SCOTS author Val McDermid admits she made a “tactical error” by making her most popular character a gin fan as she keeps receiving bottles of the spirit – which she doesn’t actually like.
The whisky-loving writer behind the globally successful Karen Pirie book series has admitted that when it comes to drinking, she much prefers a good single malt.
While writing the books, McDermid was impressed by the growing Scottish gin industry and thought it would be interesting to make Pirie’s drink of choice a gin and tonic.
During a conversation with The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) for its Whisky Talks podcast, McDermid confessed that she’s unable to drink Pirie’s favourite tipple due to an ill-fated night when studying at university.
McDermid is a long-time member of the world’s largest whisky club, the SMWS, which specialises in rare, one-of-a-kind whiskies selected by their expert tasting panel.
This year the Society is celebrating its 40th anniversary with a series of events, including supporting McDermid’s recent appearance at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Kind-hearted readers, the author says, often assume that she must have made her cold case-solving protagonist a gin drinker because of her own appreciation of the spirit.
McDermid explained: “I do feel that I made a tactical error in making Karen a gin drinker.
“I still think it suits her personality, but as a result, I’ve generously been given quite a few bottles of gin.
“I still think it suits her personality, but as a result, I’ve generously been given quite a few bottles of gin.
“My partner and her colleagues assure me these are lovely, but I can’t drink any as I over-indulged to the point of being sick for three days back when I was a student.
“The very smell still makes me faintly queasy.”
She continued: “I’ve always enjoyed a dram, so I missed a trick by not making Karen like our national spirit.
“When I was developing my new series, 1979 and 1989, I took the opportunity to correct this by making the main character Allie Burns a malt whisky drinker.”
The latest Karen Pirie instalment, Past Lying, will be released in October.
The podcast featuring McDermid’s full conversation with The Scotch Malt Whisky Society is available to listen to now.
