Malt Whisky File (Hardcover)

by John Lamond (Author), Robin Tucek (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Unquestionably the best guide to Scotland's finest whiskies." Tim Atkin, Esquire "The perfect present for any malt whisky lover." Herald "A worthwhile investment for anyone desiring to learn more about malt whisky. The Malt Whisky File is the most up-to-date of the Scotsh whisky books currently on the market." The Malt Whisky Advocate "A remarkable piece of research." Scotsman" --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Description
For all those who appreciate fine spirits, The Malt Whisky File is the most complete reference available to the whiskies of the world, including those from the distilleries of New Zealand, Ireland, Japan, and, of course, Scotland. Offering a label-by-label analysis of each whisky, John Lamond and Robin Tucek offer helpful tasting notes, a history of each brand, and a rating based upon a proprietary scale of sweetness, peatiness, and availability (based on each label's total production). (5 x 8 1/4, 244 pages, color photos, maps)

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 244 pages
• Publisher: The Lyons Press; 1st edition (November 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558216693
• ISBN-13: 978-1558216693
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,957,735 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the definitive guide to single malts, November 23, 1999

By A Customer

I actually purchased this book in a sweater shop in Fort William. It was the one book that the distillery blenders and everday whisky fans continuously recommended. I started to take notes in the margins each time I tried a new single malt. The descriptions are brief, but the coverage is rather comprehensive. The rankings for sweetness and peatiness, though I often disgaree with them, are helpful in selecting new things to try--if I like one that is a 7/3, I can look for other 7/3 rankings in the book. I always take this along with me when I head to the whisky shop. Highly recommended for anyone who is serious about single malt scotch.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another Enjoyable Book on Scotch Malt Whisky, February 3, 2000

By	jb77 "jb77" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This is a comprehensive tasting guide to Scotch Malt Whiskies. It is well organized and reasonably detailed. I enjoy reading the authors description of the attributes of a malt whisky and then try to identify the same scents and flavors in the whisky. For this, the tasting notes are helpful. Nice photographs of many labels are included.

One approach in the book is unique. The authors attempt to draw a corralation between one whisky and another by assigning values to the peatiness and sweetness (1-10). The authors suggestion is that if you find a whisky you like, you can look up it's rating for peatiness and sweetness, find another with the same rating, say a 5 & 8, and you'll have located another whisky you'll like.

This approach failed to work for me. I found whiskies I liked didn't necessarily match in peatiness or sweetness, or even come close. And, some that matched, I didn't necessarily like. Oh, well, it was a interesting idea.

I believe that the various attributes of a whisky are difficult to capture in these two numbers. But, this shortcoming does not mean you should pass up this book. The more detailed tasting notes are enjoyable and insightful.

As for books with Scotch tasting notes, my personal favorite was written by Michael Jackson. Another great book on the subject is from Charles McLean. (Both available from Amazon.) For the serious Single Malt Whisky fan, more than one book on the subject is worth having.