Whisky Books

@Nozinan It's very difficult to dispose of books these days, especially hardcovers. Nobody wants them, not even the thrift stores. The E Reader has taken over. But just like vinyl, books will make a comeback so I'm hanging on to all my favourites.

It's a space issue. I'm hanging on to the "special" books and sets, like Lemony Snicket.

I was gifted Ian Buxton's "101 Whiskis to Try Before You Die Third Edition". I had read the First Edition years ago. It's amusing to see how the NAS trend has taken over in his most recent edition and the quality of his selections has decline or maybe the industry as a whole. The saving grace was that I checked out the Whiskysponge and has a huge chuckle. Now I am currently reading Sir Robert Bruce Lockhart's "Scotch The Whisky of Scotland in Fact and History". This is worth a read for those who enjoy a bit of social history.

I was gifted Domic Roskrow, The World's Best Whiskies. It is a useful reference for those who want to get an over view of available and unavailable whiskies. It is interesting to note how quickly dated a 2018 publication can become. Maybe, it just demonstrates how fast the internet and brands can now turn on a dime. I'm just beginning a read of Reid Mitenbuler's, Bourbon Empire. A historical narrative on the American bourbon industry.

@fiddich1980, yes, quickly dated. I have the 2010 edition and when I read it now, it brings me to tears.

@fiddich1980 I found Mitenbuler’s book very entertaining. It’s not so much about the spirit itself, but about the different personalities who made the industry what it is. Very cool.

Having a hobby makes it very easy for family, friends, etc to add to it. I have received many books over the years. I like books! My daughter has given me World Whiskey by Dave Bloom, and other contributors, The World Atlas of Whisky, Dave Bloom and 1001 Whiskies you must taste. All, excellent books. I've suggested to her that perhaps with the 1001 Whiskies she might consider buying the whiskies as well. So far, it has fallen on deaf ears.

@PeterG7 I've actually had to be quite firm and ask people not to buy me whiskies. I've received a couple of great Secret Santa gifts of whisky that I probably would not have bought for myself, and one was quite good . I've also received a couple of gifts from well-meaning friends that I have to find new homes for. I figure I can buy the ones I want myself.

@Nozinan: I don't receive much whisky as gifts. The one exception is my daughter. She has a tradition of buying me a single malt at Christmas and on Father's day. She always seems to come up with an unique malt. It does not matter to me if it doesn't always agree with my taste. It reminds me of some of the gifts of her childhood. The socks and ties were not always to my taste either. I can only imagine her mother trying to talk her out of the bright yellow, stripped blue socks to no avail. I wore them because she had searched out what she considered the perfect gift. Now, I keep the malts and drink them because she considered it the perfect gift.

@PeterG7 I agree with you in principle. The problem I have is that once people know your hobby" they often think they are doing you a favour by buying something and they often choose something heavily marketed. if I din't already have a lifetime supply that would be fine, but I have nowhere to put it.

The occasional thoughtful gift is fine, and I'm always polite and thank the person. And sometimes those gifts are real winners!

@Nozinan I totally agree with you about people supporting someone's hobby. It takes the guess work out of gift giving. I fell into that trap. In my case, I gave gift certificates to people I knew had specific interests.

@PeterG7 @Nozinan = amazon "wish list". takes the guessing and mistakes out of the equation, and like a wedding list, with a wide selectin it gives anyone the opportunity to $$$-in as much as they think you're worth :-)

@Nozinan @PeterG7 @RikS

I gave up on Murray's self important and often laughable annual Whisky Bible years ago. There are several good books out there like Ian Buxton's series of 101 Whiskies To Try Before You Die, and others by respected writers like Dom Roskrow, Dave Broom, Gavin Smith, Charles MacLean, Hans Offringa, Lew Bryson, and classics like Whisky Galore by Compton MacKenzie (twice made into a movie) and Whisky by Aeneas MacDonald. As much as I enjoy my growing collection of whisky related books, ultimately I get the latest information and stay up to date on the whisky industry through the UK Whisky magazine and the US Whisky Advocate magazine. I prefer these because they are written by a staff of industry writers, so I get a diverse mix of opinions and reviews, instead of the view of one writer whose own biases and often questionable preferences are often given way too much traction by the media when his annual "bible" is published.

@MacBaker62 My primary caveat emptor with Whisky Advocate are reviews by Davin de Kergommeaux. His assessment of Canadian whiskies tends to be overly, positive.

It's apropos that the last post in this thread mentions Davin de Kergommeaux, as he and Blair Phillips have a new book out called The Definitive Guide to Canadian Distilleries. I received my copy a little while back, snd I can definitely recommend it. It's a very nice package with some good write-ups. Also, the way its laid out, with checklists, maps, mentions of distilleries that are near to each other, distillery contact information and whether they have tours or accept visitors, makes it a great resource for roadtrips.

Since I'm writing, I figured I'll give a quick update on my last post from this thread:

Four Roses: The Return of a Whiskey Legend by Al Young - Written by Whisky Hall of Famer and Four Roses brand ambassador Al Young, this book covers the rise, fall and rise again of Four Roses. I just ordered this and am very much looking forward to reading it.

I have read this book now, and I've gotta say it's a must-read for any Four Roses fan. When I started reading it, I was a little concerned that it might be nothing more than a glorified advertising pamphlet, and while I can't say it says anything bad or controversial about Four Roses, the history of the company is covered in nice detail, and it's well written and has a fair amount of interesting information and photos. I particularly love the old advertisements that are reproduced in it.

Just got my copy of the Malt Whisky Year book though the post. This year I got it direct from their web site as the author gets more money that way. Makes sense to me. I have purchased these since 2014 although given a number away. One of these, a glencairn glass and a bunch of 10cl samples is a perfect starter pack for friends who are starting their whisky journey.