Whiskies Galore – Scotland’s Island Distilleries

After over 100 articles on this blog which still hasn’t reached its first birthday, I am getting round to my first ever book review. This isn’t something I really know much about so please bare with me.

Whiskies Galore by Ian Buxton was published in September 2017 by Birlinn Ltd which Google laughably calls a “cookbook”.

Obviously, this isn’t true. There are no recipes for making shortbread using a splash of Aberlour or a Christmas cake using a bottle of Bell’s. What you do get, however, is a book that is lightheartedly written on the author’s experiences over the last few decades in relation to the islands of Scotland on which at least one legal distillery resides.

The reader is whizzed around Arran, Mull, Islay, Raasy, Lewis, Harris, Skye and Orkney at a fantastic pace with great humour throughout. This is not a book detailing exact details for the whisky anorak to absorb minute detailed facts and figures. This book is a blend of travel writing, autobiography and history in its 256 pages which reads easily and makes putting it down quite difficult.

Picking up a copy is highly recommended and is available now in hardback from good whisky retailers, Amazon and probably a good bookshop if any still exist!