The World of Whisky

Whisky is the world’s favourite spirit and is enjoying booming sales, yet too often it’s shrouded in mystery, myth and complex-sounding terminology.

This authoritative book, written by three world experts, gives simple advice on how to seek out and enjoy the immense diversity of flavours and styles on offer, and how to become more adventurous.

As with any subject, the more you know, the more you can appreciate and enjoy it. This book aims to equip you with enough knowledge to be able to find your way around the whisky sections of a specialist drinks retailer and to help you feel confident choosing whisky in a bar or restaurant. We aim to demystify whisky without taking away the magic. The history of whisky and production methods are clearly explained, and there is advice on how to nose, taste and savour, as well as a selection of classic whisky cocktails and advice on matching food and whisky.

The book covers not just famous Highland malts, Irish pot still whiskeys and American bourbons, but also whiskies from Japan, Canada, Australia and India.

About the author

Neil Ridley is one of the UK’s new breed of passionate young wine & spirits writers. Neil writes regularly for drinks and lifestyle publications.

Gavin D. Smith is a freelance journalist and author who specialises in drink subjects, most notably whisky. He is the author and co-author of some 30 whisky books and contributes regularly to a wide range of publications. He lives in the Scottish Borders.

David Wishart became interested in malt whisky when he was first introduced to cask-strength Laphroaig by his father. He was Director of Statistics at the Scottish Office and an Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Management at St Andrews University until 2015.