Jim Murray's Whisky Bible is the world's largest-selling annual guide to whiskey. Each year, over one thousand new whiskies from around the world are personally tasted and evaluated by Jim Murray. Each year Jim Murray's Whisky Bible gains international publicity via its announcement of the World Whisky of Year and its Liquid Gold Awards. Because of this, the Whisky Bible has become the most influential and relevant book on the subject worldwide.
| ||||||||||||
Browse our Bookshelf Favorites store for big savings on popular fiction, nonfiction, children's books, and more. |
|
There is a newer edition of this item:
|
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Jim Murray became the world's first full-time whisky writer back in 1992 and is now considered the doyen of the industry, having sold over half a million copies of his many books. His international preaching on whiskey has gained him wide recognition. He is a familiar face on television and is equally well known for his effervescent radio and stage appearances. He is renowned for his humorous but forthright manner and, uniquely, his deep knowledge of the industry worldwide. It is believed he has visited more distilleries in the world than any other living writer and, occasionally finds time to act as a consultant to the industry. He has homes in both England and Kentucky.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images? |
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Jim Murray... he's no Michael Jackson but that'll do, Donkey, that'll do.
January 31, 2012
By B. Carr
Format:Paperback
Jim Murray assumed the throne as whisky's rating pioneer after the unfortunate demise of whisky's greatest reviewers, Michael Jackson, passed away some years ago.
Jim's reviews are somewhat sporadic. At times, he seems focused and "nails it" but I have found that many times his reviews use hyperbole way to frequently. Many reviews leave me completely clueless on how the whisky is probably going to taste and my personal review goes in a completely opposite direction. Obviously, reviews are subjective to the taster involved. You may love something he completely loathes, but in general, he can lead you away from terrible selections. He also tends to phone-in some reviews at random that he may as well left off.
He recently released his iPhone app that I feel could replace someone's need to purchase this book, but at $19.99 in the app store, you may feel differently. I am a whisky psychofan and I still can't justify spending $20 on a whisky app, though the search capabilities would be quite nice (assuming they exist in the app).
This book is surely to be a must for someone turning into an avid fan who could use a little hand holding and advice. I suppose, I just miss Michael Jackson's lack of hot air that Jim tends to have an abundance of.
Jim's reviews are somewhat sporadic. At times, he seems focused and "nails it" but I have found that many times his reviews use hyperbole way to frequently. Many reviews leave me completely clueless on how the whisky is probably going to taste and my personal review goes in a completely opposite direction. Obviously, reviews are subjective to the taster involved. You may love something he completely loathes, but in general, he can lead you away from terrible selections. He also tends to phone-in some reviews at random that he may as well left off.
He recently released his iPhone app that I feel could replace someone's need to purchase this book, but at $19.99 in the app store, you may feel differently. I am a whisky psychofan and I still can't justify spending $20 on a whisky app, though the search capabilities would be quite nice (assuming they exist in the app).
This book is surely to be a must for someone turning into an avid fan who could use a little hand holding and advice. I suppose, I just miss Michael Jackson's lack of hot air that Jim tends to have an abundance of.
17 of 21 people found the following review helpful
By Gener
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The continuing series of annual Whisky Bibles from James Murray is a wonderful boon to the serious spirits enthusiasts of the world. With true evenhandedness Jim Murray has systematically explored the entire world of whisk(e)y, keeping an open mind to learning new styles and expressions from all over the world. The 2011 Whisky Bible is the most extensive yet, with over 1,000 more entries than the 2010 edition, due to the expanding number of products available to the consumer in the world marketplace. No reader is likely to have 100% agreement in the evaluated merits of thousands of products, but Murray's success and broad following is proof that large numbers of readers find his opinions quite valuable. I find myself agreeing with his assessments most of the time and enjoy the poetic and sometimes aphoristic comments he makes in the descriptions of his experiences with each beverage. This is a phenomenal tool to know what is available on the market, and to have an idea what one very experienced afficionado finds excellent, good, fair and poor. I use Jim's Bible as a learning tool and screening guide to products which I might like to try in the near future. For the serious whisk(e)y enthusiast, this is a MUST HAVE reference work, which is small enough to fit into your vest pocket. Highest recommendation.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By NBSJENN
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I have read several of Michael Jackson's book. This book by Jim Murray is not comprehensive enough for newcomers to the Scotch world.
