- Hardcover: 352 pages
- Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing (Sep 2010)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1616080760
- ISBN-13: 978-1616080761
- Product Dimensions: 22.3 x 15.9 x 2.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 225,558 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
| |||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £3.75
Get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade in Whiskypedia: A Compendium of Scottish Whisky for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £3.75, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Product details |
More About the Author
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
7 reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Helpful Guide to Scottish Whisky
19 Jan 2011
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a lovely book about Scottish whisky. MacLean starts by giving a quick history of Scottish distilling; this is helpful in understanding and appreciating the industry of today and it's also very interesting. Then he moves on to "Understanding the Label" with a color photo of a Scotch whisky label and a numbered explanation detailing what each part means. Next is the "Taxonomy" of Scotch and "Regional Differences". He also discusses where flavor comes from, the raw materials in making scotch, malt & the "Plant"/physical parts of a distillery: Mash tun, Washbacks, Stills, Condensers, Casks & Warehouse styles. This is the first 37 pages of the book.
Then on to the part of the book you will use most often: The alphabetical listing of each Scottish distillery, including the new ones who have not yet released a bottling & the silent. There is a color photo of at least 1 bottle from each distillery which I find very useful when going shopping. I also really enjoy seeing the various labels & bottle styles.
MacLean gives a history of each distillery going back to the earliest days, even the illicit days of the distilleries, describing various owners/investors. Each entry (distillery) has:
-Expressions - The current bottling of the distillery owner (proprietary) not the independent bottler releases.
-Raw Materials - Source of the distillery water, peat & malt. For all you "peat heads" (I like peaty whisky), he gives the maltings' phenolic content ppm. For example: Ardbeg - Port Ellen maltings at 55 ppm; Laphroaig- Port Ellen & mainland maltings at 35-40 ppm, peat from Machrie Moss.
-Plant: Description of the mash tun, washbacks, stills & condensers.
-Maturation: Type of barrel used & warehousing description.
-Style: Describes the style or character of the new-make spirit, not the mature whisky. These descriptions are mainly provided by the distillery owner.
-Mature Character: MacLean's opinion and description of samples usually in the 12 year old range. He does not use a point system or ranking; just his overall tasting description.
***This is NOT the book to buy if you are primarily looking for specific bottling tasting notes.
Each distillery listed has its address, phone number, website, owner, visitor information & capacity listed on the left side of the page.
The end of the book contains "Facts & Figures" which include a breakdown of who owns whom, the top ten single malts with liters sold in 2007 (I assume although it doesn't state liters on the page) & a pie chart visual of their market share. Next is a breakdown of the major consumer countries of malt whisky. Also a listing & description of the 18 leading independent bottlers.
This book has a very nice layout & is printed on heavy paper. It's not a pocket book but it's also not huge and heavy. I've carried it in to the liquor store and I find it very helpful in learning about Scotch whisky.
Do yourself a favor and buy a whisky glass; it really does enhance the flavor and enjoyment!
Stolzle Glencairn Whiskey Glass Boxed
Then on to the part of the book you will use most often: The alphabetical listing of each Scottish distillery, including the new ones who have not yet released a bottling & the silent. There is a color photo of at least 1 bottle from each distillery which I find very useful when going shopping. I also really enjoy seeing the various labels & bottle styles.
MacLean gives a history of each distillery going back to the earliest days, even the illicit days of the distilleries, describing various owners/investors. Each entry (distillery) has:
-Expressions - The current bottling of the distillery owner (proprietary) not the independent bottler releases.
-Raw Materials - Source of the distillery water, peat & malt. For all you "peat heads" (I like peaty whisky), he gives the maltings' phenolic content ppm. For example: Ardbeg - Port Ellen maltings at 55 ppm; Laphroaig- Port Ellen & mainland maltings at 35-40 ppm, peat from Machrie Moss.
-Plant: Description of the mash tun, washbacks, stills & condensers.
-Maturation: Type of barrel used & warehousing description.
