Matter, his first pitch in a major league game. Shohei ohtani, a prodigious hitter and fearsome pitcher in japan, announced his ambitions to take his dual talents to the majors. Not since babe ruth has the sport seen anything like him. Watch this batting lead off, ohtani hits a homerun on the first pitch of the game. Then he throws eight shutout innings, striking out ten opposing batters with a 100 mph fastball. Thats a comic book character. Thats not somebody youre thinking about in real life. You know, nobody does that. Who does that . 60 minutes is constantly on the lookout for places weve never been before. So when our late colleague bob simon heard about a magical place in the hebrides islands off the coast of scotland known for making some of the great whiskies in the world, well, the story spoke to him. laughs cheers. We get literally thousands upon thousands of single malt tourists coming here. They come fromom all over the world just to set foot on islay. To study it . No, to drink it. Im steve kroft. Im lesley stahl. Im scott pelley. Im anderson cooper. Im jon wertheim. Im bill whitaker. Those stories, tonight on 60 minutes. Seltzer plus liquid gels. Ka this holiday, the real gift isnt whats inside the box. Its whats inside the person who opens it. Give ancestrydna, the only dna test that can trace your origins to over 150 ethnic regions. And open up a world of possibilities. Save 20 for the holidays at ancestrydna. Com. Hmmm. give a little bit give a little bit hello. Of your love to me heehee haha theres so much that we need to share so send a smile all whooo and show that you care give a little bit of my love to you stahl we have come across an unlikely band of brothers on the battlefield against terrorism. They are men of the cloth, a pair of padres who go into harms way to find and protect ancient religious books and manuscripts. We joined them in a region of iraq that was once mesopotamia where human culture and learning really began. Its believed to be the birthplace of mathematics, writing and agriculture. And recently, the scene of some of the fiercest battles in the u. S. Backed war against isis. Father columba i think its the graffiti thats most horrifying to me. Stahl father columba, a benedictine monk from minnesota, in black; and father Najeeb Michaeel, a dominican friar from iraq, in white; decided to partner up. Father Najeeb Michaeel they destroy everything. Stahl . To rescue what old documents they could from places like this monastery, mar behnam, in Northern Iraq that goes back to the 4th century. It was occupied and defaced by isis. They seem to want to destroy everything christian. Michaeel exactly, to delete our history. To say that there are no christians, nothing before islam. And even here, the statue of virgin mary, they destroyed it. Stahl the monastery, according to historians, was sacred to both christians and muslims in medieval times. It had amassed a collection of manuscripts dating back to the 12th century. Michaeel in this kind of container. Stahl as isis was closing in, the resident monks hid the texts in these barrels, which they entombed behind a fake wall. And isis never found it . Michaeel no, because stahl for two years . Michaeel exactly, because the monks more intelligent that isis. Stahl when this part of iraq was liberated last year, those intelligent monks returned, drilled through the two walls, found the barrels and the precious, handwritten books. Columba so its the one thing that they couldnt replace, because you could rebuild a building. You can put a new cross up. Those could not be replaced, and those were saved. Stahl there were more than 500, now protected in a house in erbil, the capital of kurdistan. Michaeel very good condition. Columba very good condition. Early 5th century author. Stahl they include bibles, scientific works, and this grammar book filled with random doodles scribbled down centuries ago. Fathers columba and najeeb have been cleaning, restoring and photographing the documents they have rescued from all over iraq. In going through them, theyre unearthing finds like this copy of a 7th century contract believed to be a mandate by the prophet muhammed that says christians will be protected from their enemies and allowed to practice their religion. Columba the whole middle east at one time was characterized by pluralism, different peoples, different languages, different religions coexisting. Stahl you know, its interesting that there are people who are risking their lives to preserve these documents. Theyre the very documents that isis is risking their lives to destroy. You know, theres a war over these books. Columba theres a real war. Stahl in that war, isis swept across Northern Iraq in 2014, causing christians and yazidis to flee in desperate caravans. When the city of qaraqosh was attacked by isis, 50,000 christians were driven out in a matter of days many on foot, the ill on makeshift stretchers. Before father najeeb left on the final night of the siege, he gathered up as many books as he could from his monastery there. Michaeel we have many, many children. And many families with us. And i ask them to carry something with me. So they help me. Stahl carry the manuscripts . Michaeel even the little girls and boys, ten to 12 years, they carry the heritage and manuscripts from 13th, 14th century. I dont save it alone. Stahl they raced from qaraqosh to the safety of