I found it difficult to follow and as another reviewer wrote "sporadic". Michael Jackson's books are much more informative and reader friendly. I am returning this book as it is not at all as described as least not to me.
I found it difficult to follow and as another reviewer wrote "sporadic". Michael Jackson's books are much more informative and reader friendly. I am returning this book as it is not at all as described as least not to me.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Sean Foushee
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
An amazing amount of work (and tasting) has gone into this year's Whisky Bible - including new cover artwork. The "Bible" is a small format book, taller than a typical digest, and packed from cover to cover with some of the best ratings you'll find in the industry. Jim Murray has a segmented view concerning his ratings as each is a combined score from four different categories: nose, taste, finish and overall balance; with each category contributing a possible 25 points to the overall mark. The printing is done in two color - black with red for emphasized information and headings - and while the font-size can be considered small it is amazingly easy to read. Maps lead each chapter illustrating a distilling region, and unlike some whisky references Murray's "Bible" really is about whisky, not just scotch. The "Bible" starts in Scotland but progresses onto Irish, American, Canadian, Japanese, European and finally World whiskies. Each entry is a an amazingly compact review of an expression, including various batches of the same expression, which contain bottling information (official bottling, independent bottling, and date of distilling and bottling if available), ABV percentages, for limited expressions the number of bottles produced, if a tasting is new to this year's bible or was re-tasted, and of course individual notes on each scoring category: nose, taste, finish and overall balance; this book has it all! If you're a whisky fan, know someone who is, or are just starting to discover whiskies (perhaps looking to expand your palate) this is a must-buy.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By cd
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I have used this whiskey bible ever since I returned from Scotland. This is a great place to start if you are a new scotch drinker or a seasoned veteran. Once you find the style or region that fits your taste you can find many scotches in all price ranges and ratings.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is the comprehensive guide to world whiskies. It's scope expands each edition. A must have for every whisky lover.
By advara
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Review it? Have you seen how many whiskys (and whiskeys) there are in this book? It would take a very pleasant lifetime to review the whole book. Best to get started as soon as possible. Once you've worked out the scoreboard and read the tasting notes, then it's just a case of searching out your favourites and pitching your opinion up against the experts ...and since taste is subjective anyway, you're always right. The main disadvantage is that you know you have to buy an updated version every year or two. It's a must if you like your whisky (or whiskey) and want to know more about what's in your glass.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
The only Whisky book you should buy!
Jim Murray does a great job of covering all whiskey. Many other "bibles" cover scotch predominantly. Read more
Published 5 months ago by KCBrad
4.0 out of 5 stars
Jim Murray's Whisky Bible 2012
I like this book for it's extensive coverage and reviews of all types of whisky. I wish the print could be a little larger for my aging vision. Read more
Published 5 months ago by William D. Wuchter
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Reference!
I love Jim Murray's whisky bibles. They are an invaluable reference for any whiskey lover, regardless if your preferred libation is Scotch, Bourbon, Rye, Canadian, Irish, or any... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Mark Litz
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect
I should say is a very complete and useful whisky tasting guide, easy to read and understand, also the size makes it a perfect pocket book.
Published 6 months ago by Flavio
5.0 out of 5 stars
This was a gift. She loved it! Made me look great!
The headline says it all. If you or someone you love, or even just like, truly enjoys a good whisky, then this is the book for you...or him...or her.
Published 6 months ago by P. Lister
5.0 out of 5 stars
fantastic resource
Jim will expose you to a vast variety of whiskey's many of us will never try but it is fun and informative reading about it. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Chris Blevins
4.0 out of 5 stars
A great year for whisky apparently!
This book has hell of a large amount of whiskies sampled and should give you an overall view of what's out there. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Fernando
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book for the Whiskey (or Whisky) lover!
Great book! It was a gift for my husband and he loved it! He said it was very informative and got to read about all the bourbons he wants to try.
Published 17 months ago by Florence K. Casertano
4.0 out of 5 stars
Review: Jim Mirray's whisky bible
Very comprehensive review book. Very honest, too - Jim pulls no punches.
My only complaint? Each review could be longer, however such a book would be far too long to print... Read more
My only complaint? Each review could be longer, however such a book would be far too long to print... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Christian Larsen
4.0 out of 5 stars
Exactly what I ordered
The layout of the information in the book took a little bit to get used to. I think it could be done better, but all the information is there. Read more
Published 18 months ago by J. Leveling
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
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
