Quaich

From Whiskipedia

Quaich

The quaich is of Highland origin, the name being a corruption of the Gaelic cuach, a cup', according to McNeill (p. 125). In Gaelic cuaich is the genitive singular of cuach, and in Old Irish cuach occurs, probably being an adaptation of the Latin caucus. The first attestation of quaich occurs prior to 1673, 'A quech weighting 18 unce and 10 drop'. The first recorded usage with the current spelling dates from 1884, and other variants include queich, quaigh, queff, coif, and quaff. McNeill describes the quaich as 'wide and shallow, with wedge- shaped horizontal handles which, to the convivially-minded, "seem to invite a hearty grasp", and which certainly facilitate its being passed from hand to hand when circulated as a loving-cup'.

Gordon Brown of the Malt Whisky Association, writing in issue 3 of The Malt Letter, notes that the double handle of the quaich 'symbolises the social bond of drinking and sharing, the cup having the means of being passed on in friendship and being received by the person beside you'. Dunford records that the quaich was 'Created in wood, in later years craftsmen started to embellish it in silver, and by the end of the seventeenth century when Scottish life was becoming more opulent, it was sometimes made entirely of silver' (n.p.). According to McNeill, 'Long after cups and glasses came into general use, the smaller quaichs continued to be used for brandy or whisky.' Sir Walter Scott made a point of serving whisky to his guests at Abbotsford in quaichs, and as Dunford observes, 'on many a Highland Army mess table for years the most characteristic feature was the silver-bound quaich of whisky, circulated frequently during the evening'.

The role of the quaich as the archetypal historical vessel for whisky-drinking in Scotland has led to its adoption as a kind of emblem by a prestigious organisation founded in 1989 by employees of what is now the Guinness-owned United Distillers and a group of other Scotch whisky distillers. This exclusive company rejoices in the name of The Keepers of the Quaich, and its avowed intention is to act as 'custodian of the traditions and prestige of Scotch whisky... to promote the image and prestige of Scotch whisky... to rekindle the magic and mystery of the product'. Alongside a photograph of The Keepers' in full Highland regalia, accompanied by a singularly opulent example of hallmarked silver quaich design, the caption writer of Scots on Scotch rather tartly observes 'Tradition is reinvented'.