Customer Reviews

101 Whiskies to Try Before You Die

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book doesn't attempt to rate the whiskies it discusses. Instead, and to its credit, it merely lays out an extensive list of the whos, whats, wheres and whys of 101 whiskies that should be tried before you die.

If you're the type of whisky drinker who hasn't ventured outside of a handful of malts or blends, or are just starting to discover whisky, this book is a great resource for discovering new and exciting expressions. First, I must commend Mr. Buxton for placing whiskies on his list which he confesses to not enjoying, but realizes others might find excellent - some of the peatier Islay scotches for example. I bought this book knowing it was a subjective list, and did so gladly since the book doesn't try to focus only on single malts or a specific whisky making region - like Mr. Jackson's treatise, a "Complete Guide To Single Malt Scotch." And in the process of reading through the 101 whiskies presented in the book I've discovered a handful of whiskies from distillers I've never thought of buying (i.e. Buffalo Trace) and in a couple of instances I've expanded on the list by filling the gaps in the ranges Mr. Buxton recommends. One such example is The Macallan, which places three spots on the list with their 10, 18 and 30 year old expressions. After buying a bottle of The Macallan 10 year, and trying their 18, I decided to purchase a bottle of 15 year Fine Oak, which isn't on the list. The Macallan profile was so good in the two I tasted from the list that it convinced me to try the 15 year and see what I might have been missing between the 10 and 18 year expressions; I'm glad I did!

The list isn't presented in any hierarchal structure, but rather alphabetically, which makes finding whiskies easy and the book enjoyable to read. The only complaint I have is with Mr. Buxton's color coded price guide, which can often be hard to decipher requiring a trip back to the front of the book to glance at the legend and as one color blind friend mentioned is near useless for him. Other than that small quibble, this is an excellent book and one I highly recommend.

Color pictures on every page and a small size make this a nice, simple guide. The descriptions discuss both the tasting points (color, nose, taste and finish) as well as the process and history behind each.

I have quite a few books on whisky so I bought this with some skepticism because a lot of the books just rehash the same old stuff about the history of the distilleries, which ones have visitors' centers, etc. But this book was quite different. I wound up reading it straight through, thoroughly enjoying the offbeat selections (some good Japanese whiskies chosen) and snarky comments. (The comment about what to do with the purple Crown Royal bag made me laugh out loud.) And as much as I like the late Michael Jackson's single malt guides, Buxton makes an excellent point against Jackson: How the heck can you differentiate a 92 from a 93 rating? It's better to tell the reader what the whiskies are all about, and to his credit, he even says for several of them, "Hey, I don't particularly like this one, but you should try it." Bravo!

If you like whisky (or whiskey) this is a wonderful book.

I bought this little volume for myself, while buying a gift book on the same subject for a friend. To tell the truth, I expected at best to occasionally read an entry or two. Usually books like this are very dry and matter-of-fact only. Ian Buxton, however, is not just an expert on the subject of Whisky. He's a very entertaining writer. The book is full of anecdotes and the kind of esoteric facts that those who enjoy their daily dram (or two) will really enjoy. I've laughed out loud, chuckled, been amazed and thoroughly entertained. All that said, the entries give a great picture of what to expect when trying one of the 101 selections.

The book is very basic and will allow for you to really explore the world of whiskey, one bottle at a time. The author provides his input and a simple justification of why a particular whiskey was selected. I find that it will be a great challenge from here forward to try all the listed whiskies before I die, but I am already at a 16 bottle start before I picked up the book. I found that his reasons for listing the ones I have tried match very much to why I liked them as well. I would recommend anyone that has an interest in drinking a whiskey without coke to pickup this book and a few bottles, and you just might make some new friends.

I purchased this book as a gift for my husband and it is the gift that keeps on giving. He is excitedly working his way through the book, having fun seeking out and aquiring the Whiskies featured and taking notes along the way. He's found several reasonably priced options that he enjoys more than the expensive single malts.

I'm on number 20. There are a number of surprises in the book - including several non-single malt, and several single malt not from Scotland (Japan with a single malt?).

I got this book because I recently became interested in whiskeys and single malts in particular. There are so many choices it is nice to have some good advice which steers you to excellent examples of various styles. The author considers price so most of his recommendations are attainable by most people. The book was not available in print so I purchased the Kindle version. I was pleasantly surprised that Internet links were included with each whiskey so you can go directly to the distiller's website from inside the e-book! Very cool.

I gave as a gift but skimmed before wrapping....excellent reference source The guy who received was Very satisfied and happy to get it.