kurdistan as isis fighters chased after them. Michaeel i saw many hundreds of isis flags and cars. And they are ready to attack us and to cut our, our route. And kill us. Stahl frightening. Totally frightening. Michaeel i feel at that moment is the end of my life. And the end of the life of everyone. Stahl then it got worse. When they got to the checkpoint, the kurdish army, the peshmerga, wouldnt let them in. Michaeel the peshmerga try to attack isis by gun, and by fighting like that, and we saw the fire became over our head. Stahl youre right in the middle. Michaeel we are in the middle between both of them. I start to pray in my heart, our father who art in heaven, forgive us our sin. I start to give the absolution to all the population. To everyone, christian or no christian. And at that moment, sure, we heard a voice, many voice, the checkpoint is open. We are very happy and very quickly, we start to escape at that moment to be in the safe side in kurdistan. Stahl he said it was a miracle that all those lives were saved, but he wasnt able to save all his books. Isis burned the ones left behind, as we saw when he took us back to his old house in qaraqosh. Are you okay, father . Michaeel no. Stahl youre not okay. Michaeel im so sad from inside. Stahl he showed us what isis did to the 40,000 books that were in his library. Thats books . Michaeel thats books. Stahl oh, you can see the pages . And they just torched it. Michaeel this part, yes. Stahl the books he did manage to save are here. Michaeel heres the holy of holies. Stahl the holy of holies is a room in a secret location in the kurdish region of Northern Iraq. Its where father najeeb is protecting his most treasured possessions. Michaeel its a gospel, the new testament. Stahl wow, look at that. Michaeel palm sunday. This one when jesus go to jerusalem and with a donkey. Stahl this is by hand, obviously. Michaeel all is handwritten. And this one stahl look at those colors. Michaeel this with eggs, yellow. Columba the egg yolk . Stahl the yellow is made from egg yolks . Michaeel exactly. Stahl and whats the red, do you know . Michaeel pomegranate. Columba pomegranate. Stahl and it survived michaeel yeah. Stahl its just one of the 3,500 texts he saved from isis, books like these from the 16th and 17th centuries that were used by missionaries dispatched by the church to spread roman catholicism in this region. Michaeel st. Thomas aquinas. Stahl some show the ravages of time and war, like this fragment of the new testament written in about the year 500. And michaeel so, this is a parchment from ten, 11 century. Its a parchment with a sheepskin. Stahl what lang is that hebrew . Michaeel this is in in aramaic. Old aramaic. Stahl aramaic . Thats the language of jesus . Michaeel its the language of jesus christ and our mother tongue. Columba and the other thing to remember is that these arent all religious manuscripts. So, some of them are purely history. So those are ones that tell us about political events, and kings, and battles, and famines, and all of these other things. So its not simply history of religion, its history of every aspect of life. Stahl home base for father columba is 6,000 miles from iraq, at st. Johns abbey and university in collegeville, minnesota, where he spends his days with his fellow monks in prayer and contemplation. Hes also director of this library, the Worlds Largest repository of ancient texts, more than 50 million pages from both christian and islamic works, all photographed and archived in an online database. The collection includes the sacred and the secular, like this 1771 account by a priest telling of a plague that killed 45,000. Father columba found it in turkey. And this tax receipt from the roman empire in the year 222 for the purchase of military equipment. So how do these texts and these manuscripts, how do they relate to today . Whats the best lesson youve read about . Columba we can learn about places in our past where people could live together reasonably peacefully for certain periods of time. And then, very often what made it impossible was an external intervention. So the crusaders come, and that makes it very difficult for christians in the middle east. Stahl he learned that from this 12th century text that he found in aleppo, syria called world chronicle by michael the great about how the crusades triggered a backlash against the local christians. Until now, scholars tell us, the history of christianity in the middle east has largely been told from a western perspective. These texts provide historical details that cannot be found anywhere else and, when taken together, will rewrite this history from the point of view of those who actually lived it. A lot of the places youve gone to are under threat by some radical islamic group. And youre kind of just following them around. Columba in a sense, where the hotspots are. Stahl on this trip to iraq, he went hunting for old documents at the university of mosul, in a section of the city that had been liberated. Columba so one of our questions is can anything possibly have survived . Stahl the library here, once among the finest in the middle east, was reduced to rubble in the battle to retake the city. It looks like the apocalypse. Columba its unbelievable. Its totally devastated. Stahl so what do you think happened here . Columba it mustve been an airstrike. The u. S. Backed coalition forces, as part of the