Jim Murray's Whiskey Bible 2004 [Paperback]

Jim Murray (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2003

Featuring tasting notes on hundreds of different brands, Jim Murray's Whiskey Bible is a truly expert whiskey guide, an exhaustive review of distilleries, new brands, changes in legislation, award-winners, and whiskey associations. The author has traveled around the world for the full whiskey experience, from the world-leaders Scotland, Ireland, Japan and the United States to distilleries as far-flung as Pakistan and Finland. The compact volume also includes a place for readers to keep track of their tastings and findings as they assay single malts, sippin' whiskies and bourbons from all over the world. The audience of whiskey aficionados has grown exponentially in the last ten years. Jim Murray's educated, opinionated and eminently readable guide is a delightful and useful reference for everyone who enjoys this strong and storied liquor.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jim Murray was a Hartford, Connecticut, native and 1943 Trinity College graduate. He worked at the New Haven Register and Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, and was TIME Inc.'s Hollywood correspondent, a founding father of Sports Illustrated, and sports columnist for the Los Angeles Times for 37 years. Murray was inducted into Cooperstown's Baseball Hall of Fame writers' wing in 1988 and won a Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 1990. He died in 1998.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Carlton Books (December 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1844429172
• ISBN-13: 978-1844429172
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 3.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,482,728 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential whisky buying guide, December 13, 2003

By 

Harry Teichert - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jim Murray's Whiskey Bible 2004 (Paperback)

Jim Murray is, according to many whisky aficionados, the premier writer on whisky. He has visited virtually every distillery in existence, and has an unsurpassed knowledge and love of whisky.

His latest book is tall and narrow, the same size as Michael Jackson's Pocket Guide to Beer, so it can be carried along to stores when purchasing whisky. And this is Murray's intention: the book is written as a buying guide for the consumer. Unlike in his previous books, Murray gives numerical ratings to the more than 2000 whiskies he evaluates, a number from 0 to 100, broken down into numbers for nose, taste, finish and balance, each receiving up to 25 points. Although numerical ratings will help whisky drinkers and store owners, he knows that many in the industry may be unhappy with his ratings.

Murray intends his guide to become a yearly publication that will be supplemented and updated throughout the year on the web site www.whiskybible.com.

The book begins with introductory material, including a review of the whisky year, as well as a three-page diatribe about "The Evils of Colour Prejudice", meaning the adding of caramel coloring to whisky. Murray claims that colorization degrades the taste of whisky and in many of his reviews, even very positive ones, he claims that the addition of caramel has taken its toll on the whisky's quality.

The book's beginning also contains Murray's award winners for the year in 19 categories, with overall whisky of the year being George T. Stagg bourbon. He then lists, in four pages, all of the whiskies that received a score of 93-97. (One omission: Longmorn 15 year old, to which he gives a score of 93, is not on the list.) Only two whiskies receive a 97, George T. Stagg and Old Malt Cask Ardbeg 1975 Aged 25 years (bottled Oct 00), "without a shadow of a doubt ... the two best whiskies it has ever been my luck and privilege to taste in nearly 30 years". Along with many expensive and rare whiskies on this list are found widely available relatively inexpensive whiskies. Receiving 94, for example, along with Old Malt Cask Ardbeg 1975 Aged 24 years and Laphroaig 40 year old, one finds Glenmorangie 10 year old, Dalwhinnie 15 year old, and even the Canadian Seagrams VO, which I'd guess is most often used as a mixer.

Scotch whisky, including single malts, grain whisky and blends, accounts for about 70% of the book's contents, the remaining 30% being devoted to American, Japanese, Canadian, European and world whiskies. There was no room in this edition for Indian and other Asian whiskies, but Murray hopes to accommodate these in future editions. The book concludes with a Stop Press section evaluating late bottled and additional whiskies, a glossary, and advice on how to drink whisky.

As always, Murray's writing is personal and passionate, and the book makes for fascinating reading. His commentary is by turns lyrical, colorful, provocative, angry and funny (see his review of Littlemill Dunglas, to which he gives a rating of 17).

Jim Murray is a romantic about whisky whose writing draws one into his intense devotion to the drink. For someone beginning to explore the world of whisky, as well as for the whisky expert, this book is a must.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, delightful, and FULL of great info!, April 29, 2004

By 

fair_deal_guy "BB" (Prior Lake, MN USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Jim Murray's Whiskey Bible 2004 (Paperback)

Jim Murray's Whiskey Bible 2004 is one of the most delightful whisky reads in existence. It is absolutely loaded with nuggets, ratings, tips and lore. Like Michael Jackson's excellent tome, Jim Murray's Whiskey Bible is very approachable, yet somehow even more engaging. (Maybe it's because Murray's writing is more casual and conversational.) Plus, the 2004 version is at least four years newer than the latest edition of Jackson's guide, so you will find more complete coverage of all the labels and varieties--making the ratings significantly more useful when you tote this book to the local liquor store. Although I disagree with some of Murray's ratings, you can't question his credentials.

If you love whisky, this is a MUST read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You can trust the title on this one, September 16, 2009

By 

Muzzlehatch (the walls of Gormenghast) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Jim Murray's Whiskey Bible 2004 (Paperback)

A word on the book itself: my edition is from 2006 - this is updated every 2 years I believe, but I suspect only the really hard-core would need to buy every edition. It's long and narrow and has a flexible cover and would fit easily in the pocket as one peruses the shelves at one's local fine liquor purveyor; a warning to those with less-than-perfect eyesight though, the print is quite small. There's not a lot in the way of introductory material - a short rundown on the year in spirits, and very brief intros to the book's main sections - Scotland, Ireland, USA, Japan, and everywhere else. If you're looking for general information on the Water of Life, this is not the book to buy. If on the other hand you're looking for an enormously knowledgeable guide to all that's wonderful (and the little that's awful) in the world of this wonderful adult beverage, this might be the best starting point you could find.

Some might find Murray too kind a critic -- on his 100-point scale, almost none of the 3,000 or so whiskys rate less than 80, and the vast majority are 90+ -- but Murray is a hedonistic lover of the spirit in all its guises, not a pedantic finder of faults, and that's all to the good for those like me who are just beginning to find our ways in this distillation of humble grains. His ratings are highly descriptive, effusive, sometimes seeming overboard -- until I try the particular liquor in question, at which point I realize that he's typically on the money even at his most loquacious. I'm happy, personally, that he loves Bourbon and Rye as much as he does, rating them every bit the equal of Scotch, that in fact he is as unprejudiced a whisky writer as you'll find. My edition is from 2006; I will surely be buying updated editions as long as my thirst needs slaking....and I'll be updating this review after I finally crack my bottle of his #1 whisky, George T. Stagg.