-Style: Describes the style or character of the new-make spirit, not the mature whisky. These descriptions are mainly provided by the distillery owner.
-Mature Character: MacLean's opinion and description of samples usually in the 12 year old range. He does not use a point system or ranking; just his overall tasting description.
***This is NOT the book to buy if you are primarily looking for specific bottling tasting notes.
Each distillery listed has its address, phone number, website, owner, visitor information & capacity listed on the left side of the page.
The end of the book contains "Facts & Figures" which include a breakdown of who owns whom, the top ten single malts with liters sold in 2007 (I assume although it doesn't state liters on the page) & a pie chart visual of their market share. Next is a breakdown of the major consumer countries of malt whisky. Also a listing & description of the 18 leading independent bottlers.
This book has a very nice layout & is printed on heavy paper. It's not a pocket book but it's also not huge and heavy. I've carried it in to the liquor store and I find it very helpful in learning about Scotch whisky.
Do yourself a favor and buy a whisky glass; it really does enhance the flavor and enjoyment!
Stolzle Glencairn Whiskey Glass Boxed
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Excellent sourcebook for the Scotch Whisky industry.
21 Mar 2011
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Charles MacLean's Whiskypedia is a well written, comprehensive look at the Scotch Whisky industry. The book begins with a short but insightful history of Scotch, followed by a detailed explanation of how to understand a label on a bottle of Scotch. Then he gives you an explanation of the recognized regional differences that make Scotch Whisky so unique.
The meat of the book is the "Gazetter of Distilleries", which takes up the largest portion of the book. Here MacLean shows off his vast knowledge of all things Scotch. Each entry is listed by the name of a Distillery, with a brief history of the brand, a listing of their range of products, information on the plant (stills, washbacks, etc.) how the spirit is matured (bourbon or sherry casks, etc.), and the style of whisky made there. MacLean finishes each listing with his personal tasting notes.
The entries are very inclusive, listing all known distilleries that are currently in operation, those that are now closed, and a handful that are back in operation but haven't released anything yet. The historical notes and "curiosities" make each entry an enjoyable read that gives special insight on each distillery,their founders, and their current owners.
This a very well researched and enjoyable resource book that I know I will return to often. I doubt this book will have time to collect dust on my bookshelf!
The meat of the book is the "Gazetter of Distilleries", which takes up the largest portion of the book. Here MacLean shows off his vast knowledge of all things Scotch. Each entry is listed by the name of a Distillery, with a brief history of the brand, a listing of their range of products, information on the plant (stills, washbacks, etc.) how the spirit is matured (bourbon or sherry casks, etc.), and the style of whisky made there. MacLean finishes each listing with his personal tasting notes.
The entries are very inclusive, listing all known distilleries that are currently in operation, those that are now closed, and a handful that are back in operation but haven't released anything yet. The historical notes and "curiosities" make each entry an enjoyable read that gives special insight on each distillery,their founders, and their current owners.
This a very well researched and enjoyable resource book that I know I will return to often. I doubt this book will have time to collect dust on my bookshelf!
Whiskypedia
28 May 2012
Amazon Verified Purchase
Overall a very nice introduction to whisky (especially malt whisky)
Charles MacLean is widely regarded the foremost expert in all matters whisky and rightfully so.
Mr Maclean separates myth from fact, explains the differences in production equipment and methods and their impact on the final product and gives a lovely overview of nearly all distilleries and their readily available spirits along with history and lore/trivia.
Overall a very nice book.
Had it been more thorough and illustrative on the making process, it would have easily received 5 stars.
Charles MacLean is widely regarded the foremost expert in all matters whisky and rightfully so.
Mr Maclean separates myth from fact, explains the differences in production equipment and methods and their impact on the final product and gives a lovely overview of nearly all distilleries and their readily available spirits along with history and lore/trivia.
Overall a very nice book.
Had it been more thorough and illustrative on the making process, it would have easily received 5 stars.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