liberation of mosul. Stahl a bomb . Columba that may have been what started the fire. It mustve been a bomb. It came through the roof. And then, you can see it coming through two floors, and then presumably exploding below. Stahl but not isis . It was the u. S. Backed forces . Columba absolutely. So isis had been here, had done their damage, had burned their books, and this kind of destruction of the building that were looking at would have happened right at the end. Liberation brings a lot of destruction. Stahl the University Library used to hold about a million books and a collection of ancient maps and manuscripts. Columba its a horrible loss. Stahl in this age of intolerance, there are very few christians left in iraq. Many who fled qaraqosh with father najeeb have left the country. Others are here, in a refugee camp in erbil where religion remains at the center of their lives. singing even as their presence in iraq continues to fade, what will always remain, thanks to the work of fathers columba and najeeb, is a written record of their history and heritage. singing hard exhalation honey . Can we do this tomorrow . grunts of effort can we do this tomorrow . If you have Heart Failure symptoms, your risk of hospitalization could increase, making tomorrow uncertain. But entresto is a medicine that was proven, in the largest Heart Failure study ever, to help more people stay alive and out of the hospital than a leading Heart Failure medicine. Women who are pregnant must not take entresto. It can cause harm or death to an unborn baby. Dont take entresto with an ace inhibitor or aliskiren. If youve had angioedema while taking an ace or arb medicine, dont take entresto. The most serious side effects are angioedema, low blood pressure, kidney problems, or high potassium in your blood. Tomorrow, tomorrow. When can we do this again, grandpa . Well, how about tomorrow . Ask your doctor about entresto and help make tomorrow possible. This new day looks nothing like yesterday. Trails are covered. Paths arent what they used to be. Roads nowhere to be found. and its exactly what youre looking for. and its exactly what youre looking for. Money managers are pretty much the same. All but while some push High Commission investment products, Fisher Investments avoids them. Some advisers have hidden and layered fees. Fisher investments never does. And while some advisers are happy to earn commissions from you whether you do well or not, Fisher Investments fees are structured so we do better when you do better. Maybe thats why most of our clients come from other money managers. Fisher investments. Clearly better money management. Wertheim the most captivating story in baseball this offseason involves a player who has yet to take his first swing or, for that matter, his first pitch in a major league game. Shohei ohtani, a fearsome pitcher and prodigious hitter in japan, announced his ambitions to take his dual talents to the majors. After a fierce recruiting contest among all but a few teams, ohtani chose to sign with the los angeles angels. The team not only got a young, potentially transcendent, twoway star; they got him at a bargain price a 2. 3 million bonus and a salary of barely 550,000 thanks to Baseballs International spending rules. As we first reported last april, ohtani vows to keep pitching and batting. Should he have the durability to pull it off, hell be the first major leaguer to moonlight since a guy named babe ruth. We traveled to japan early this year to meet ohtani for what was his first interview with an American Television network. But we first laid eyes on him in arizona, where his former team held spring training. bat cracks this sliver through the fence of a batting cage made for a fitting introduction. We found dozens of japanese outlets angling for a slice, any slice, of ohtani in action. Cameras follow him to the exclusion of every other player on the field. And, so do the fans. We met supporters who traveled 5,000 miles to the Desert Southwest just to watch him train. Having glimpsed the ohtani phenomenon on the road, we were eager to explore it on his turf. Our search to find what all the fuss was about took us here, to hokkaido, japans northernmost island. Its home to the National Champion baseball team, the nippon ham fighters. Its also home to the sports most intriguing prospect. Shohei ohtani looms large in the snowy hokkaido town of sapporo. If tokyo is a fastball, sapporo is a curveball. Japans fifthlargest city feels not unlike a laidback ski village. But this is a baseball town. And this is the home stadium, the sapporo dome. Its here we sat down with ohtani. We broke the ice with a question about what wed heard was his Favorite Local fast food. Very important question. Innout burger or captain kangaroo burger . Shohei ohtani translated captain kangaroo. Wertheim better . Towering and affable, ohtani is working on his english, but felt more comfortable using a translator during our interview. I want to ask you about coming to the majors. But should we say, if, or should we say, when . Ohtani translated thats a tough one. I mean, nothing is for certain, so, i guess its if. Wertheim despite that cautious response, ohtani eagerly revealed which Major League Players he looks most forward to facing no less than m. V. P. Hitter bryce harper and star pitcher clayton kershaw. Ohtani translated i watch bryce harper, clayton kershaw. Wertheim