Loch Lomond: Billions of Blue Blistering Barnacles!
You may have realised by now that I love whisky. But do you know what else I’m also a big fan of? Tintin!
And if like me, you were always amazed by captain haddock’s creativity when it comes to cursing, you must know that Loch Lomond was his favourite whisky.
Or was it?
The first issue of The adventures of Tintin, Tintin in the Land of the Soviets, was published in France in 1929. Since then, George Remi, also known as Hergé, wrote 23 other instalments, telling the stories of Tintin, a young Belgian Reporter accompanied by his dog Snowy and his fellow companions such as Professor Calculus and the always cynical pipe-smoking Merchant Marine Captain, Archibald Haddock.
Haddock is a character with a coarse humanity and a lot of sarcasm, both balancing out the heroism of Tintin. But above all, Haddock displays a particular love to Rum and Whisky, especially Loch Lomond.
The Loch Lomond whisky makes its first appearance in the revised and translated version of “L’île Noire”, or The Black Island in English, which was published in the mid-1960s.
On the request of his publisher, Hergé sent his assistant Bob De Moor to Britain on a research trip to modernise the story and its references in sending it for translation.
Prior to this revision, it would appear that Loch Lomond wasn’t the captain’s favorite whisky!
Indeed, The Black Island was initially serialised in the newspaper “Le petit vingtième” between April and November 1937. In this original version, the panels actually showed the name of Johnnie Walker, another famous brand of Scotch Whisky.
Indeed, the re-drawn version of the comic would have been ready prior to the opening of the distillery and as stated by Michael Farr, adverts for the genuine Johnnie Walker whisky were replaced by adverts for the fictional in-universe Loch Lomond whisky.
LOCH LOMOND'S SECRET PAST
It is important to note however that between 1814 and 1817, there was a former distillery which operated for a few years under the name Loch Lomond, however there is no line of descent between this one and the current Loch Lomond distillery.
As far as I’m concerned, regardless of what whisky was captain Haddock drinking, I will always enjoy a good dram as I dive back in the Adventures of Tintin.
May we meet again for another whisky story, 'til the last drop,
Slàinte Mhath!
 Tintin - The Black Island © Hergé / Moulinsart 2009 And if like me, you were always amazed by captain haddock’s creativity when it comes to cursing, you must know that Loch Lomond was his favorite whisky. Or was it? ## The adventures of Tintin The first issue of The adventures of Tintin, Tintin in the Land of the Soviets, was published in France in 1929. Since then, George Remi, also known as Hergé, wrote 23 other instalments, telling the stories of Tintin, a young Belgian Reporter accompanied by his dog Snowy and his fellow companions such as Professor Calculus and the always cynical pipe-smoking Merchant Marine Captain, Archibald Haddock.  Tintin - The secret of the Unicorn © Hergé / Moulinsart 2009 Haddock is a character with a coarse humanity and a lot of sarcasm, both balancing out the heroism of Tintin. But above all, Haddock displays a particular love to Rum and Whisky, especially Loch Lomond.  Tintin - The Black Island © Hergé / Moulinsart 2009 ## Haddock’s favorite Whisky The Loch Lomond whisky makes its first appearance in the revised and translated version of “L’ile Noire”, or The Black Island in English, which was published in the mid-1960s. On the request of his publisher, Hergé sent his assistant Bob De Moor to Britain on a research trip to modernise the story and its references in sending it for translation. Prior to this revision, it appears that Loch Lomond wasn’t the captain’s favorite whisky! Indeed, The Black Island was initially serialised in the newspaper “Le petit vingtième” between April and November 1937. In this original version, the panels actually showed the name of Johnnie Walker, another famous brand of Scotch Whisky.  Tintin - The Black Island © Hergé / Moulinsart 1937 Now, according to the british expert Michael Farr in his book Tintin: The Complete Companion, whilst Loch Lomond is an actual distillery, it appears that the renaming was in fact a coincidence and was not linked to the distillery which was established in the same year as the publication of the new version serialised in the weekly magazine Tintin, between June to December 1965. Indeed, the re-drawn version of the comic would have been ready prior to the opening of the distillery and as stated by Michael Farr, adverts for the genuine Johnnie Walker whisky were replaced by adverts for the fictional in-universe Loch Lomond whisky. ## Loch Lomond’s secret past It is important to note however that between 1814 and 1817, there was a former distillery which operated for a few years under the name Loch Lomond, however there is no line of descent between this one and the current Loch Lomond distillery.  © OpenStreetMap contributors As far as I’m concerned, regardless of what whisky was captain haddock drinking, I will always enjoy a good dram as I dive back in the adventure of Tintin. ‘Til the last drop, Slàinte Mhath! ## Sources and References - [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Island](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Island) - [Tintin - Google Books](https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Tintin/yCnAQgAACAAJ?hl=en) - [https://myannoyingopinions.com/2021/03/14/the-real-and-fictional-history-of-loch-lomond-whisky/](https://myannoyingopinions.com/2021/03/14/the-real-and-fictional-history-of-loch-lomond-whisky/) - Image Credits: Tintin - The Black Island © Hergé / Moulinsart 2009, Tintin - The secret of the Unicorn © Hergé / Moulinsart 2009 - Map Credits: © OpenStreetMap contributors - Tintin is a registered trademark © Hergé / Moulinsart 2012 All images included in these pages are the exclusive property of their authors, rights holders and/or publishers. They are here for reference or illustration only. If the owners wish, they will be removed immediately.){kind=link}
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