28. Scotland, 1851The boss was going to celebrate his fiftieth birthday, and the distillery its twenty-seventh. The excitement aroused by this great event had spread beyond the Dubh valley and even throughout the whole Speyside region. What’s more, Paul Fearmòr’s birthday, September 21st, coincided with the beginning of the distilling season.
The Sunday before the celebrations, scheduled for the following Saturday, Paul Fearmòr undertook a series of visits to personally invite his friends and competitors to his party. The day was splendid and, in his handsome cabriolet, Paul appeared like a king roaming his realm, satisfied and happy to take in his subjects’ prosperity.
Passing in front of his own distillery, he looked upon the buildings with affection. The Glen Dubh distillery had under
