Glasgow Airport, Scotland. Freezing fog, a Monday morning. Not, on the face of it, the place for enlightenment. So, what�s the appeal? Well, dare I say I am a convert to the current vogue for Scotch whisky, the age old amber nectar that is now retaking the bar scene by storm. Whyte and Mackay, Johnnie Walker, Dalmore, Fettercairn 1824, Glenmorangie... all prestige names. Yet, the difficulty with an imported product, even an import of fine quality, is that it is not easy to get a sense of its story. I mean the sensual print of the hillsides from where it originates, when and where it was it born, and who has nurtured it. And why does it look, smell and taste as it does? Circumstances conspire to leave us in relative ignorance. We might know it is of good quality, we might have a liking for it, but we are not enfranchised because we don�t really know its secrets.

Well, there is little substitute for learning from the experts, and I have tracked down my expert � or, rather, my Master. Meet a man of rare skill: Richard Paterson, Master Blender of Scotch Whisky. Richard practices a kind of alchemy, transforming fiery raw spirit into a complex, seductive drink to be savoured. He literally releases the genie in the bottle. Recently given The Outstanding Achievement Award at The International Wine and Spirit Competition, Richard is generally regarded as the finest in his profession, and is certainly the most charismatic and entertaining.

Let�s get to grips with the fundamentals. A single malt and a blended whisky are quite distinct. A single malt is made from malted barley alone, is twice distilled in a copper pot still, and is the product of one single distillery. A blend is constructed from both malt and grain (mixed cereals) whiskies from several distilleries. Both are good, they are just different drinks. When creating a blended whisky, the Master Blender�s task is to combine malt and grain whiskies that complement each other, in such a way that the resulting drink is more than the sum of its individual parts. Its parts are many � bear in mind that Richard Paterson�s Whyte and Mackay blend comes together from around 40 distilleries, and you begin to get an idea of the vast size of his blending palette. And Whyte and Mackay is just one product, as Master Blender at Kyndal Spirits, Richard is responsible for the creation and quality of over 100 spirits.

A blender will always work using his nose. Assembling casks for a blending bath could involve assessing several hundred casks, so the palate could not be used. The spirit is too strong and tasting would deaden the tastebuds even after only a few samples.

Richard noses close to 100 samples, every day, usually first thing in the morning when the senses are most acute. You have to respect someone who does something which seems so unaccountably difficult.

In particular, his clear recall of literally hundreds of aromas seems a miracle to me. I love his explanation of method. He says, �These whisky samples are people. When I look at the distilleries of Scotland, 90 different distilleries, I see 90 different people. It�s getting to know them. They are all going to give you subtleties. So you cut them down � heavy, medium, or light. But when it�s not just light, it�s fragrant, it�s floral. Then you get the heavy ones like Pulteney, Talisker, Glenkeith. Then you have the Islay whiskies which are very smoky, medicinal.� Richard pours a sample. �This whisky, this is young, this is 3 years old. Smell it � young, aggressive. It�s fiery, it�s in a bad mood, it�s full of life. Quite hot. That�s typical youth.� He continues. �It�s a bit like when I look at you, a very feminine style, I think of a very delicate Speyside malt.�Now there is a memorable compliment.

In a blended whisky, Richard has to ensure that the personalities combine well to create a unity from the diversity. Harmony is essential. Richard continues the explanation: �It is literally as if I fell in love. Why do I fall in love? She�s beautiful, she�s elegant, she has conversation. And then � how do we get on? Because she�s comprising and I�m compromising. That�s how it is with the whiskies. You have to get them to merge, to unionise together, to compromise. Take two whiskies � if they don�t get on, as soon as I nose them it will come up in a blend. It�ll say, �Hello, I�m from Islay, and I�m from Pulteney, we didn�t get on, you didn�t mix us properly.�� Whisky is a child of time, and maturation in wood is the great harmoniser. After distillation, Scotch Whisky must by law be aged in oak casks for a minimum of three years. In practice, it is usually much longer.

And the wait is well worth it. The result is a drink released when it is ready to drink, rather than just ready to sell. So, quite unlike wine.

New oak is never used, it is usually a mix of ex-American Bourbon barrels and ex-Sherry butts from Jerez in Spain.

