As a native of Scotland, bestselling author Iain Banks has decided to undertake a tour of the distilleries of his homeland in a bid to uncover the unique spirit of the single malt. Visiting some of the world's most famous distilleries and also some of its smallest and most obscure ones, Banks embarks on a journey of discovery which educates him about the places, people and products surrounding the centuries-old tradition of whisky production. Using various modes of transport - ferries to the islands, cars across the highlands, even bicycles between bus-stops - Banks' tour of Scotland combines history, literature and landscape in an entertaining and informative account of an exploration in which the arrival is by no means the most important part of the journey. (20030303)
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"It’s a very readable and hugely informative book, and Bank’s gentle humour permeates the pages." -- Time Out
"It’s an engaging piece of work, part love letter, part memoir…" -- Esquire
"Scotland’s most favorite export is decanted into full-bodied, humorous prose." -- Independent on Sunday
"…fiery, variegated, and full of delicious moments" -- Literary Review
'...the detail is fascinating...very readable...' -- Lea Valley Star, 22 October 2003
"It’s an engaging piece of work, part love letter, part memoir…" -- Esquire
"Scotland’s most favorite export is decanted into full-bodied, humorous prose." -- Independent on Sunday
"…fiery, variegated, and full of delicious moments" -- Literary Review
'...the detail is fascinating...very readable...' -- Lea Valley Star, 22 October 2003
Book Description
A personal journey through the highlands and islands exploring the history, personalities and mystery of the water of life. (20030303)
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
43 of 49 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Raw Spirit is three-books-in-one. I like single malt whiskies a lot and bought the book in anticipation of reading a well-written, informative and amusing tour of the Scottish distilleries and their products. I was not disappointed; Iain Banks' travels to all of the major (and many of the minor) distilleries are well-described, informative and (to the extent that his views on the whiskies sampled agree entirely with my own) accurate. Unfortunately the distilleries, their whiskies and the beautiful (and beautifully-described) countryside around them take up less than half of the book. The remainder consists of (a) anecdotes concerning Mr. Banks' friends, family, youthful (and often not-so-youthful) pranks, and cars, and (b) rants on the Iraqi war, the current state of British vs U.S. politics and the wisdom of legalising drugs. The former, although largely irrelevant to a book on whisky, are clearly of interest to fans of Mr. Banks and his novels, but would have been better kept for an autobiography. The latter, however, are totally inappropriate in this book. I happen to agree with most of what Mr. Banks says, particularly on the derogation of British sovereignty to U.S. (a.k.a. neo-con) hegemony, but these are complex issues and totally out of place in this book where the superficial "rant-and-rave" treatment they get can only be a distraction. This is a book that started with an excellent idea but was highjacked by a self-indulgent author, a publisher's deadline and current events, leaving only a taste of what it could and should have been.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By mkenny273
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Ian Banks has a lovely style and the presentation of the countryside, the politics, the food etc as well as the distilleries is great
38 of 46 people found the following review helpful
By Colin E Coli
Format:Hardcover
Other reviewers have pointed out that this is a real mish-mash of a book and I would go along with that. If you are buying this book with a view to having a ready-made guide to whisky-making in Scotland, don't. On this level it fails miserably and the reader would be far better buying one of the many cheaper pocket guides to whisky that are on the market. Banks describes the whisky making process in about half a dozen pages in the middle of an unrelated chapter, while the details of his whisky tasting sessions are strewn at irregular intervals throughout the book. The lack of an index makes it difficult to locate his views on a particular whisky. All in all, the parts of this book dealing with whisky amount to about 30 - 40 pages mixed inside a 350 page book.
So what else do you get for your money? Well, you get a little autobiographical detail about Banks. As a fan of (most) of his other books I found this quite interesting. Others not familiar with Banks himself may not find this information as entertaining.
You also get various random anecdotes about Banks' friends which sometimes verge on the self-indulgent. There are several tales that I'm sure are of interest to them and them alone.
You also get Banks' commentary on contemporary events. Chiefly, you get his views on the war in Iraq. Briefly, Banks was against it and becomes extremely repetitive when referring to it.
You also get a LOT of incredibly dull stuff about cars, but that is nothing compared to the mind-numbing tedium that accompanies his seemingly endless details about Scottish roads. This book has page after page of utterly pointless information about just about every road north of Glasgow and in these sections is, quite frankly, unreadable.
In summary - as a book about whisky it is less than adequate, as an autobiography it is patchy, as social commentary it is repetitive, as a trevelogue it is dull, dull, dull.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
This book turned me on to whiskey!
This a great read, informative as well as fun, a romp through Scotland's distilleries with Iain Banks and friends. Read more
Published 13 days ago by maggiavelli
5.0 out of 5 stars
Almost makes me wish I liked whiskey
I love Iain[M]Banks' fiction. I don't like whiskey. The writing is very personal, full of reminiscence, context and opinion - and yet also gives you a way of understanding the... Read more
Published 21 days ago by R. Taylor
5.0 out of 5 stars
Do yourself a favour and take the time to read this.......you wont...
Raw Spirit is a must read for anyone who enjoys scotch whisky, Iain Banks has done all the hard work of visiting every distillery and written a whitty, informative 'review' of... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Sally Turner
1.0 out of 5 stars
Not what it says on the tin !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Stupidly thought this book was about Whisky, for which I have a liking. However, it's just a load of self indulgent, patronising ramblings of a rich boy. Don't buy it. Read more
Published 2 months ago by lionheart
2.0 out of 5 stars
Fairly raw but not much spirit...
The marketeers have done no-favours to this book in its promotion. It is sold as a journey around Scotland's distilleries in search of the perfect dram. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Thomas Blount
3.0 out of 5 stars
Worth dipping into if you can get it cheap
Don't like Iain Banks; don't like his fiction either.DO like whisky. He's informative and enthusiastic about malts, which makes you eager to try some (more). Read more
Published 22 months ago by Chas. Dickens
1.0 out of 5 stars
A very, very strange book
I've read most of Iain Banks' books, and I am generally a fan. But it baffles me that a man with the creative imagination to produce books like Excession, The Bridge etc. Read more
Published on 11 May 2011 by Stephen Hudson
1.0 out of 5 stars
Dreadful Book
First of all any whisky drinker buying this book under the assumption that it about whisky will be sorely disappointed. Read more
Published on 6 Jan 2011 by D. Lilley
5.0 out of 5 stars
Deceptively accurate guide to Scottish single malts
I know there are many grumbling negative reviews of this book, but I liked it a lot.
I think it's important to read this book with an open mind. Read more
I think it's important to read this book with an open mind. Read more
Published on 14 Nov 2010 by jannert
3.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting intro to whisky with a bit too much irrelevance
Over Christmas I picked this up out of curiosity fuelled by my own slowly-accelerating education on the world of Scotch. Read more
Published on 22 Aug 2010 by bronz
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