a pitcher and a hitter. Ohtani translated yeah, unlike me, kershaw is a lefty. Wertheim you see a little of yourself in both kershaw and harper . Ohtani translated i actually do see myself. And i actually try throwing lefty sometimes. Wertheim how do you think youd do against kershaw . Ohtani translated just thinking about facing him makes me really happy and excited. I could just tell hes such a great pitcher through the tv screen. Wertheim how would you pitch to harper . Ohtani translated i would have to go with my best pitch, which is the fastball. I want to see how my best pitch fares against one of the best hitters. Wertheim likely quite well. Throwing his dancing fastball, ohtani strikes out batters at a higher rate than kershaw. Unfurling his violent, yet somehow elegant swing, he hits homeruns at a higher rate than harper. There are days ohtani makes baseball look almost laughably easy. Consider this performance last summer. On the very first pitch of the game, ohtani, batting lead off, hit a homerun. He then pitched eight shutout innings and struck out ten batters. Ohtani shohei wertheim at sixfootfour, the designated hitter turned pitcher reliably brings the crowd to its feet. When he threw the fastest pitch, breaking his own record, even opponents looked on in astonishment. Last year, you threw a pitch, 165 kilometers an hour, more than 102 miles an hour. How much faster can you throw than 102. 5 . Ohtani translated i dont have an exact answer for that. But im still young. Im still 22. I think theres more room to grow. Wertheim as seasons go, 2016 will be hard to top. The hokkaido nippon ham fighters took the japan series. Ohtani was his leagues m. V. P. About that name the fighters are owned by nippon ham, makers of japans bestselling sausages. And while, yes, the name resists serious treatment, the team itself is widely regarded as the most innovative in the league. Manager Hideki Kuriyama leads the fighters, also the former team of yu darvish, now an ace for the texas rangers. Can you compare this to anything youve seen . Hideki kuriyama translated no. Never seen anything like it. Never. Wertheim whats it like having a player whos your best pitcher and also your best hitter . Kuriyama translated hes so talented, its really tough to use him the right way, with the right balance. Wertheim if you thought moneyball the practice of using baseball data over intuition contorted a managers conventional thinking, try overseeing a twoway player. Kuriyamas formula . He pitches ohtani on sundays then bats him the rest of the week, with a day or two off before each start. Distractions are to be kept to a minimum. cheers same goes for praise. Shohei ohtani may be the star of the team, but kuriyama doesnt exactly coddle the guy. Ohtani translated last year, when we won the championship, it was the first time he gave me a compliment. And he said, that was great pitching. Wertheim never complimented you before that . Ohtani translated not once. He always says, youve got to get better. Wertheim and kuriyama has his reasons. Kuriyama translated i truly believe hes a lot better than where he is at right now. Wertheim the crowd at the sapporo dome is less stingy with its praise. You dont get a lot of quiet time here. No peanuts and cracker jacks either, but plenty of the local beer. A college footballstyle atmosphere pervades. The caliber of play is considered one level below the major leagues in america. Top japanese players, names like ichiro and matsui, aspire to compete against the very best in the u. S. Even amid such company, Shohei Ohtani sticks out. Expat john gibson has reported on japanese baseball for 20 years. Whats it like, covering this guy . John gibson you think about a guy who throws 101 and then a guy who hits homeruns, and thats a comic book character. Thats not somebody youre thinking about in real life. You know, nobody does that. Who does that . Wertheim we had hoped to leave the sapporo dome with ohtani, get to know the mortal behind the comic book character. Ohtani translated thank you. Wertheim domo. But he politely declined our invitation. Not even a quick captain kangaroo burger. So we invited a couple of his teammates instead. Brandon laird and luis mendoza are two of the teams gaijin, or foreign players. Laird saw action as a yankee. Mendoza once pitched for the rangers and the royals. Sapporo is not a bad place to be a gaijin. Luis mendoza how you doing . Good . Good to see you. Wertheim over dinner at their favorite spot in town, laird told us that ohtani is the most talented teammate hes ever had. This, from a guy who played with derek jeter and alex rodriguez. Brandon laird some pitchers can hit but, i mean, he actually does it in a game. Like, hes in our lineup, you know . And its impressive. Mendoza watching him hit the ball i mean, its like, miguel cabrera, you know, power kind of power, you know. Wertheim he reminds you of cabrera . Mendoza yeah. Definitely. Wertheim you guys been out with him . Laird no. I mean, he doesnt really do anything. He just, mellow kid, just goes back to the dorms. Wertheim yes, the biggest star in japanese baseball, with a reported salary of roughly 2 million, apart from not owning a car, lives in these minimalist team dorms. Ohtani confirmed to us that he seldom leaves the facility. Not that it keeps fans from waiting for him outside. Even from a distance, plenty of observations can be