“Dominic has the rare ability to make learning about whisky a hugely enjoyable experience, even when dealing with some of the more juicy technical issues. He makes the subject of whisky just what it should be — a total pleasure.” dr. bill lumsden Head of D i st i l l i n g a n d W h i sk y C reat i o n , Gl e n m o ra n g i e
U.S. $40.00 | Can. $50.00
THE WORLD’S
Best Whiskies 750 ESSENTIAL DRAMS FROM TENNESSEE TO TOKYO
whether a bourbon or a scotch drinker, everyone has a favorite whisky: classics such as Bushmills from Ireland or Maker’s Mark from the United States; or perhaps new brands from distilleries such as California’s St. George or Oregon’s Rogue. In The World’s
Dominic Roskrow is a leading whisky writer who has
Best Whiskies, Dominic Roskrow, editor of Whiskeria
been a commentator on the drinks industry for more
magazine and longtime whisky enthusiast, delves
than twenty years. He was editor of Whisky Magazine for
into the stories behind 750 of the best whiskies from
four years before setting up his own spirits writing
around the globe. Distilleries from emerging whisky
business in 2006. Roskrow now edits Whiskeria,
nations such as Belgium, Switzerland, and Taiwan are
a consumer whisky magazine, and writes
profiled alongside long-established whisky producers
regularly for Whisky Magazine, Malt Advocate,
from Scotland, Ireland, and the USA.
Harpers Wine & Spirit, and Decanter. He speaks
Unlike previous whisky books, The World’s Best Whiskies
regularly about whisky and conducts formal
is based on fresh interviews with each of the distillers
whisky tastings.
and includes anecdotes about the regions that produce the whiskies and some of the colorful characters who make them. Traditional tasting notes for 750 drams combined with these previously unknown stories make this the most comprehensive guide for both whisky lovers and neophytes.
Jacket photograph by Simon Murrell Printed in Singapore
The World’s Best Whiskies By Dominic Roskrow 300 full-color illustrations 288 pages, 8¼ x 105⁄8" Hardcover with jacket ISBN: 978-1-58479-886-6 U.S. $40.00 Can. $50.00
To place an order: Please call your sales representative or Hachette Book Group at 800.759.0190 or fax 800.286.9471 To inquire about publicity: Please call 212.519.1232 or fax 212.366.0809
115 West 18th Street New York, NY 10011 www.abramsbooks.com
Food & Wine Rights: North American Pub month: October
DOMINIC ROSKROW
THE WORLD’S BEST WHISKIES d o m i n i c ro s k row
Contents 7 10 12 14 18 20
INTRODUCTION Distilling History Ingredients: Barley, Yeast and Water Ingredients: Peat and Oak How Single Malt Is Made How Bourbon Is Made
22 24 26 28 30 34
WHISKY BASICS Key Whisky Questions Tasting Whisky Whisky Styles Whisky and Food Matching Whisky Cocktails and Liqueurs
38 A WORLD OF WHISKY 42 Making the Selection 44 The Face of Modern Whisky 46 48 49 52 58 64 70 76 82 88 94 100 106 112 118 128
SCOTLAND Introduction Single Malts Distillery Profile: Ardbeg Distillery Profile: Ardmore Distillery Profile: Balvenie Distillery Profile: Benromach Distillery Profile: Bowmore Distillery Profile: Glendronach Distillery Profile: Glenfarclas Distillery Profile: Glenlivet Distillery Profile: Glenrothes Distillery Profile: Highland Park Distillery Profile: Lagavulin Distillery Profile: Oban Distillery Profile: Strathisla
130 136 142 148
Blended Whiskies Distiller Profile: Sandy Hyslop (Ballantines) Distiller Profile: Bob Dalgarno (Macallan) Distiller Profile: Robert Hicks (Laphroaig)
150 Vatted/Blended Malts 154 Distiller Profile: David Stewart (William Grant & Sons) 156 Distiller Profile: John Glaser (Compass Box)
158 USA 160 Introduction 162 Bourbon 168 Distillery Profile: Jim Beam 172 Distillery Profile: Buffalo Trace 176 Distillery Profile: Four Roses 180 Distillery Profile: Heaven Hill 184 Distillery Profile: Maker’s Mark 188 Distillery Profile: Tom Moore 198 Distillery Profile: Van Winkle 192 Distillery Profile: Wild Turkey 194 Distillery Profile: Woodford Reserve 196 Rye whiskey 199 Corn whiskey 200 Tennessee whiskey 201 Wheat whiskey 202 Other American Whiskey 204 CANADA 210 Distillery Focus: Glen Breton 214 216 220 226
