The oak tree, genus Quercus, appeared 50 million years ago, and 40 million years later, the nomadic yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae chose oak as one of its preferred ecological habitats. From its alpha-oak location, this yeast employed airborne spores and insect vector transmission to colonise cereal and fruit niches worldwide, enabling it to cohabit near sugar sources, its primary fuel for reproduction and metabolising alcohol. Since Neolithic times, this single-celled fungus has been humankind’s most indispensable microbial species, essential for fermenting bread, beer, and more recently, wort for whisky. Oakwood is also Earth’s most agreeable wood-flavoured species for storing and maturing whisky, notably European (Quercus petraea and robur) and American oak (Quercus alba).
Oakbark, yeast’s longtime dwelling, delivers the final legacy: the cork stopper that has protected billions of whisky bottles…
