profiling techniques.