IRELAND Introduction Distillery Focus: Irish Distillers Distillery Focus: Cooley
228 JAPAN 230 Introduction 232 Distillery Focus: Suntory 238 Distillery Focus: Nikka 244 Distillery Focus: Ichiro 246 EUROPE 248 Introduction 250 Distillery Focus: Belgian Owl (Belgium) 256 Distillery Focus: St George (England) 262 Distillery Focus: Mackmyra (Sweden) 254 REST OF WORLD 266 Introduction 268 Distillery Focus: Lark (Australia) 272 Distillery Focus: Amrut (India) 276 Distillery Focus: Bakery Hill (Australia) 278 Whisky Events 280 Whisky Directory 282 Index of Distilleries and Whiskies 286 Acknowledgments
Ireland
Irish whiskey, it has been claimed, is the genuine article, with the better known Scottish version a rough and incomplete version. The roots of whiskey production are hard to pin down but there is no doubt that whiskey has been around in Ireland for many centuries. At key times, Ireland suffered partially self-inflicted wounds: it refused to export its whiskey to the English, who turned to Scotland instead; a strong temperance lobby struck a severe blow to many distilleries; and it is also said that the Irish honourably upheld US Prohibition while the Scots made inroads into the American market by supplying illegal speakeasies. The Irish were dealt a further blow by WWII, when American servicemen got a taste for Scotch while serving in Britain. By the 1960s many Irish distilleries had been forced to close, several more had amalgamated into one group called Irish Distillers, and the future of Irish whiskey looked in serious doubt. Irish whiskey is more expensive to make too, because it is tripledistilled, giving it a further disadvantage in the modern era of high energy prices. These days there is a renewed interest in the nation’s whiskeys. Driven by Jameson at the commercial end of the market and by esoteric and niche whiskeys at the specialist end, there is a growing interest in the traditional methods of Irish whiskey production and the use of pot still distilling. Pot still whiskey is unique to Ireland and is made from a ‘beer’ or wash, made up of malted barley and another grain— normally unmalted barley, but occasionally wheat. This mix produces an oilier, earthier style of spirit. Pot still whiskey is almost always triple distilled to produce a spirit that is smoother and rounder than Scotch. Ireland has only three major distilleries, Jameson, Bushmills and Locke’s plus one micro-distillery but produces more than 30 diferent whiskeys. Of the big distilleries, only Jameson’s is open to the public, on two of its sites. One in Dublin and one in Old Midleton, where the Jameson Experience takes in the carefully preserved original brew. ab o ve Bushmills is Ireland’s oldest whiskey distillery, located just a few miles away from the spectacular Giant’s Causeway. It is now owned by the drinks giant Diageo.
48
a wo r l d o f w h i s k y
• co
• • belfast
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Ireland is home to the world’s oldest licensed whiskey distillery at Bushmills, now preserved as a museum under the auspices of the influential Jameson brand.
derry
• gal way
dublin
wexford cork
•
•
•
CON N EM A R A – M I DLETON
Connemara Peated Single Malt Whiskey
Jameson Gold
40% abv www.connemarawhiskey.com
Connemara is one of several whiskeys made by Cooley Distillers on the East coast of Ireland, and is named after an old and long-closed distillery. It’s unusual in that it is made using barley dried over peat fires in the manner of a Scottish island style whisky, disproving the theory once and for all that Irish whiskey never uses peat. In fact once upon a time much of it was made this way—after all, the country rests on extensive peat bogs. This is a strange hybrid but definitely worth seeking out, combining a smoky taste with distinctly Irish green fruit notes.
