Whisky Words: Caochan

Now an almost forgotten word, rare in practical usage. It is the Gaelic word for fermented liquor or wash.

It is pronounce as kuch an (clic to listen)

If I remeber correcttly I took this photo at GlenAllachie Distillery back in 2021

‘From this gate, a track led up the hill to a ‘bothan’ in which lived a man called ‘Done’. (Duncan McCuaig) with his unmarried sister Babby (Barbara) When I was a boy I thought he was a wild fierce individual because he used to come to the village occasionally and have a drink of caochan, or wash, which was the crude fermenting liquid before it was distilled into whisky. He used to sneak into the tun room and drink this stuff from a vat. He would then become roaring drunk and stagger off home … ‘. (Campbell, 1997, as cited in Smith, 2020)

Bottom line: It is the Gaelic word for Wash, you might only hear it if you are in the northen part of Scotland and in some old books. Though it is never bad to learn something new.

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