Raw Spirit


Book Description

As a native of Scotland, bestselling author Iain Banks has decided to undertake a tour of the distilleries of his homeland in a bid to uncover the unique spirit of the single malt. Visiting some of the world's most famous distilleries and also some of its smallest and most obscure ones, Banks embarks on a journey of discovery which educates him about the places, people and products surrounding the centuries-old tradition of whisky production. Using various modes of transport - ferries to the islands, cars across the highlands, even bicycles between bus-stops - Banks' tour of Scotland combines history, literature and landscape in an entertaining and informative account of an exploration in which the arrival is by no means the most important part of the journey.




Whiskey Distilled


Book Description

Offers a basic primer on whiskey and whiskey drinking, looking at the characteristics of different types of whiskey, the distillation process, and appreciation tips.




Malt Whisky Yearbook 2022


Book Description

Whisky enthusiasts all over the world look forward to the Malt Whisky Yearbook every autumn. This 17th edition is again fully revised and packed with new and up-to-date information on more than 400 whisky distilleries from all over the world. Distinguished whisky experts contribute with new features written exclusively for this new edition along with details of hundreds of whisky shops, whisky sites and new bottlings. The Independent Bottlers chapter gives you all the details about the world ́s most successful blenders and bottlers complete with tasting notes. A comprehensive summary of the whisky year that was and all the latest statistics is also included. Malt Whisky Yearbook 2022 includes more than 250 tasting notes describing the flavour of single malts from all working distilleries in Scotland and Japan. Finally, with more than 500 colour photographs, Malt Whisky Yearbook 2022 is as much an essential reference guide as a book to read for pleasure.




101 Whiskies to Try Before You Die (Revised & Updated)


Book Description

Revised and updated in 2013, 101 Whiskies to Try Before You Die is a whisky guide with a difference. It is not an awards list. It is not a list of the 101 'best' whiskies in the world in the opinion of a self-appointed whisky guru. It is simply a guide to the 101 whiskies that enthusiasts must seek out and try in order to complete their whisky education. Avoiding the deliberately obscure, the ridiculously limited and the absurdly expensive, whisky expert Ian Buxton recommends an eclectic selection of old favourites, stellar newcomers and mystifyingly unknown drams that simply have to be drunk. The book decodes the marketing hype and gets straight to the point; whether from India, America, Sweden, Ireland, Japan or the hills, glens and islands of Scotland, here are the 101 whiskies that you really want. Try them before you die - Slainte!




The Art of Whisky


Book Description

This amazing celebration of single malt Scotch takes a unique photographic perspective that highlights the nature of the spirits in startlingly beautiful ways. The Art of Whisky is a breathtaking and unusual gift book for whisky connoisseurs, celebrating the spirit from an unexpectedly beautiful angle. By chance, award-winning photographer Ernie Button noticed the intricate patterns formed in the residue at the bottoms of (almost) empty whisky glasses—each as different as a snowflake—and began photographing them with inventive lighting techniques. The resulting images are exquisitely gorgeous, evoking earthly landscapes and extraterrestrial visions. This book collects nearly 100 of those photos—each one more amazing than the last—and features delightful touches such as tasting notes, information on the science of what we're seeing, and writing about single malt Scotch by Scotland's leading whisky expert Charles MacLean, commissioned exclusively for this book. UNUSUAL GIFT FOR THE WHISKY CONNOISSEUR: Surprise the spirit-lover in your life with this gorgeous photography book that highlights the uniqueness of whisky from an unexpected and beautiful angle. ART, SCIENCE, AND WHISKY—A DELICIOUS COMBINATION: The captivating photographs begin with the qualities that make single malt scotch so exquisite, get an assist from the natural wonder of fluid dynamics, and a finish of artful production that makes each unique and surprising. CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Princeton University Professor Howard A. Stone, who has studied and published on the science behind Button's Vanishing Spirits photographs, contributes a text on the science of what we see. Renowned whisky expert and author Charles MacLean writes here on the unique qualities of single malt scotch and contributes notes about the special aspects of Scotland's whisky-producing regions. Perfect for:The perfect gift for whisky enthusiasts and connoisseurs, as well as fans of unusual, captivating photography




Cocktail Codex


Book Description

From the authors of the bestselling and genre-defining cocktail book Death & Co, Cocktail Codex is a comprehensive primer on the craft of mixing drinks that employs the authors’ unique “root cocktails” approach to give drink-makers of every level the tools to understand, execute, and improvise both classic and original cocktails. JAMES BEARD AWARD WINNER • WINNER OF THE TALES OF THE COCKTAIL SPIRITED AWARD® FOR BEST NEW COCKTAIL OR BARTENDING BOOK • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR BY CHICAGO TRIBUNE “There are only six cocktails.” So say Alex Day, Nick Fauchald, and David Kaplan, the visionaries behind the seminal craft cocktail bar Death & Co. In Cocktail Codex, these experts reveal for the first time their surprisingly simple approach to mastering cocktails: the “root recipes,” six easily identifiable (and memorizable!) templates that encompass all cocktails: the old-fashioned, martini, daiquiri, sidecar, whisky highball, and flip. Once you understand the hows and whys of each “family,” you'll understand why some cocktails work and others don't, when to shake and when to stir, what you can omit and what you can substitute when you're missing ingredients, why you like the drinks you do, and what sorts of drinks you should turn to—or invent—if you want to try something new. Praise for Cocktail Codex “Learn the template, and any cocktail you can think of is within reach.”—Food & Wine “Too bad all college textbooks weren’t this much fun.”—Garden & Gun “A must for amateur and pro mixologists alike.”—Chicago Tribune “If Dora the Explorer turned twenty-one, split herself into three people, and decided to write the Magna Carta of booze books, this would be the result. And, unlike every other book you’ll read this year, Cocktail Codex is packed with actual knowledge you can use in the real world. Please, please, can Cinema Codex be next?”—Steven Soderbergh, filmmaker




