World’s Best Whiskies

Travel Distilled reviews the second edition of the book The World’s Best Whiskies by Dominic Roskrow

This is the second edition of The World’s Best Whiskies, which lets you know that enough people bought the first edition to warrant an update. One glance at the book and you can see why they did.

I dipped in, intending to browse, but right away I found myself drawn into reading fascinating interviews with distillers, and others involved in the wonderful world of whisky. Each of the interviews and profiles of distilleries reads like a magazine feature, so this is far from being only a reference book and that’s what I enjoyed about it.

Whisky Reference Book

Of course it is a reference book as well and will tell you all you need to know about the history of whisky, making it, flavour profiles, styles of whisky, making cocktails, tasting whisky and drinking whisky (two different experiences).

The author then takes the reader around the world of whisky, starting in Scotland, which has by far the largest section, then moving on to the USA and Canada, Ireland, Japan, France, Australia, Denmark, and even India and Taiwan. The book’s sub-title is: 750 Unmissable Drams from Tain to Tokyo.

Irish Whiskies

As an example of the way the book works, take the section on Ireland. It begins with an Introduction to Irish whiskies, followed by a two-page spread covering 13 Irish single malts that the author classes as unmissable. Next is a two-page profile of the Bushmills Distillery, then four pages of recommended blended Irish whiskies.

After this is a distillery profile of Teeling, two pages of unmissable Irish pot still whiskies, and finally a profile of one of the newer distilleries, Walsh, allowing the author to talk about the resurgence in Irish whiskey-making.

Author of The World’s Best Whiskies

The author of The World’s Best Whiskies is Dominic Roskrow, who has been writing about and commenting on the drinks business, especially the whisky business, for over 25 years. He’s written for Whisky Magazine (and was its Editor for four years), Harpers, Drinks International and Malt Advocate. He’s written many other books about whisky, including editing and contributing to 1001 Whiskies You Must Try Before You Die. I think we can be confident he knows his whiskies.

Photos

The book is a handsome coffee-table hardback, filled with gorgeous photos, as you can see from the handful of samples used here. It’s a really terrific read and a delightful book, whether you’re a beginner or already know a lot about whisky. It would make an impressive gift for any whisky-lover you know.