made about the pitching slugger, or the slugging pitcher. He is meticulous, stopping mid pitch to adjust his form; open to advice from his batting coaches. Even baseball tedium provides a source of enjoyment. This is someone who plays baseball, but has always worked at it, too. Ohtani grew up in a small, Industrial Town on japans mainland. His father, once an amateur player himself, coached his sons Little League teams. Shohei ohtani showed promise as a hitter, but drew more interest as a pitcher, occasioning stealth visits from american scouts while he was still in high school. At age 18, he held a press conference to announce his major league intentions and went so far as to tell japanese teams not to draft him. But the nippon ham fighters, again, known for doing things their own way, drafted him nonetheless. Ohtani translated every other team besides the fighters was looking at me as a pitcher. But the fighters were going to allow me to do both pitching and hitting. Honestly, i wasnt even thinking about doing both on a professional level. But they approached me in that way and i wanted to take the chance. Wertheim thats your fastball grip . Ohtani translated fastball. Splitter. Wertheim so you have a splitter . True to their word, the fighters have cultivated ohtani as a hitter as well as a pitcher. We asked him about his forebear. People have compared you to babe ruth. What do you think about when you hear the name babe ruth . Ohtani translated hes like a mythical character to me. Because its such a long time ago and he was god to baseball. I shouldnt be compared to him, at least not right now. Wertheim but maybe someday soon. The fighters have said theyll permit ohtani to negotiate with Major League Teams after this season. Hideki kuriyama says the time is right. Kuriyama translated for our team, were all for him going to the states. Wertheim best player on the team, this amazing twoway talent, and youre okay with him going to the major leagues . Kuriyama translated yeah, as a manager, its going to hurt. Its tough that way. But more than that, i want him to succeed. Wertheim back in the u. S. , news of ohtanis imminent arrival was a hot topic at spring training though, weary of tipping their hand, execs we approached would only talk off camera. Dave defreitas was a scout for the yankees and the indians. He watched ohtani come of age in japan. Now independent, he produces scouting reports for the website 2080 baseball. Dave defreitas everybody is interested. Scouts are going over there all year this year to watch him. I think if a team tells you theyre not interested, theyre probably lying to you. Youre talking about a young kid thats one of the best talents in the game, on the planet. Wertheim ohtani told us he doesnt have an agent yet. But hes going to need one. His path to the majors wont exactly be straightforward. A new collective Bargaining Agreement caps at 6 million what teams can pay any foreign player under the age of 25 even those who, ritually, send balls dinging into the outfield seats. By coming before he turns 25, ohtani could be leaving tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars on the table. The timing of when you come to the majors could make a big, big, difference in terms of salary. Does that concern you . Ohtani translated personally, i dont care how much i get paid or how much less i get paid because of this. Wertheim this may be the rare case where its not about the money. Rather, the deal with ohtani may hinge on which team will let him keep pitching and hitting. You think hes in a position now where he can say to teams, listen, if youre not going to play me both ways, im probably not your guy. Gibson i think he wont even talk to them if they dont. Wertheim really . Gibson i think he wont even have a meeting with them. Wertheim no matter where he ends up, its hard to root against the great ohtani experiment. Here in sapporo, where his departure will be bittersweet, theyll be cheering the loudest. The cbs sports up state brought to you by ford, i am james brown with the score from the nfl today, thousand west was won, la us rams clinched the entitle. The chargers beat the jets to keep their playoff hopes alive, seattle survived a mustwin game to remain in the playoff hunt. New orleans got a playoff berth with its win over the atlanta. For more sports news go to with its win over the atlanta. For more sports news go to cbssports. Com. Lets go mom slow down for the ones who keep pushing. Always unstoppable. I can do more to lower my a1c. Because my body can still make its own insulin. And i take trulicity once a week to activate my body to release it, like its supposed to. Trulicity is not insulin. It comes in a onceweekly, truly easytouse pen. The pen where you dont have to see or handle a needle. And it works 24 7. Trulicity is a onceweekly injectable medicine to improve blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes when used with diet and exercise. It should not be the first medicine to treat diabetes, or for people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. Do not take trulicity if you have a personal or Family History of medullary thyroid cancer, if you have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if youre allergic to trulicity. Stop trulicity and call your doctor right away if you have a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or symptoms like itching, rash, or