Happy birthday!

June 1 is the birthday of Scotch whisky. Well, kind of.

John Cor is the name of the friar referred to in the first known written reference to a batch of Scotch Whisky on June 1, 1495.

“To Friar John Cor, by order of the King, to make aqua vitae VIII bolls of malt.”

 ~ Exchequer Rolls 1494–95, Vol x, p. 487.

Friar John Cor (Johanni Cor/John Kawe) was a Tironensian monk based at Lindores Abbey in Fife. He was a servant at the court of James IV. The King gave him a gift of 14 shillings on Christmas Day in 1488, and at Christmas time in 1494 Cor was given black cloth from Lille in Flanders for his livery clothes as a clerk in royal service. He was probably an apothecary.

Eight bolls of malt was over 1,275 pounds. 

The Tironensians were well regarded for their skills as alchemists and indeed Lindores Abbey is known as the 'Birthplace of Scotch Whisky'. Leading whisky writer Michael Jackson refers to Lindores in his book Scotland and Its Whiskies saying "For the whisky-lover, it is a pilgrimage". The monks were also well respected for their horticultural skills and it is in no small part, thanks to those skills, that Newburgh is famous to this day for its abundant and delicious orchard fruits.

Damien's note: Despite the above entry in Wikipedia, friars and monks are not exactly the same critters. Since John was at Lindores Abbey, which was a Benedictine foundation, he was indeed a monk. It is possible that he was a lay brother, in which case people may have called him Brother or Frater in Latin. In which case, it was a small step to the confusion of calling him a friar, which is based on the word for brother in the Romance languages with Latin roots. 

At any rate, if your doctor and your personal inclinations permit, have a dram in honor of the good brother.