Global Distillery Tour

Travel Distilled reviews Global Distillery Tour, Lonely Planet’s guide to distilleries in over 30 countries around the world.

You know that spirits are a thing when the travel guidebook publisher Lonely Planet brings out a guide to visiting the world’s best distilleries. Global Distillery Tour obviously had my name on it, as it combines what Travel Distilled is all about – travel and distilling. It covers visiting distilleries (and some of the best bars) in over 30 countries, and has a similar number of contributors, with expert writers describing distillery visits in a wide range of places. The obvious suspects are there, of course, like Scotland, Ireland, and the USA, but there are some surprises too, such as Bolivia, Thailand, and Lebanon.

Illustration from Lonely Planet's Global Distillery Tour — Near Tupiza in Bolivia
Photo ©Jess Kraft/500px

The book isn’t comprehensive, but is selective. No one book could cover the hundreds if not thousands of distilleries that exist worldwide, with new ones being opened all the time. Take Ireland as just one example. In 2010 there were four distilleries. By the end of 2018 there were 21, with another twenty being built. Global Distillery Tour covers visits to six distilleries in Ireland, and one in Northern Ireland (Bushmills, of course!). You can’t ignore places as well-established as Bushmills, but it’s good to see some comparative youngster distilleries in there, like the Dingle Whiskey Distillery.

I do wonder who the book is aimed at. If you buy, say, a Lonely Planet guidebook to Paris, that’s because you’re planning a visit to Paris. But no-one is planning a visit to distilleries in 30+ countries, except in my dreams. I still found it a fascinating read, though.

It covers a wide array of spirits, with some of them getting two-page spreads telling you the basics of what you need to know about them, such as Gin 101 and Moonshine 101. Another spread describes Seven Weird and Wonderful Spirits from Around the World, including moss schnapps from Iceland and pulque from Mexico. At the end a short section on Cocktails covers The World’s Top 10 Cocktail Bars and The World’s Best Cocktails, with an overall list and then the best cocktails for different spirits.

However, the bulk of the book is given over to describing some of the best distilleries around the world. Some get a full page, most get half a page, so the descriptions aren’t that lengthy. You get the address, website and phone number, and details like whether there’s a shop, a bar, food, tours, and nearby transport. Each entry also squeezes in 2-4 things to do nearby, so that doesn’t leave a lot of room to talk about the distillery itself.

As with all such books, you could argue endlessly about which distilleries should be included. Colorado, for example, only gets three distilleries listed, out of over 100 in the state. I’m delighted to see the excellent Stranahan’s in there, but disappointed not to see the very innovative and multi-award-winning Leopold Brothers. England gets 18 distilleries, although there’s no room for its largest whisky distillery, The Lakes Distillery.

The opening spread, on Lebanon, is one of the most enjoyable reads in the book. There’s a well-written introduction about the unusual drinking culture in the country, followed by a write-up on a bar in Beirut and a distillery in the Bekaa Valley. The book moves on to South Africa, again with a good introduction followed by descriptions of eight distilleries and a bar.

And so the book goes on, from Quebec to Cuba, from Jamaica to Japan, from Thailand to Tasmania, describing the fascinating world of spirits in each of them. As you can see from the photos on this page, the book’s also filled with some inspiring travel photography, to break up what could be monotonous if you only had photos of distilleries, bottles, bars, and cocktails.

Buying Lonely Planet’s Global Distillery Tour

All in all, it’s a fascinating read and a useful reference book. It would make an ideal gift for someone with wanderlust who likes their spirits. You can read more and order a copy on the Lonely Planet website.