The Malt Whisky yearbook is now up to its fourth edition – 2009, and last weekend I finally got some time to read through it ( waiting on the airport always gives me the opportunity ). So I thought I’d put up a quick review of this edition.
Articles on whisky
The book starts off with 7 articles on whisky that covers the following:
- World Whiskies Conference
A look at what was discussed at the conference in 2008, covering stereotypes about Bourbon, global malt consumption, japanese whisky and a look at the scotch regulations ( with a interesting discussion on the classification of scotch ) - The Fathers of Whisky
A look back to the 6th century and onwards that tries to trace the origin of whisky or aqua vita: when did the origins of whisky come into history and who was responsible for writing it down for the first time? - So you want to build a Whisky Distillery?
Interesting article that looks at the challenges on starting up a distillery ( who doesn’t have a dream about that ), going through picking the location, securing barley and water, setting up the distillery, learning the art and financials behind it all. A nice piece that gives some insight from people that have gone through the process and what they have learnt. - Classifying whisky
Tries to look at the different approaches there is when it comes to classifying whisky: what flavors are there, scores and a analysis off different types. Interesting read that shows you the various camps when it comes to classifying whisky. - Islay
A look at the island from the inside with Walter Schobert: covers the economy ( who owns what ), the independent distilleries, a look at environmental friendly distilleries and what visitors can expect. - Cooking with whisky
Whisky and food: how to get that rich flavor into your cooking. - New World Whiskies
The state of whisky producers around the world, interesting to see some variation on how distilleries approach the distilling process.
The distilleries
The next section covers distilleries both in scotland and elsewhere, and gives a one-page breakdown of the history of the distillery, the tasting notes of their standard tapping. A good quick-look at the distilleries that are available. Very handy for looking up if there are any distilleries in a country you are travelling to.
The Whisky Year that was
Here we have the numbers, statistics, winners of awards, new bottlings, whisky shops in different countries and news from the whisky industry around the year. This will be good when we can look back to a certain year to see what went on in just that period of time.
Summary
The book is really easy to read, and would be a good addition to your whisky bookshelf. The main part of the book that is covering the distilleries won’t change that much from year to year, but over time this will be a good snapshot of the state of whisky around the world for a single year. The thing is: you can really digg into it and be a whisky geek when it comes to the hard numbers each year, or you can just enjoy the articles, or you might just be interested in a book to look at what a distillery has to offer. This book will cover all of that. I’ve ordered the 2006-2008 editions as well, so that says it all: you should get one as well!