trouble breathing. Serious side effects may include pancreatitis. Taking trulicity with a sulfonylurea or insulin increases your risk for low blood sugar. Common side effects include nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, decreased appetite, and indigestion. Some side effects can lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. To help lower my a1c i choose trulicity to activate my within. Ask your doctor if onceweekly trulicity is right for you. Its my decision ito make beauty last. Roc® retinol, started visibly reducing my fine lines and wrinkles in one week. And the longer i use it, the better it works. Retinol correxion® from roc. Methods, not miracles. ™ were on a mission to show the new keurig k select brewer is the strong way to start your day. Pop that in there. Hit strong. Press brew. Thats it. Strong. Bold. Rich. I feel like youre toying with me. Show me how strong you are. screams lift me up dan lift me up kroft 60 minutes is constantly on the lookout for places weve never been before. So when our late colleague bob simon heard about a magical place in the hebrides islands off the coast of scotland known for making some of the great whiskies in the world, well, the story spoke to him. The place is called islay, and its one of five whisky producing regions in scotland that make an expensive type of scotch called single malt. Islays distilleries turn out relatively small amounts of their own handcrafted brands for a worldwide luxury market thats more than doubled in size in the last decade, and become the spirit equivalent of the fine wine business. Bob liked good scotch and beautiful places, so he went off to scotland. He died before he could finish the piece, leaving behind a stack of video tapes and some random notes. Back in 2015, we decided to finish it for him, and raise a glass in his memory. Islay is a small island 20 miles off the west coast of scotland. There are few trees, miles of windswept heather, and some of the most fertile Agricultural Land in scotland. There are sheep and cattle everywhere, and an abundance of wildlife. But, thats not why people come here. This is. Eight small distilleries that produce some of the worlds finest single malt whiskies. Jim mcewan this is the whole lifeblood of this island and everybody on it. This is all we know. Kroft jim mcewan has been working in islays distilleries since he was 15 years old. Hes now master of the works at bruichladdich. Mcewan i just thank god that he chose the scots and gave them whisky, because we appreciate the gift and we look after it. Kroft theyve been making it here since the 15th century, when, supposedly, some monks taught the locals how to use barley, water, and yeast to make a spirit the scots now call the water of life. They have been perfecting it for 600 years. The distilleries are easy to find, but hard to pronounce ardbeg, bowmore, bruichladdich, bunnahabain, caol ila, kilchoman, lagavulin and laphroaig. As bob simon noted, they get harder to pronounce the more you visit. Mcewan for us guys on the west coast of scotland, whisky is a religion, because its a provider. And the great thing about whisky, its not just a drink. Its much more than that. Have you ever watched some old hollywood movies . Simon yes, i have. Mcewan scotch was always portrayed in hollywood as a whisky. When you were down or you were in trouble, the one thing that was going to get you back on your feet and out there was a scotch. Kroft today, if you are down on your luck, you probably cant afford an islay single malt. The good ones start at around 70 a bottle; the rare ones can go for hundreds of dollars a glass at chic whisky bars around the world, where they are known for their distinctive smoky taste. It comes from peat, the mossy earthen fuel thats cut from bogs on the island. It was used to heat scottish homes for centuries, and is still used to toast the barley at islay distilleries. John campbell is the master distiller at laphroaig, one of the topselling single malts in america. John campbell peat is the thing that makes islay unique, and it really resonates with people and it just engenders a kind of love hate relationship. And the people that love it absolutely love it with a passion. Kroft and there seems to be no shortage of them. Islay is not easy get to, usually requiring multiple flights, a long drive, and a twohour ferry ride, yet enthusiasts continue to make the pilgrimage, especially for the whisky festival. Mcewan we get literally thousands upon thousands of single malt tourists coming here. They come from all over the world, just to set foot on islay. Simon to study it . Mcewan no, to drink it. Its lovely. Its clean. Its fresh. Its vibrant. Kroft officially, whisky fest is a celebration of islays culture, but mostly its about drinking. Mcewan its absolutely beautiful. No off notes at all. Kroft as they listened to jim mcewan extol the virtues of bruichladdich, the novitiates, connoisseurs, and whisky snobs approached each glass with reverence bordering on the religious. Mcewan ah, wow, the fruit in that is incredible. Kroft as the glasses empty, the smiles got bigger. But the islanders will tell you that all of this warmth and good feeling comes not from the alcohol in the spirits, but from the spirit of the place. It is almost mystical beautiful, dramatic and quiet. Theres no road rage, barely any traffic. If you do get hung up, its