The Angel’s Share Fungus

We’ve finally made it to Edradour! It only took ten years after our first try. 

The “Angels’ Share” is something we’ve known about for quite some time, but today, in addition some superb touring and tasting, we learned about the fungus accociated with distilleries, specifically with spirit aging facilities. It eats the ethanol seeping out the barrels, and forms a crusty black mat on buildings, equipment, and nearby trees. According to Andrew our guide, the tax collectors would use black-stained trees to locate and destroy illicit stills. (I regret I didn’t get a good photo of the really black trees by the warehouse, but you can make out some of it here.) 

Apparently the distillery has to paint its buildings four times a year to keep them so spotlessly white, and they want them white to reflect heat from the buildings, keeping them as moist and cool inside as possible. This is to minimize the share the angels take through evaporation. I wonder now, though I didn’t think to ask Andrew in the moment, why they don’t just pressure wash instead of painting. I may never know.