Saturday 30 June 2012

Book Review 101 World Whiskies

101 World Whiskies to Try Before You Die
Ian Buxton 
Published July 2012

Ian Buxton's new book
I bought Ian's '101 Whiskies to Try before you Die' towards the end of my first year of my whisky journey. I had run through almost everything that I was seeing in my local supermarket shelves and was at a point of not knowing where to go next.

That book gave me new inspiration to expand my horizons and augment the rapidly diminishing wish list that was stuck on our fridge door.


I love this book! My post-it notes on the whiskies tried
It immediately opened up my curiosity to try blended whisky as well as American bourbons which I certainly hadn't considered at the beginning of my journey. (I originally had planned a Scottish Single Malt journey)

My book is now full of small post-it notes on the pages of the whiskies I have owned and tried, with reminders of where I bought it, tasted it, who with, how much and what I thought of it.

It has encouraged me to seek out whiskies that I wouldn't have known about before and I know I'm not the only one, it has been a best seller and was clearly evident at Whisky Live London earlier this year, where I noticed a number of visitors were walking around with their copies, checking out which whiskies they should be tasting next and marking them off.

My 'Dad's Whisky Wish List' was suitably extended and I've been steadily working my way through them, and currently I've tasted a third of those listed.

So I'm really pleased to tell you that Ian has just released a great companion book titled '101 World Whiskies to Try Before You Die'. It follows the same theme as the first book, but now encompasses whiskies from a great deal further, including not only whiskies from the established whisky-producing countries, but also many newcomers. The book includes whiskies from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, England, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, India, Ireland, Japan, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, USA and Wales.

Once again all the whiskies included are both affordable and accessible. Ian doesn't believe in collecting whiskies or investing in whisky, and there is a couple of pages at the beginning of the book explaining Ian's reasoning why.

Ian believes in tasting and enjoying the huge range of whiskies that are available, and this book includes single malts and blends - and provocatively a few renegade suggestions that are bound to offend a few purists! (I was surprised, but certainly not offended!)

The book matches my earlier version perfectly and is the right size for me to flick through while savouring my current dram of choice. The photos of the bottles are clear on the left hand pages and the light heartened descriptions are laid out on the right hand pages, there's a little history, some candid commentary and amusing anecdotes for every entry. There's even a cheeky bonus 'one hundred and second whisky' but you'll have to get your own copy to find out what that one is.

Checking on Amazon I've found it's also available electronically for those of you who have moved onto this medium (I'm not quite there yet and want the hardcopy to thumb through to!).

I asked Ian if there were any plans for an App yet, but nothing in the pipeline yet due to the enormous expense, so come on app experts contact Ian with the right solution at the right price.

101 WORLD WHISKIES TO TRY BEFORE YOU DIE is published in hardback by Headline on Thursday 5th July 2012 and available from Amazon here

The original 101 Whiskies To Try Before You Die is still available there too, and if you're exploring the world of whisky, they both really ought to be on your shelf alongside your whisky, and now I need to revisit my wish list and start adding some more gems that Ian has chosen for me!

Ian Buxton

Ian Buxton
Ian Buxton is a former Marketing Director of Glenmorangie and has worked in the industry for more than 20 years. He now runs a successful consultancy business. He was elected a Keeper of the Quaich in 1991, the highest honour of the Scotch whisky industry, and is a member of the international tasting panel for the annual World Whisky Awards and a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Distillers. Ian lives in Perthshire on the site of a former distillery from where he conducts his love affair with Scotland's national drink.

Check out Steve Rush's insider interview with Ian on The Whisky Wire

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