The Scotch Express Series: Highland Railway

It became possible to travel by rail from London through to Scotland by the late 1840s, and a train from the south by both West and East Coast routes would come to be known as a ‘Scotch Express,’  Perhaps the most famous began running to Edinburgh in 1862, although it was not until 1924 it officially received the title ‘Flying Scotsman’. The early trains at first did not run to fast schedules, and it was only towards the end of the 19th Century the term ‘Express’ could properly be applied.

Regardless of how quickly they got there, the new influx of visitors to Scotland helped to bring about a great expansion of the Scottish railways, with six major companies bringing services to all corners of the country until they merged with the British network in 1921.

Each bottle in the Scotch Express series pays tribute to a classic Scottish railway operator, with beautiful artwork by Robin Barnes bringing new life to the locomotives that once ran these rails. Our whiskies are sourced from distilleries along the routes – the expansion of rail having brought new connections to these Scottish industries, and opened them up to the world.

“These bottles celebrate the routes that brought people and whisky together”

Internationally Renowned
Railway Artist Robin Barnes.

A 1940s childhood passed within sight and sound of a busy main-line railway on which every train was hauled by a steam locomotive, many of them bearing names to grip the youthful imagination – Golden Eagle, Royal Lancer, Sayajirao, Irish Elegance, Jingling Geordie and Wizard of the Moor, for example, though there were many others – led inevitably to a fascination with trains and railways, which over time broadened into a wider interest in other forms of transport too, on the sea and in the air. Throughout his life he has put pen and brush to paper, albeit (he emphasises) with varying degrees of success, and in his adult years has contributed illustrated articles to enthusiast publications, written and illustrated three books and undertaken commissioned work for a number of patrons at home and abroad.

Now he has brought his intricate watercolour skills to the locomotives of Cask 88’s Scotch Express series, highlighting the beauty of the locomotives that served on historical Scottish railways and helped Scotch whisky in its meteoric rise to fame.

“Artistically, in relation to transportation generally, his preference is to tackle the more unusual and
less-often illustrated subjects”.