Here at the Scotch Whisky Experience, we are lucky to have enjoyed visits and events over the years with many whisky writers, sharing our passion and usually enjoying some great debates and recounting experiences. Sit down with any of these passionate whisky writers over a coffee (or maybe even a dram) and don’t expect to get back to your desk any time soon! Each has their own unique perspective, but they all share a thirst for knowledge and ability to gather and curate the stories of Scotch. So here are a few selected tomes with something to suit everyone.
The Culinary
A Table: Whisky from Glass to Plate, author – Martine Nouet
Martine Nouet visited The Scotch Whisky Experience in 2016 to launch her wonderful A Table for a unique get-together of three of the world’s five female “Masters of the Quaich”. A meeting of minds and great chat followed with Amber Restaurant’s executive chef David Neave which much debate and shared humour about whisky and food cooking and a heated garlic debate.
We love – Martine’s Chocolate and whisky tarte – a Christmassy dessert that is tried and tested by our team’s avid bakers.
The Beginner
The Pocket Guide to Whisky, author – Blair Bowman
We met Blair Bowman in the early days of him establishing “World Whisky Day” and enjoyed working on the ScotlandWhisky tourism project together. How Blair keeps on top of his multitudinous ventures we’ll never know, but he made time for an Edinburgh Festival book signing in our shop and sold out. I grabbed my copy early and just as well. No wonder, with this book aligning so well to the audience of new whisky converts at the Scotch Whisky Experience (perhaps the drams accompanying the signing helped too!) Blair’s book “makes it possible for the amateur to find their feet. From novice to expert, the guide enables whisky lovers to find out more about the brands they already like and to make informed choices as they explore further.”
We love – the highly visual “tube map” approach, connecting whisky by flavour and starting a great journey.
The Ultimate Insider
Goodness Nose: The Passionate Revelations of a Scotch Whisky Master Blender, author – Richard Paterson (aka The Nose)
Richard has been a great friend of the Scotch Whisky Experience from day one in 1988 and we are lucky to have him as a board director. He continues to delight both our team and guests at the annual “Evening with the Blenders” with stories of the industry past and present. 50 years in the whisky industry bring with them a duty to share his stories and experiences and Richard duly put pen to paper with the ubiquitously named “Goodness Nose”. (Richard has long held the title “The Nose” amongst his peers in the industry.)
We love – feeling his love of the whisky industry in every page.
Coffee Table
The World Atlas of Whisky – Dave Broom
A lovely tome to leaf through with an evening dram taking you through the world’s whisky producing countries. This is a great gift for anyone just getting into whisky, beautifully laid out and photographed, but it is equally suitable as a great reference for experienced whisky fans.
We love – having such an accessible guide to whisky (or whiskey, depending where you are!) on hand for any quick questions.
Active learners
Whisky Tasting Journal, author – You
The most important book of all. This is the perfect record keeper of all the drams you have ever tried. Don’t you regret not having done it sooner? I didn’t gather all my own tasting notes for years, but now I collect them and love to reflect on what I thought when I first tasted a new expression. I have purposefully not put any books on the list that tell you all the author’s tasting notes as there is nothing more personal than your own sense of small and palate. Create your own whisky book and I can assure you it will be the best of all.
We love – making it your own! Keeping a journal shows how your tastes and palate develops as you try more and more whiskies.