Iain Banks

Our thanks to Cameron Ewen and his team at the Scotch bar in The Balmoral hotel for updating, explaining and adding a little nuance to some Specialist Subject answers.

Iain scored 12 for his Specialist Subject round, didn’t pass on any questions, but did give 5 wrong answers.  See how you do!

QUESTION 1
Which distillery, that features a stag's head on its labels, has a name popularly supposed to be derived from the Gaelic for 'Valley of the Deer'?

QUESTION 2
From 1916, the government insisted that Scotch Whisky must be aged in casks for at least how many years?

QUESTION 3
Which distillery has stills with very long necks, to the height of about 5.13 metres, claimed to be the tallest in Scotland?

QUESTION 4
Who was the first person to take out a licence under the Excise Act of 1823, setting up his distillery on his farm in Glenlivet?

QUESTION 5
The amount of which aromatic chemical compound in a whisky determines the peatiness of its flavour?

QUESTION 6
What is the technical name for malts from more than one distillery that have been blended together?

QUESTION 7
Which distillery in Wick is the most northerly in mainland Scotland?

QUESTION 8
The name of which Islay Whisky is translated from the Gaelic as 'The Beautiful Hollow by the Broad Bay'?

QUESTION 9
Who wrote in his poem, 'The Scotsman's Return from Abroad', "The king o' drinks, as I conceive it, Talisker, Isla, or Glenlivet!"?

QUESTION 10
Which distillery, at 326 metres above sea level, claims to be the highest and also serves as a weather station?

QUESTION 11
Which artist designed the label for the release of 12 bottles of the Macallan 60-year-old, each bottle containing spirit that was distilled in 1926 and bottled in 1986?

QUESTION 12
In the distillation process, what name is given to the central part of the spirit run, during which spirit is produced and collected?

QUESTION 13
Which distillery did Long John MacDonald, a descendant of the Chiefs of Clan Donald, found in 1825?

QUESTION 14
The wood of which species of oak is first used to store Bourbon and then transported to Scotland to be made into Scotch Whisky casks?

QUESTION 15
What name is given to the whisky lost in evaporation as it matures in its cask?

QUESTION 16
Which became the first Scottish distillery to be wholly owned by a Japanese company when Takara Shuzo and Okura & Co. bought it in 1986?

QUESTION 17
On which island did malt whisky production recommence after an interval of some 150 years when a new distillery was opened in 1995?

Iain scored 14, only giving 4 incorrect answers (having a giggling fit at one of them) and passing on 2.

QUESTION 1
Which Civil Rights leader was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis on 4th April 1968?

QUESTION 2
Which French composer died just three months after 'Carmen', his best known opera, had its first performance?

QUESTION 3
At which Test cricket venue is The Long Room for members only?

QUESTION 4
On which planet are most of the main geographical features named after mythological or real women?

QUESTION 5
What name is usually given to a canal barge, typically 70 feet long and 7 feet or less in width?

QUESTION 6
Of which pop group were Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, and Keren Woodward the original members?

QUESTION 7
In which London place of worship is Poet's Corner to be found?

QUESTION 8
Which veteran American stand-up comedian had a mythical husband who she referred to as 'Fang'?

QUESTION 9
Topkapi Palace and the Blue Mosque are tourist sites in which Turkish city?

QUESTION 10
Which cartoon character had a business card describing himself as "the fastest mouse in all Mexico"?

QUESTION 11
Which 17th-century Dutch artist painted a number of self portraits throughout his life and a large painting usually called 'The Night Watch' which shows a group of soldiers on the march?

QUESTION 12
In Britain, the Pipistrelle is the smallest species of which creature?

QUESTION 13
Which Premier League club has been in the top flight of English football for the longest continuous time, having last been promoted from Division Two in 1919?

QUESTION 14
Hans is the Danish and German equivalent of which English Christian name?

QUESTION 15
Which anti-hero, created by Patricia Highsmith, has been played in films by Alain Delon, Matt Damon and John Malkovich?

QUESTION 16
The word 'Pontiff', derived from the Latin for 'bridge-builder', is normally used to describe which religious leader?

QUESTION 17
Koji mould, which is used to break down starch into sugar, is used to make which drink?

QUESTION 18
In 1581, Sir Francis Drake was elected Mayor of which city?

QUESTION 19
The Socceroos is the nickname of which country's national football team?

QUESTION 20
Which cousin of Queen Elizabeth the Second married Lady Leonora Grosvenor in Chester Cathedral in March 1975?