probably because of a farm animal. They have the right of way. And if you do happen upon people, theyll almost always greet you with the islay wave. Ailsa hayes everybody just waves because its just friendly. Theres not so many of us, so you just wave to say hi. Kroft its what ailsa hayes liked about the island when she moved her family here from london to take a managers position at one of islays thriving distilleries. Simon its strange, is it not, that such a small place with so few people, your products are known everywhere in the world . Hayes i know. Well, it makes us all very proud, it does. Theres such a boom, worldwide, for single malt. Its fantastic. And you can really feel that on the island, a lot of the distilleries have double production. And so, theres a lot of opportunities there, as well. Simon and theres no reason to believe that wont continue . Hayes well, times are good, people drink. Times are bad, people drink. laughs simon is it possible to be socially acceptable to be a teetotaler on this island . Hayes yes. Simon are there any . Hayes yes. No. Im not one of them. laughter kroft over the years, the islands people have learned how to entertain themselves, often at gatherings called ceilidhs, which feature traditional dance and sad songs, mostly about leaving islay and yearning to return. To sit with my love on the bridge above the rippling waterfall to go back home never more to roam is my dearest wish of all kroft if this looks and feels a lot like ireland, thats no coincidence. Its only 25 miles away. They come from the same tribe, share the same celtic culture and gaelic language, not to mention a love of good whisky that gets them through Stormy Weather and the long winter nights. There are no movie theaters on islay, no dry cleaners, no supermarkets, no mcdonalds at least in the fastfood business. Jim mcewan says there is a long list of things that islay doesnt have, and doesnt want. Mcewan we dont have any crime, we dont have mugging, carjacking, house breaking, rape, just. Dope, drugs, we dont have that. You can keep that. Youre very welcome to it. Simon how do you explain the fact that theres no crime here . Theres crime everywhere else. Mcewan if you commit a crime in a small community, youll be ostracized and have to leave. Not only that, your family your children and your childrens children will be remembered as the children of the man who committed the crime. Kroft most scots are forthright, practical people who are proud of their country and the fact that their most famous export has withstood the test of time. They see themselves as artisans, and making whisky is more about art and alchemy than manufacturing. Every distiller has their own secrets and superstitions. Well give you the unclassified, twominute tour. Sorry we cant offer you free samples. It begins with a bit of trickery on the malting floor, when barley thats been soaked in water is spread out and raked over and over to convince the grain it is spring and time to germinate, releasing the starches that are locked inside. Its then dried with peat smoke to add flavor, and ground into flour, sometimes with 19th century machinery, and then mixed with hot water, transforming the starches into a sugary concoction called mash. Mcewan smell that, bob. Isnt that. You can smell the goodness. Kroft yeast is then added, changing the sugar into alcohol, a primitive ale, which is then cooked a couple of times in copper stills, where the vapor is collected and condensed into this clear liquid. Mcewan and thats the stuff we want to go into the barrel. Simon but what im looking at, this looks like rubbing alcohol. This is, in fact, the whisky. Mcewan its very good if you need a rub, theres no doubt about it. Simon i bet it would be good. But once this goes into the barrel, from then, its just time . Mcewan its just time. Its a great journey, you know. This is a child, but the cask is the mother, and thats what makes the journey. If you get a good cask, youre bound to get a good child, its that simple. Kroft it takes less than three weeks to make, but requires at least ten years of aging in these oak casks, which add flavor and color, to turn it into worldclass single malt whisky. Mcewan youll see some of the names. Theres clermont springs, buffalo trace, jim beam. Kroft bob was surprised to learn that 97 of the casks used to make single malt whisky had been previously used to age american bourbon, and bought secondhand from u. S. Distillers. Its testimony to the ingenuity and frugality of the scots, who have very few oak trees. Mcewan without the american barrels, there would be no whisky industry. Its as simple as that. Kroft a sophisticated palate will detect a hint of the oak and bourbon in islays single malt, as well as the sweetness of sherry that comes from wine casks bought in europe. Before the final product is sold, it will have done time in a number of different casks. Master distiller jim mcewan is the one who decides when to rotate them and when each barrel is ready to be bottled. He opened a young cask for bob to sample. Mcewan i would describe that as mellow yellow. Absolutely pure. Simon and its only seven years old . Mcewan thats right. Young whiskies are like young people theyre vibrant, theyre full of life. But, this for me is like coming home from work at the end of the day. I worked really hard nobody appreciates me, my wife doesnt appreciate me, my