Jameson 12-Year-Old
40% abv
40% abv www.jamesonwhiskey.com
Jameson Gold is made in small batches and because every whiskey cask matures slightly differently there will be some variation from batch to batch. One thing you can be sure of, though—the overall quality will always be of the highest order. The whiskey makers select a small number of the finest casks for each batch, and the end result is the sweetest and fruitiest Irish whiskey in the market. It’s all held together by an oiliness from the pot still whiskey at its core. Very more-ish too.
Jameson Rarest Reserve
46% abv
www.jamesonwhiskey.com
www.jamesonwhiskey.com
If Irish whiskey has come back from the brink, this is the expression that has saved it. Once there were scores of distilleries in Ireland. Now there are just three, including Bushmill’s in the north. Ironically if you want to visit a distillery in Ireland you’ll have to go to one of the silent museums that pepper the country. But Irish whiskey’s thriving at the moment, driven by this fruity, smooth and flavoursome expression. It’s a master-class in whiskey making, with top quality sherry and bourbon enriching the rounded and distinct pot still grain at its heart.
As the world of whisky has moved away from quantity towards quality Scotland has dominated the premium whisky market and Ireland and America have been desperately running to catch up. This whiskey, though, has all but created an Irish super premium category on its own. Containing some of the rarest whiskey in Ireland, some of it 30 and 40 years old, and bottled at a higher strength to give it depth and complexity, this is quite stunning, and further proof from the distillers that they can match any other whiskey nation on earth. The rich sherry and berry notes combined with the finest pot still grains are truly unforgettable.
Jameson 18-Year-Old
40% abv
www.jamesonwhiskey.com
The big brother of the 12 year old has more vanilla and candy notes and its flavor is enriched by the extra years in the cask, with a honey and oak emphasis adding to the intense apple and Sweet William pear notes of its younger sibling.
Le ft The Jameson Experience is a tour that takes you in and around the beautifully restored 18th-century distillery at Midleton.
Midleton Very Rare
40% abv www.jamesonwhiskey.com
Midleton is the name of the little town near Cork where Jameson is made. There are two distilleries on site: one is busy producing the bulk of Ireland’s whiskeys, while the other, the old distillery, is now a museum, echoing with the ghost of generations of workers and containing the world’s biggest mash tun and a lovingly preserved water mill. Midleton Very Rare is a rich and weighty Irish whiskey characterized by a tasty two step of oily pot still whiskey on the one hand and chewy malt on the other.
scotland
49
USA DISTI LLERY PROFI LE
MAKER’S MARK DISTILLERY 6200 Dutchmans Ln 3, Loretto, Louisville, ky 40205-3285 www.makersmark.com
As you travel from Louisville in Kentucky to Loretto you pass a number of houses that have statues of the Virgin Mary standing in upturned bath tubs. The story goes that a bath salesman visited these parts a few years back but couldn’t get the local folk interested in investing in new washing facilities. But he found out that this region of Kentucky is devoutly Catholic, so assuming the locals were more in to spiritual than personal cleansing he hit on the shrine idea, sold his entire stock of baths and retired a wealthy man. Loretto is home to both Maker’s Mark distillery as well as some of the world’s most expensive thoroughbred horse-breeding facilities. That’s no coincidence either: the whiskey and the horses are here for the same reason. Kentucky is rich in limestone that enriches the grass with vitamins, making it ideal for developing healthy and strong bones in the horses. And it hardens the water and makes it ideal for distilling top quality bourbon. One of Kentucky’s smallest and prettiest distilleries, Maker’s Mark is very much at home among the wealth and beauty of the region. It was launched some 65 years ago but distilling has been carried on at the site next to Hardin’s Creek for more than 200 years, making it America’s oldest working distillery. It