Skotsk Whisky - uden farve, uden filter

af Peter Kjær og Lars Gregersen

En ny whiskybog. På Dansk. Skrevet af Danskere

(You can find the english review HERE)

Det er ikke så tit man ser whiskybøger på dansk. De fleste whiskybøger er skrevet på andre sprog, og de oversættes typisk ikke til dansk. Her har to danskere, der begge arbejder med whisky til daglig, kastet sig ud i at skrive en bog om skotsk whisky. Forfatterne er Peter Kjær (Krut's Karport, en whiskybar i København) og Lars Gregersen (LAGO, vin- og spiritusimportør)

Bogens forfattere

Hvis man gerne vil gøre sig klog på de forskellige destillerier i Skotland er man nødt til at gøre det hårde, men fornøjelige, arbejde at smage sig igennem de ca. 110 destillerier der hver især findes i et hav af aftapninger. Men hvis man vil tilegne sig en generel baggrundsviden er en god whiskybog et godt sted at starte. Skotsk Whisky er et rigtigt godt sted at starte. Her er god baggrundsviden. Bogen er velskrevet og letforståelig, men samtidig fyldt med masser af fakta og specialviden. Dette gør at bogen er god at læse både for begynderen og for den meget erfarne whiskyentuiast.

Bogens kerne er 5 kapitler om Skotsk whiskys historie, Beskrivelse af hvordan både malt og grain whisky fremstilles, Skotsk whiskys geografi og om det overhovedet giver mening af snakke om en sådan, En branche beskrivelse, samt gode råd til hvordan man egentligt kan smag på en whisky.

Spændende kapitler, hvor forfatterne kommer på den rigtige side af meget af den alt for ofte forekommende marketingdrevne ”litteratur” som kan læses eller høres når man bevæger sig rundt i whiskyverdenenes afkroge.

Kapitlerne er krydret med en række interessante interviews af både danske og skotske branchefolk, forfatttere og en enkelt kendt dansk whiskysamler. Det er ganske enkelt fremragende læsning. Man har formået at få langt de fleste der interviewes til ikke at gå i marketingmode, men derimod spændende at fortælle om hvordan der arbejdes i whiskybranchen og og også dele nogen af deres personlige holdninger til en række emner.

Skotsk Whisky bevæger sig ofte grundigt ind på områder som andre whiskybøger let hopper henover. I kapitlet om branchen er der f. eks. en god gennemgang af hvad uafhængige aftappere er, samt en meget grundig beskrivelse af hvad størrelse SWA (Scotch Whisky Association) egentlig er.

SWA har været udsat for en del kritik de senere år. Ikke noget forfatterne direkte kommer ind på, men i interviewene nævner branchefolkene perifært nogle af de ting de gerne så anderledes.

Man har valgt ikke at skrive om markedet for skotske whiskyer i Danmark. Det skyldes nok at forfatterne selv er en del af markedet som henholdsvis importør og indehaver af en whiskybar. Interviewene bærer heller ikke præg af at man har valgt folk hvis produkter man selv forhandler til dagligt, hvilket er med til at give bogen integritet.

Mit eneste kritikpunkt i bogen er at man konsekvent burde holde sig til den danske stavemåde ”whisky” og ikke skrive ”whiskey” såsnart man snakker om bourbon. Men jeg ved at det helt sikkert vil irritere en del hvis man havde valgt at gøre det, men folk lærer det nok en dag :-)

Alt i alt er bogen et must for enhver dansk whiskyentusiast, og klart den bedste whiskybog jeg har set fra danske forfattere. Nogle vil måske mene at konkurrencen her ikke just er særlig stor, men denne bog er faktisk så god, at det er en skam at folk der ikke kan dansk, ikke umiddelbart kan læse den.

I katagorien af whiskybøger der behandler skotsk whisky generelt er det rart at se en bog der vægter emnerne lidt anderledes, hvilket gør bogen til et godt supplement på hylden selvom den er godt fyldt op med whiskybøger i forvejen.

Bogen forventes i handel medio oktober

English review of "Skotsk Whisky -uden farve, uden filter.

by Peter Kjær and Lars Gregersen

(Læs den danske anmeldelse HER)

A new whisky book. In Danish. Written by Danes.

