Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on April 2013

A violent Glasgow street tough (Paul Brannigan) sentenced to community service is introduced by his kindly work detail supervisor to the art of whisky-tasting. Turns out he has a natural “nose” for the noble distillation, and for the first time he is able to envision a way out of his dead-end life. But he also spots at the distillery a way to make a quick bit of money and, along with a trio of fellow work-gang screw-ups, launches an ingenious, good-natured plot to siphon off undetected a measure of whisky from a rare million-pound keg up for auction. The quaintly poetic title refers to (1) the tiny amount of whisky that evaporates during the aging process, and (2) the equally tiny percentage of such petty miscreants that escape the vicious cycle of their loser lives. Director Ken Loach, working from his tenth script by Paul Laverty, lightens up a bit with this amiable social-realist caper comedy, and adds to the realism by using non-actors whose off-screen lives somewhat mirror their roles. While cheerfully implausible, it’s human and optimistic, and offers some great Highlands scenery. This is the good stuff.