was established on farmland deep in rural Kentucky, and when you arrive there you’re struck by how sedate and tranquil the neighborhood is. The distillery is a sedate and calming place, too, even when it is in full production. That’s partly because everything is done on such a small scale. While the debate rages as to what constitutes ‘small batch bourbon’ it remains a fact that at Maker’s they produce as much bourbon in a month as sister distillery Jim Beam does in a day. The whiskey-making process is more gentle than at other distilleries, too. The corn is crushed not by hammer as elsewhere but by roller, because Maker’s owners believe that the heat generated by hammering scolds the grain and makes it bitter. The grains are cooked for longer,
184
a wo r l d o f w h i s k y
too, and brought to their cooking temperature over a longer period of time, and a higher proportion of wheat and lower proportion of rye is used than for other bourbons, giving the whiskey a softer, sweeter and less spicy flavour. Maker’s only makes one expression of bourbon, and it’s about six years old. The distillery says that having presented this age as perfect for the whiskey, any expression of a different age would by implication be inferior. Once matured to the distillery manager’s satisfaction the barrels are dumped on site and filled in a small bottling hall. Then each bottle is dipped in to the red ‘wax’ to give it its trademark cap, labelled and boxed by hand.
Ab ove Bill Samuels, the quirky founder of Maker’s Mark, has played a key role in the successful renaissance of the bourbon category in the United States.
The family-run Maker’s Mark Distillery set amidst deep countryside in Loretto is one of Kentucky’s longest established sites of bourbon production.
Key Whiskey Maker’s Mark
45% abv
“Dominic has the rare ability to make learning about whisky a hugely enjoyable experience, even when dealing with some of the more juicy technical issues. He makes the subject of whisky just what it should be — a total pleasure.” dr. bill lumsden Head of D i st i l l i n g a n d W h i sk y C reat i o n , Gl e n m o ra n g i e
U.S. $40.00 | Can. $50.00
THE WORLD’S
Best Whiskies 750 ESSENTIAL DRAMS FROM TENNESSEE TO TOKYO
whether a bourbon or a scotch drinker, everyone has a favorite whisky: classics such as Bushmills from Ireland or Maker’s Mark from the United States; or perhaps new brands from distilleries such as California’s St. George or Oregon’s Rogue. In The World’s
Dominic Roskrow is a leading whisky writer who has
Best Whiskies, Dominic Roskrow, editor of Whiskeria
been a commentator on the drinks industry for more
magazine and longtime whisky enthusiast, delves
than twenty years. He was editor of Whisky Magazine for
into the stories behind 750 of the best whiskies from
four years before setting up his own spirits writing
around the globe. Distilleries from emerging whisky
business in 2006. Roskrow now edits Whiskeria,
nations such as Belgium, Switzerland, and Taiwan are
a consumer whisky magazine, and writes
profiled alongside long-established whisky producers
regularly for Whisky Magazine, Malt Advocate,
from Scotland, Ireland, and the USA.
Harpers Wine & Spirit, and Decanter. He speaks
Unlike previous whisky books, The World’s Best Whiskies
regularly about whisky and conducts formal
is based on fresh interviews with each of the distillers
whisky tastings.
and includes anecdotes about the regions that produce the whiskies and some of the colorful characters who make them. Traditional tasting notes for 750 drams combined with these previously unknown stories make this the most comprehensive guide for both whisky lovers and neophytes.
Jacket photograph by Simon Murrell Printed in Singapore
The World’s Best Whiskies By Dominic Roskrow 300 full-color illustrations 288 pages, 8¼ x 105⁄8" Hardcover with jacket ISBN: 978-1-58479-886-6 U.S. $40.00 Can. $50.00
To place an order: Please call your sales representative or Hachette Book Group at 800.759.0190 or fax 800.286.9471 To inquire about publicity: Please call 212.519.1232 or fax 212.366.0809
115 West 18th Street New York, NY 10011 www.abramsbooks.com
Food & Wine Rights: North American Pub month: October
DOMINIC ROSKROW