The title translates to ”Scotch Whisky -no colour, no filter” and it it probably gives better sense in danish as ”no colour” also can be read as ”no bias”

It is not often one sees whisky books in danish. Most whisky books written in other languages ​​are typically not translated into danish. Here, two danes, who both work with whisky, has taken this step into writing a book about Scotch. The authors are Peter Kjær (Krut's Karport, a whiskybar in Copenhagen) and Lars Gregersen (LAGO, a wine and spirits import company)

The authors

If you want to learn the differences between the various distilleries in Scotland, you have to do the hard, but enjoyable job, of tasting your way through the approximately 110 distilleries, each of which is available in a huge range of bottlings. But if you want to acquire a good general background knowledge, a good whisky book is a great place to start. ”Skotsk Whisky” is such a book. The book offers good background knowledge and it is well written and easy to understand, but at the same time filled with lots of facts and special knowledge. This makes the book a good reading both for the beginner and for the very experienced whiskyentuiast.

The book's core is 5 chapters on Scotch whisky's history, Description of how both malt and grain whisky is produced, Scotch whiskys´ geography and whether it makes sense talking about such, a trade description, and finally an advice on how to actually taste and enjoy a whisky.

Exciting chapters in which the authors appear on the right side of the often seen marketing driven "literature" which can be read or heard when you move around in the whiske world.

The chapters are scattered with a number of interesting interviews with both danish and scottish whisky professionals, that is, other authors, brand ambassadors, blenders, managers etc. including a well known danish Glenfiddich collector. It is simply excellent reading. The authors manages to get the majority of the interviewed persons out of marketing mode, and into exciting talks about how to work in the industry, and also share some of their personal views on a variety of topics.

”Skotsk Whisky” do cover areas that other whisky books usually skips or cover very ligthly. In the chapter about the industry, there is a good description of what independent bottlers is, and a very thorough description of what SWA (Scotch Whisky Association) actually is.

SWA has been subjected to some criticism in recent years. The authors don't cover this directly, but it is mentioned peripherally in some of the proffesionals interviews, and a few things they would like to see changed is mentioned.

The authors have chosen not to write about the scene of Scotch whisky in Denmark. This is probably because the authors themselves are part of this, respectively importer and owner of a whisky bar. The people chosen for interviews are all from companies the authors doesn't represent here in Denmark, which adds integrity to the book.

My only criticism of the book is that it isn't consistent on how to spell ”whisky” but changes the spelling to ”whiskey” as soon as the whisky concerned is bourbon. But I know that it would certainly irritate others if they had chosen to do this... but people will learn some day :-)

Overall, the book is a must for any danish whisky enthusiast, and clearly the best a whiskybook I've seen from danish writers. Some may think that the competition here is not exactly very big, but this book is so good that it's a shame that people who do not speak danish is not immediately able to read it.

In the category of whiskey books dealing with Scotch whisky in general, it is nice to see a book that approaches the topics a little different, which makes the book a good supplement on the shelf even if it's well stocked with other whisky books.

The book is expected for sale mid-October

My 7 favourite whisky books

1. Malt Whisky Yearbook
Edited by Ingvard Ronde
A little encyclopedia about malt whisky distilleries around the world, with main focus on Scotland and Japan. The book is published every autumn and there is plenty of new content to justify a new purchase every year. Every distillery has its own page with info and there are secions with statistics and maps. This is probably the essential book for malt whisky entusiasts.

2. Peat, Smoke and Spirit
Andrew Jefford
A large book covering Islay and her distilleries, the book has a few years on its back, so a new distillery like Kilchoman isn't covered. You will get a very good insigth into the whisky producing enviroment on Islay, islay it self and the 7 distilleries making whisky at the turn of the millenium

3. Appreciating Whisky
Phillip Hills
This book covers tasting whisky. Mainly our senses and what causes the tastes. There's a little bit of chemistry involved but nothing that will scare anyone. It describes how whisky tastes on a general level, and why it does so. It is written by the founder of SMWS

