This week marks the end of ScotchWhisky.com the Whisky Exchange owned online magazine and resource which has been running for the last 4 or 5 years. They had an advertising based revenue model which wasn’t making the returns they had hoped and it was time to call time on the venture.
Dave Broom was one of the content editors on the site and provided regular tasting notes on new releases which were batched together into quick crib sheets of do’s and don’ts. Dave is also an accomplished author as well as a journalist so it seems timely to look out one of his older books for todays post.
The Whisky Handbook was first published in 2000 and this version I bought again second hand was only £1.50 and is a reprint from 2014. From the artwork and wording of the book though it looks like the actual content is as it was in 2000. Like our little book from yesterday that means we can look back at a simpler time for Whisky production and sales.
The book is aimed at beginners into the world of Whisky and starts by outlining what whisky is and how it is produced. Think of this as the standard tour of any Scottish distillery script really and while repetitive is completely necessary reading before diving into the histories of distilleries and their brands.
The book itself though is full of interesting points about the distilleries it mentions. Continues from regions of Scotland to American Bourbon and Blended whisky brands. I can see me using the book as a quick reference guide to increase the content in my future articles. I do have more comprehensive textbooks but there is value in a succinct pocket reference manual to get things done quickly for sure.
