Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #991747 in Books
• Published on: 2002-09
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

Customer Reviews

A Well-Written Discussion
This is a well-written discussion on Scotch whisky though from a UK perspective and written for a UK audience. Also of note is that the book does not restrict itself to covering only single malt as seems to have become the fashion. Blending and vatting is also given plenty of coverage.

The first forty-five pages provide an excellent history on how the industry has evolved as well as the major players who had roles to play in whisky's development in Scotland and its popularization around the world. Great vintage whisky advertisements as well as photographs illustrate this section well.

The next twenty-five pages detail how whisky is made followed by descriptions of the major regions in Scotland where it is produced. This is illustrated throughout.

Individual distilleries are then presented and illustrated (in no particular order I might add -- why not alphabetize?) for each of the regions of Speyside, Highlands, Islands, and Lowlands. The length of these discussuions vary depending on distillery but generally cover the history of the place, its ownership, notable products, personalities, and peculiarities. A sidebar is provided for each distillery outlining the major details as well as contact information, and visitor center hours of operation. I'd point out that since this book is now a couple of years old, some of the information is now stale.

A gallery of labels, a glossery of whisky terms, and an index finishes out the volume. Again, many distillers covered have come out with new products and have seen other changes since the date of publication, but this still remains a very well-written and well-illustrated reference on the topic of Scotch whisky.