On August 27, 2017, HBO will be showcasing the seventh and final episode of Game of Thrones series seventh season. The series is a worldwide success of criticism and publicity but I only became interested in it when I saw the first episode of the seventh season.
I confess that I then watched six seasons, sixty episodes of an hour each in three weeks. And I liked it. In some of them during marathons of three to four episodes in a row I was always accompanied by a good Single Malt whiskey.
The story of The Ice and Fire Chronicles that originated the series takes place in Westeros, which is one of the four continents known in the world. Most of its area equals 7 Realms. Interesting as the geographical shape of the continent and its geographical division reminded me a lot of Scotland and its regions of whiskey.
At any moment I began to think. And if Games of Thrones produced whiskey. Which region of Westeros map would produce each style?
Scotland has five whiskey producing regions, Lowlands, Campbeltown, Islay, Highlans and Speyside.
In Westeros we have the Iron Islands, a set of seven islands on the west coast. The inhabitants of these islands are known as men of iron and call themselves born of iron. In Scotland we have Islay an island on the west coast that has distinct style and personality. There are only eight distilleries on the island that produce a whiksy with a smoky, strong, iodine-flavored aroma of the marine waters surrounding the island.
Casterly Rock is the land of Lenisters who dominate the iron throne. The place only appeared once in the series. In 66 episodes. It fits nicely with the Campbeltown region that has only 3 distilleries in operation, which makes their bottles very hard to see.
The Upper Gardens or Highgarden are the home of the Tyrell and the second largest extension region of Westeros. It has the most fertile lands of the continent and many villages. They could be the equivalent of Lowlands, the lowlands of Scotland that produce the softest and softest single malts.
The largest region of the map is the North which has the extension of the other six kingdoms combined. Little settlement with cold and dry climate has a very great resemblance to Highlands in Scotland. It is the largest producing region of whiskeys that has more fruity and aromatic characteristics.
The center of the plot’s power lies in King’s Landing, a small piece of land where the iron throne stands. It is very difficult to see any chapter of the series without having some scene filmed there. We can say that it is the equivalent of Speyside which is the mecca of Single Malts. All major brands are there like Macallan, Glenfiddich, Glenlivet among others. Their whiskeys are more fragrant and floral.
I do not know if you’re going to agree with my combinations but regardless of that a great series always matches an excellent single malt. Enjoy.