The idea is to impart subtle, mellowing flavour influences. To take an example, The Dalmore Single Highland Malt 12 year old is partly matured in used Oloroso Sherry butts. The Oloroso wood works well to complement Dalmore�s characteristic orange marmalade and spiced notes.

So, fancy a glass of whisky? Now, time to be honest. I can admit to being overwhelmed rather than charmed by my first taste of whisky. Not a great initiation, and it took time for me to give it another chance.

Richard says to me, �I�d love to jump out of a bottle of whisky every time a consumer is going to buy it and ask them � are you doing this the right way, or are you doing this the wrong way?� And the right way is?

�I�d give you the right glass for a start. None of these balloon glasses. I�d maybe give you a balloon glass for a very old whisky, a 20, 30 or 40 year old. Otherwise, a good whisky tumbler, thick glass at the bottom, cut crystal.�

So, correct glassware. And then, reduction by water. Good, still, reliable mineral water if possible. Richard smiles encouragingly, �I�m being kind of forward but I�d reduce it for you, until it entirely suits your palate. I�d look at you to judge that I feel this amount of water should suit your palate. When you pick it up, I look at your eyes all the time. When you take that whisky, if I�ve not reduced it properly your eyes will go in a certain way � you will just blink or your face will give me an indication that this has hit your sensory mind. It�s too strong. It actually has spoilt the conversation, whereas in fact the conversation should increase!�

Richard then suggests something that I would certainly endorse � to let the whisky rest in the mouth. This requires mindfulness. Simply shooting it back is to rob yourself of pleasure. After all, he says, �This whisky has perhaps matured for 12 years, well give it 12 seconds in your mouth. Let the warmth of your tongue release the flavour of it. Not all this business of knocking it back like a cowboy.�

And lastly, contrary to very common practice, strictly no ice. �Ice is the killer. No ice, but a lot of people will not believe you. As soon as the ice goes in, it actually masks it, it closes it, it hides it,� he says.

Didactic words � but I am talking to a real enthusiast here, a man who lives whisky all day, every day. And he was even born into whisky heritage. Richard is not the first Paterson Master Blender, his father and grandfather were Master Blenders before him. He explains, �I started with my father when I was very young. When I was about eight years old he would ask, what did I think of this whisky. I could smell it on his breath and I didn�t think very much of it! So he would whack me on the back of my head and say, what do you mean, smell it properly, is it dry or sweet? So it built up from there, and gave me a very good foundation, as well as a sore head.�

Driving up to Fettercairn Distillery in the Highlands the next day, a storm is blowing. It is very much a bone-cold, winter climate we are talking about here. The experience underlines for me that the cold and whisky are of course logical partners. Historically, a dram of whisky has always offered sustenance against the cold weather, the bad harvest, even the marauding English. In the distillery, I come face to face with all the elements that come together to make Scotch Whisky � Earth, Water, Fire and Air.

From the earth, the malted barley � the only single malt production. Also from the earth comes peat, a pungent, phenolic vegetable matter. It covers much of the Western Islands of Scotland, and � cut out of the ground in slices and dried in the wind � it is used locally for fuel, and to add smoky, medicinal flavour to whisky. Islay malts, such as Laphroaig and Ardbeg, show a strong peat influence. Fettercairn far less. The signature notes of Fettercairn 1824 are butterscotch, with a hint of spice.

I talk with Willie Tait, Fettercairn�s Distillery Manager, about the vital importance of a superb, completely pure, reliable water source. Water is used throughout production, and is a key quality factor. To ensure purity, Fettercairn actually pumps its water directly from the underground spring source at the foot of the Grampian Mountains.

Fire enters the equation twice: first during the kilning, or drying, of the malted barley, and second when it is applied to the traditional copper pot stills in the double distillation. Every distillery has its own distinctive still shape � the design is a great influence on flavour. And lastly, air. The moist air in the barrel warehouse, where the whiskies are maturing, plays its role in moderating the evaporation that these slumbering giants undergo over time. So is the creation of Scotch Whisky an art or a science?

Richard Paterson smiles. �I like to think it�s an art at the end of the day. What�s more, I think if you took whisky away from Scotland it would be a pretty sad place. Look what it does � it brings people together. This 30-year-old, we�re not throwing it back, we�re sipping it, savouring it, seeing it come alive. It�s enhancing the conversation. We�re not getting inebriated, we�re just savouring life and what it�s all about.