Customer Reviews

Michael Jackson's Complete Guide to Single Malt Scotch

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Michael Jackson died in 2008 and his book had not been updated since 2004. The malt whisky industry has changed greatly since then. The goal of these three editors was to update Michael's classic book while trying to do it as he would have himself.

The layout of the book is in alphabetical order by distillery. There is a short half-page introduction to each distillery, a sentence on the distillery's house style, followed by very short reviews and ratings of several whiskies from the distillery. Many reviews also include a picture of the bottle label. The beginning of the book starts with a general introduction to whisky, left mostly untouched from how Michael wrote it.

The goal of the editors was to keep as many of Michael's original reviews as possible, while updating them with reviews of new whiskies and removing outdated whiskies. The introduction says that two-thirds of the reviews are new, but I also found many of Michael's iconic tasting notes still in the book. The authors have intentionally changed very little in The Macallan section due to Michael's special affection for The Macallan, although they have added reviews of the Fine Oak series.

I listened to a recent interview with the editors. When it came to reviewing the whiskies, the editors say that they tried to stay true to Michael's style. This means that the reviews are terse, ratings are rarely above 85, and also that the editors tried to put aside their own opinions of the whiskies and tried to rate them as Michael would have (based on their reading of his past reviews). They spent 18 months updating the book, each working on reviewing separate distilleries without consulting each other on the reviews.

Overall I am satisfied with this book, although I do not own the previous versions. Many recently released modern whiskies are reviewed now, while I was also able to find some reviews that I know to be Michael's originals.

The editors hope to continue to update this classic and release new editions, but there are legal issues regarding Michael Jackson's estate. Therefore future editions of this book are still uncertain.

Okay, I'll admit, I've read a number of novels where the hero enjoys sipping on a single malt scotch and I'm not entirely sure the differences, so I couldn't tell you if he was sipping on a good one or not. I also have friends who talk about various scotches and I can't contribute much to the conversations. Sure, I've enjoyed scotch now and then, and will again, but I really can't say I know that much.

However, that is where "Michael Jackson's Complete Guide to Single Malt Scotch: A Connoisseur's Guide to the Single Malt Whiskies of Scotland" comes in. This fully revised sixth edition, updated by Dominic Roskrow, Gavin D. Smith, and William C. Meyers, and published by DK, covers just about anything you would want to know about malts. It's not a book to read cover to cover, unless you are really into scotch and enjoy reading reviews and tasting notes on over 1,000 malt whiskies, with vintages from 1926 onward, including reviews of over 500 new bottlings. I spotted it on the library shelf and had to pick it up and give it a read.

The book begins with a few pages on the late Michael Jackson of the whisky industry, not music fame. Then it proceeds with an instant guide to the pleasures of the pursuit of malts. Just a few pages, but it will help you understand why malts are so popular, and why many heroes in books and movies refer to these beverages. Next come chapters on the origins of malt whisky, the words used on the label, flavors, regional variations, the age, the wood, and finally the owners, distillers, and bottlers. These are all very short chapters, with photographs that take up the first 71 pages of the book. You can read these pretty easily and know more about malt whisky than most people. The rest of the book, which is nearly 450 pages long, is an A to Z directory of single malts.

In these pages, you can find information on just about any single malt you can think of. This expanded edition includes chapters on world whiskies, including malts from Ireland, Japan, and newer producers in Sweden and Australia. One of the first entries I turned to was the chapter on Laphroaig, a favorite brand of a few of my friends. Sure, I've shared toasts with it with those friends, but I now know a bit more about what I was drinking. So, if you have any questions regarding single malt whiskies, check out this book and you'll find your answers.

Reviewed by Alain Burrese, J.D., author of Hard-Won Wisdom From the School of Hard Knocks.

Although Michael Jackson has passed away, the update of the classic guide to single malt Scotches has gone ahead. The 2010 update looks very good and includes most all of the (extensive!) Macallan information from The Definitive Guide to Buying Vintage Macallan (The Macallan Single Highland Malt Scotch Whisky). This is the book to get, even if the reviews themselves sometimes seem less than internally consistent (high praise but lower score, or vice versa). Still, the reviews do carry with them a lot of the character of the Scotches being described. And for the more collector oriented, nowhere else will you get the vintage-by-vintage tastings.

I bought this for my fiance since he and I both enjoy Scotch and want to learn a bit more. This book is well organized; so much so that I was able to select two new bottles for his birthday and claim success when he was pleased with both. He and I love the descriptions as some are intriguing and others are a little scary with descriptions of tar or asphalt flavors! The book is easy to read and understand but I would recommend it for Scotch connoisseurs and beginners alike.

I do agree with another reviewer who says this book will cause you to buy more Scotch! It's true and we have.

If you enjoy single malt Scotch, this book may cause you to buy more. It did for me and now I have an extraordinary collection. The book seems to inspire a fresh look the variety out there snd to learn more about their many differences. Curiosity then trsnslates to new scotch tasting eperiences. If you enjoy single malt scotch, you may find this book to be a must-have. Many of our friends and family who see it end up buying a copy for themselves. We just got two to give at Christmas this year.

This is an update of a classic covering single malts from a to z. I've collected single malts for many years and always consider the reviews in this book as well as those in Malt Advocate. I rate the reviews in this classic higher than any others I see. Anyone wanting more information on single malts and a few blends will treasure this book. Without the reviews and information in this edition I would have passed by a 16 year old Rosebank that is a truly remarkable whiskey.

The authors have done a good job of continuing in the style of Michael Jackson and have combined the tastes and experience of three knowledgeable whiskey experts to replace Michael, but their effort is an excellent one that i will always use....until the next edition.

Michael Jackson was the foremost connoisseur in the world of Scotch. I have been a scotch lover for many years, but only recently became a collector. This book has been very helpful, both in learning the history and the process of making Scotch, as well as learning the art of scoring and making tasting notes. Great book! Every Scotch lover should own it!

it is the ultimate bock for anybody ever having tasted or smelled a whisky.
You'll find the decriptions of taste or smell, you couldn't find the words for yourself, as well as profound backround knowledge of literaly every scotch whisky know today...
Marvelous book, great experience to read and you find youself looked in the book for quite some time-
in one case I happened to read for 2 1/2 hours - with a need for a nice glas of whisky afterwards.

Bought this as a Christmas surprise for my husband. Bought the original one for him years ago as he is a serious single malt kind of guy. He loved it but couldn't help himself and loaned it out multiple times to friends. Last time it didn't come back and no one can remember who that last person was!

Back to the book - Roger loves his Scotch and loved this book. He agreed with the reviews and assessments on the various ones he had tasted and used it for guidance on others to search out based on his personal tastes.

Can't go wrong with this as a gift for a Scotch-aholic!

This is the newest edition of this book which has been in print since 1989. We have the original as well. The quality of this newest 3/10 edition is as good as the original even though Michael Jackson died in 2008. Great job by the editorial staff.