kids dont appreciate me, lifes a bitch. Simon couple glasses of that and it doesnt matter. Mcewan couple of shots of that and i am the king of the world. Simon absolutely. You know, frankly, i never liked this stuff, but the way. Youre talking me into it. Mcewan but youve got to check every barrel. Simon i certainly hope so. Cheers. Kroft mcewan is the man responsible for the taste and consistency of the whiskies at bruichladdich, which requires a very personal involvement with the product. Simon i have heard you described as the cask whisperer. Mcewan i do talk to casks. Theres no doubt about it. Simon in what language . Mcewan mainly english. Depends how many whiskeys ive had. If ive had a few whiskies, i tend to revert to the gaelic language when im talking to the casks. Its just one of these things you go into the warehouse and you pop the bung out. You draw your sample, yeah, and you look at it. And you think, wow, you know, beautiful, but youre not just ready yet. Tell you what, im going to come back and see you in three months, okay. And other times, you find a cask which is so incredibly good, you cant not speak oh, my god, you are the most beautiful thing i have ever tasted in my life. You know, and its like, oh, geez, i just want to share this with somebody. But theres nobody around. Theres just me and the casks. Simon well stay laughter kroft on most days, mcewan devotes several hours to quality control, checking up on several hundred casks. Mcewan but its a fantastic job nosing and tasting whiskies. Simon and you can still walk out of here in the evening . Mcewan occasionally, i need some help. Theres no doubt about that, yeah. Kroft dying devotion to ones whisky is apparently not all that unusual. While we were on islay, the camera crew ran into a party of canadians, the friends and family of a deceased single malt lover named bill who wanted his ashes scattered in the waters opposite his favorite distillery. Funds for the pilgrimage were set aside in his will. Its what he wanted. Its good. Its good. To bill slainte mhath. To bill. Slainte mhath. Now, hes happy. Now, hes happy. Kroft after that, the only thing left was for bob to say goodbye to jim mcewan. And now, it turned out to be last call for our old pal, bob simon. Mcewan cheers, bob. Hope youve enjoyed this little visit here. Simon youre speaking in the past. Its not over. Mcewan yeah, ive got to get you out of here, man. laughter this is. Youre costing me a fortune. Picking up the pieces how bob simons unfinished Whiskey Island story finally made it on the air. Go to 60minutesovertime. Com. This s electricity. This is a power plant. This is tim barckholtz. Thats me this is something he is researching at exxonmobil using fuel cells to capture Carbon Emissions at power plants. This is the potential. Reducing co2 emissions by up to 90 . While also producing more power. This could be big. Energy lives here. When you have a cold, stuff happens. { sneezing ] shut down cold symptoms fast [ coughing ] with maximum strength alka seltzer plus liquid gels. Whitaker 50 seasons of 60 minutes. This week, from 2007, when andy rooney looked back at some of his christmas pieces past. Andy rooney someone asked what i was going to do for a christmas piece on television this year. Well, im not going to do a christmas piece this year. You know how it is when you cant think of anything to give someone that you havent given them before. Thats how i feel about Christmas Television pieces. Over the years, ive done a lot of them. Cut the piece of paper so you dont waste paper. Clip it right across where youve measured it. You can save this for another present later. Then fold it over the top like this. Well, that does happen once in a while. One last thing about christmas music. No radio or television station would be permitted, under the threat of revocation of its license, to play rudolph the rednosed reindeer more than five times during any one christmas season. Thats once. Wrapping christmas presents is nice, but its a strange custom when you think of it. Why is it that we get more pleasure from giving or getting a present thats temporarily concealed from our eyes, than from one that isnt . Last year, i did gross decorations. Howd you like to live next door to this . These people in new jersey must own stock in the power company. Honey, dont forget to turn the lights out when you come to bed. Thats my christmas piece this year. If you dont like it, return it in the original box within ten days and get your money back. And have a merry christmas, and i mean that. Whitaker im bill whitaker. Merry christmas. Well be back new years eve with a special edition of 60 minutes presents. We cut the price of trades to give investors even more value. And at 4. 95, you can trade with a clear advantage. Fidelity, where smarter investors will always be. What bad knee . Ull ask n trade with a clear advantage. What throbbing head . Advil makes pain a distant memory nothing works faster stronger or longer what pain . Advil. 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No, no, the other way. No, i want it in the middle so the mantel wont look lopsided. Santa claus doesnt care if the mantel looks lopsided. Oh, well. There you are, partner. Thank you, daddy. Youre welcome. Now, when you get up in the morning, honey, santa claus is gonna have that chockfull of goodies. Yes, sir. Off to bed, son. In a minute, daddy