Proof


Book Description

Presents a look at the science of alcohol production and consumption, from the principles behind the fermentation, distillation, and aging of alcoholic beverages, to the psychology and neurobiology of what happens after it is consumed.




The Whisky Distilleries of the United Kingdom


Book Description

In 1885, Alfred Barnard was charged with the task of visiting and reporting on every active Whisky distillery throughout Scotland, Ireland and England. It took him two exhaustive years. In this book you will see the distilleries through his eyes. His detailed descriptions of every step in the distilling process is work that remains unparalleled to this day. But that's only part of the story. As he and his companions traveled the countryside, he fell in love with Scotland and all its grandeur as well as the lush landscapes of Ireland. As you read through this book - presented as an ebook for the very first time - you'll fall in love, as well. Part technical document and part travelogue, you're almost getting two books in one intertwined volume. Granted, this text lacks the visual beauty and splendor of the fine print editions, but the words stand up on their own and will transport you to a Victorian adventure that was, is and always will be one of a kind. This edition does not contain the additional writings of Alfred Barnard that are found in recent print editions, just the text of his original book. There are two additional chapters from his writings giving added detail for Glenglassaugh and Glenfarclas.




Drinking


Book Description

Fifteen million Americans a year are plagued with alcoholism. Five million of them are women. Many of them, like Caroline Knapp, started in their early teens and began to use alcohol as "liquid armor," a way to protect themselves against the difficult realities of life. In this extraordinarily candid and revealing memoir, Knapp offers important insights not only about alcoholism, but about life itself and how we learn to cope with it. It was love at first sight. The beads of moisture on a chilled bottle. The way the glasses clinked and the conversation flowed. Then it became obsession. The way she hid her bottles behind her lover's refrigerator. The way she slipped from the dinner table to the bathroom, from work to the bar. And then, like so many love stories, it fell apart. Drinking is Caroline Kapp's harrowing chronicle of her twenty-year love affair with alcohol. Caroline had her first drink at fourteen. She drank through her yeras at an Ivy League college, and through an award-winning career as an editor and columnist. Publicly she was a dutiful daughter, a sophisticated professional. Privately she was drinking herself into oblivion. This startlingly honest memoir lays bare the secrecy, family myths, and destructive relationships that go hand in hand with drinking. And it is, above all, a love story for our times—full of passion and heartbreak, betrayal and desire—a triumph over the pain and deception that mark an alcoholic life. Praise for Drinking “Quietly moving . . . Caroline Knapp dazzles us with her heady description of alcohol's allure and its devastating hold.”—Los Angeles Times Book Review “Filled with hard-won wisdom . . . [a] perceptive and revealing book.”—San Francisco Chronicle “Eloquent . . . a remarkable exercise in self-discovery.”—The New York Times “Drinking not only describes triumph; it is one.”—Newsweek




Death & Co Welcome Home


Book Description

JAMES BEARD AWARD NOMINEE • The ultimate guide to choosing ingredients, developing your palate, mixing drinks, and leveling up your home cocktail game—with more than 600 recipes—from the bestselling team behind Death & Co: Modern Classic Cocktails and James Beard Book of the Year Cocktail Codex: Fundamentals, Formulas, Evolutions “The mad geniuses behind Death & Co have elevated cocktail creation to punk-rock artistry. This dazzling book brings their brilliance home.”—Aisha Tyler IACP AWARD FINALIST • ONE OF THE BEST COCKTAIL BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Minneapolist Star Tribune, Slate Imagine you’re a rookie bartender and this is your handbook. Your training begins with a boot camp of sorts, where you follow the same path a Death & Co bartender would to discover your own palate and preferences, learn how to select ingredients, understand what makes a great cocktail work, and mix drinks like an old pro. Then it’s time to invite your friends over to show off the batched and ready-to-pour mixtures you stored in the freezer so you could enjoy your guests instead of making drinks all night. More than 600 recipes anchor the book, including classics, low-ABV and nonalcoholic cocktails, and hundreds of signature creations developed by the Death & Co teams in New York, Los Angeles, and Denver. With hundreds of evocative photographs and illustrations, this comprehensive, visually arresting manual is destined to break new ground in home bars across the world—and make your next get-together the invite of the year.