Customer Reviews:
 Informative January 7, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
We had an earlier edition of this great guide. Fun for tasting parties esp. when everyone brings a different bottle to try.
 Very Informative November 6, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
The book was very informative and interesting. Descriptions of the whiskies I have tried seem spot on. I would definitely recommend this book.
 the ALMOST complete guide to single malt scotch March 1, 2006
26 out of 35 found this review helpful
Indeed this is the definitive guide to single malt scotch I was highly disappointed; so much that I actually returned the guide for a refund. For any owner of the guide, please refer to page 144 where the Bowmore selection is located. You'll notice that Bowmore "Darkest", 15-, and 17-year old scotches are missing from the book as well as the prized Bowmore Islay's fromt eh 1050's and 1960's.
Upon investigation I contacted the Bowmore distiller's themselves (Running Press never did return my correspondence) and discovered that the publisher had mistakenly missed 5 pages of the book and they just happened to be the Bowmore section. No fault of the author Michael Jackson.
I do own the 4th Edition and will now have to be patient for the 6th Edition before I will be able to sample my collection fully while making and comparing notes with the guide.
Scotch Book Review September 26, 2005
3 out of 11 found this review helpful
This is an interesting book but I wish there was more notes on the tasting of the various Scotch's, another helpful addition would be a suggested price of the Whiskey's.
Still The Best June 27, 2005
16 out of 17 found this review helpful
Consider this a devil's advocate of a review. I would not be without this book; it is still the best guide to single malt whisky available. However, with the fifth edition, it has become apparent that the burgeoning world of whisky has surpassed the ability of Jackson, or any writer, to keep up. It's well known among afficionados that a number of very popular single malts have changed subtly over the past five or ten years, and Jackson's notes on them have not been updated. It would be nice if he would at least note the date each tasting was made. There are also one or two questionable editorial choices made. No fewer than twenty-seven pages are devoted to Macallan (which is generally not at all peaty, by the way!), including notes on many rare vintages that the average user of this book will never see, much less taste. Meanwhile, the venerable Bowmore distillery is given the short shrift of three pages, and half of its standard bottlings are not listed at all.
Despite my quibbles, I would still recommend this as the one book on single malts to have, if you could only have one. But if there's one thing I've learned in several years of whisky appreciation, it's that opinion is subjective, and the more opinions you can read, the better a picture you will have. Get this one first, for sure, and then get Jim Murray's Whisky Bible (available at amazon.co.uk, if not here). At that point you will either be sated, or off and running. The saying "The more you know, the more you know what you don't know" is nowhere more true than in the world of whisky.
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