4. The Bluffers Guide to Whisky
David Milsted
This is the booked I learned the most from :-). It shows how to act and conduct yourself in the world of whisky to appear as the guy in the know, opposed to everyone else. Funny and wellwritten. The book has a few years on its back, but most of this stuff is timeless. If you don't want to become a pretender you always learn to easy spot one :-)

5. Canadian Whisky, the portable expert
Davin de Kergommeaux
This is THE book about Canadian Whisky, taking you throught all the destilleries and the history of distilling whisky in Canada. Canadian whisky has it's distinct style and production setup, and is not made the same way as whisky is made in USA, Ireland and Scotland

6. Bourbon, Straight
Charles K. Cowdery
A book about Bourbon. I reviewed the book HERE

7. The Best Bourbon You'll Never Taste
Charles K. Cowdery
A book about the bourbon A.H. Hirsch, made in Pennsylvainia in 1974. I reviewed it HERE

My next list is going to be "Great offers in travel retail for the whiskyentusiast"

Can a whiskybook be a page-turner ?

And can an ebook be a page-turner ?

I wouldn't have thought so

Recently the american bourbon expert Chuck Cowdery, released a book about one single bottling, called The best bourbon you never taste, with the subtitle : 

The true story of A.H. Hirsch Reserve Straight Bourbon. Distilled in the Spring of 1974

This is not a "real" printed book as it's only available on digital media. This was my first experience with a digital book, but I managed to get on amazon and get the book for my laptop, and with a little trouble I also managed to make it appear on my mobile phone. 

The book is the story about this particular one bottling, but also about the the distillery which made the whiskey inside the bottle, Michter's in Pennsylvania (which actually just was the distillerys final name)

It's also a great insight into American Whiskey History. Or maybe more correctly, a glimpse into American Whiskey History.

I found the book very exciting to read. The chapters are set out very intelligent, as a reader I had this "What's going to happen"-feeling, or as this is whiskey-history, "what did happen?"-feeling

What did happen at Michter's ?. What Whiskey did they produce ?. Why did Michter's close in 1990 ? Why was a batch of 16yo 1974 vintage bourbon from this distillery bottled in 2003 ?

I can only recommend this book. It's for hardcore whiskyfans, but as you read this, I am sure you are :-)

It's only available digital. You can read Chuck Cowdery's own presentation on his blog HERE and it will also tell you how to get a copy. I had to download a free app on my phone to read it, but it's ready readable on my laptop. I paid 11.49$ 

PS I actual always thought reading an ebook would be annoying. It wasn't. And it's a very convenient way to get cheap access to books that would otherwise be hard, expensive or impossible to get hold of.

Bourbon, Straight by Charles K. Cowdery

Book review

One day, when I was doing my daily tour of whisk(e)ywebpages, there were a guest poster on WDJK, Chuck Cowdery was explaining bourbon regulations 101

I thought it was a fine article, followed up by a string of questions which were answered !

http://www.whatdoesjohnknow.com/2010/06/11/guest-blog-chuck-cowdery-on-those-confusing-bourbon-regulations/

This made me purchase the book!. I found the book quite messy in the way the chapters were organised. I think this origins from the fact that I am (very) used to read books about scottish distilleries. Distilleries.
 That's is the keyword. When dealing with scottish malt whisky the focus is on distilleries. Here theres a lot less focus on distilleries, but more focus on people, history and brands
This book doesn't contain any photos at all. Not a lot of effort has (deliberately?) been put on appearance. This is the kind of book that has been published by a small publishing comnpany for a small cost. But what you don't get in appearance, you get in content. Chuck Cowdery knows what he writes about, and he guides you around the people, the history, the brands, the distilleries, reviews bottles and guide you about which whiskeys to taste to get around the main examples of different bourbon types (you can't say bourbon without saying ryes, something you realise after reading this book)

This is from 2004 and might allready be about to be outdated. This is for a reason I don't want to complain about..The entusiast market has caught the attention of the american whiskey markets and the variety of bottlings has grown a lot the last few years.

But you get around all the "classic" brands and a bottling like George T Stagg is in the book as the first of these were out in 2002

Verdict : Highly recommended and a must have for anyone who wants to have a book collection to go along with their whisk(e)y collection

Buy the book here : http://cowdery.home.netcom.com/bourst.html