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

If you're the type of whisky drinker who hasn't ventured outside of a handful of malts or blends, or are just starting to discover whisky, this book is a great resource for discovering new and exciting expressions. First, I must commend Mr. Buxton for placing whiskies on his list which he confesses to not enjoying, but realizes others might find excellent - some of the peatier Islay scotches for example. I bought this book knowing it was a subjective list, and did so gladly since the book doesn't try to focus only on single malts or a specific whisky making region - like Mr. Jackson's treatise, a "Complete Guide To Single Malt Scotch." And in the process of reading through the 101 whiskies presented in the book I've discovered a handful of whiskies from distillers I've never thought of buying (i.e. Buffalo Trace) and in a couple of instances I've expanded on the list by filling the gaps in the ranges Mr. Buxton recommends. One such example is The Macallan, which places three spots on the list with their 10, 18 and 30 year old expressions. After buying a bottle of The Macallan 10 year, and trying their 18, I decided to purchase a bottle of 15 year Fine Oak, which isn't on the list. The Macallan profile was so good in the two I tasted from the list that it convinced me to try the 15 year and see what I might have been missing between the 10 and 18 year expressions; I'm glad I did! The list isn't presented in any hierarchal structure, but rather alphabetically, which makes finding whiskies easy and the book enjoyable to read. The only complaint I have is with Mr. Buxton's color coded price guide, which can often be hard to decipher requiring a trip back to the front of the book to glance at the legend and as one color blind friend mentioned is near useless for him. Other than that small quibble, this is an excellent book and one I highly recommend.

I bought this little volume for myself, while buying a gift book on the same subject for a friend. To tell the truth, I expected at best to occasionally read an entry or two. Usually books like this are very dry and matter-of-fact only. Ian Buxton, however, is not just an expert on the subject of Whisky. He's a very entertaining writer. The book is full of anecdotes and the kind of esoteric facts that those who enjoy their daily dram (or two) will really enjoy. I've laughed out loud, chuckled, been amazed and thoroughly entertained. All that said, the entries give a great picture of what to expect when trying one of the 101 selections.

Only drawback is the author writes from the UK point of view but nevertheless there is much valuable information to gained from this little book. The author not only has a vast knowledge of malts but also knows the whisky industry from the inside and he is blessed with a sense of humor in the process.Knowledge coupled with fun reading is the delightful result.

I got this book because I recently became interested in whiskeys and single malts in particular. There are so many choices it is nice to have some good advice which steers you to excellent examples of various styles. The author considers price so most of his recommendations are attainable by most people. The book was not available in print so I purchased the Kindle version. I was pleasantly surprised that Internet links were included with each whiskey so you can go directly to the distiller's website from inside the e-book! Very cool.

I got this as a gift for my husband because he loves trying new whiskies. And let me just say, he STILL thanks me for it a year later. The book is broken up into 101 whiskies that the novice may never have heard of, but aren't necessarily too difficult to come by. Over the past year, we've brought it with us when going on a quick liqour run and check off the ones we've tried. Plus it tells you a bit about the whiskey, where it originates from and other fun facts. It's not for the person who loves the mixed drinks, just the person who likes to nurse and enjoy a nice glass of whiskey. Great for the whiskey beginner :)

This is my first book on Whisky/Whiskey and may I just say my mouth is watering at the descriptions. Perfectly laid out, with a pic of each bottle, price andcompany name. Then the authors delves deep into the location, history, taste, colour, nose etc. I drink alot of whisky, not always the top brands, I only sample them when going through customs which happens a couple of times a year. But this book is a must for anyone wanting to gain or increase their knowledge of Whisky. I for one have marked 10 bottles already that I'm going to try asap. I bought the Kindle version and although the pics are in B and W they are still detailed. Not as good as the book version but good. Thanks to all the other posts, you helped convince me. To your health guys Slangevar!!!

It isn't really a whiskey book. It is mostly a scotch book. There are many other styles of whiskey that are poorly covered such as Bourbon. If you are hoping that more than a handful of bourbons are covered then this book is not for you.

This really is a nice book. Well put together. Glossy pages. Easy to read and very informative. The gift recipient I gave this to (male) has tried a lot of specialty brands and was happy to learn about others he was unaware of. He was very happy with this item. I would recommend it to others.

When I got this book, I was a little disappointed. It's small, about the size of a paperback, and the entries are alphabetical with no ratings. Then I read the introduction and a few of the entries and changed my mind. Ratings, as the author points out, are too subjective, and in a subject like whisky where an individual's tastes vary so much, entirely meaningless. The alphabetical order makes sense then, because there is no "best". Instead, each entry has a brief description of the whisky, the distillery, some author's notes (such as how good the food at the distillery's café is!), and some comments about the whisky smell and taste. The end of the book has a one-page guide to actually tasting and enjoying whisky. I ended up paging through this book to compare the notes Buxton has with some of my own observations. I usually have a dozen or so whiskeys on the shelf (not all opened at the same time) so it was nice to read his comments about a whisky before I opened and tasted: and that set the benchmark of my tastes against his. There's a few reviews I don't agree with, but the vast majority I find I agree completely. Now, I end up having a glance at a new whisky I haven't tried before I go buy a new bottle, and that has broadened both my knowledge and enjoyment of whiskey. Not bad for a reasonably priced book! Recommended!

O livro é muito simples de usar e eficiente para o que se propõe: estabelecer um quadro de referências pessoais, altamente abalizadas pela qualidade dos seus experientes e renomados degustadores, que sirva de apoio na exploração de horizontes pelos amantes do malt e do whisky em suas várias formas. Em vários aspectos o trabalho adota o conceito de design/projeto o que se pode ver clara e lindamente na forma final do livro de grande rendimento estético e motivacional... Altamente recomendado!

Der Autor stellt 101 Whiskies (aus aller Welt) vor, die er selber gerne trinkt; jedem Whisky ist eine Seite mit Bild der Flasche und eine Seite Beschreibung gewidmet. Auch ist jeder Whisky in eine Preisklasse eingeteilt; die Preise sind in Deutschland zwar etwas anders als in UK (manchmal teurer, oft billiger, aber dafür kann der Autor ja nichts), man gewinnt aber trotzdem sofort einen Eindruck, ob man sich die Flasche nun auch leisten kann oder will. Die Beschreibung ist nicht immer gleich aufgebaut; sie enthält mal etwas über Herstellung des speziellen Whisky, mal über die Geschichte der Destillerie, die Personen dahinter... Bei jedem Whisky ist stichpunkartig der Charakter aufgeführt, wie Farbe, Geschmack, Geruch - hilfreich bei der Entscheidung, welchen Whisky man zuerst kaufen soll... ...denn mir zumindest ging es so, dass ich am liebsten jeden Einzelnen sofort probiert hätte. Ich habe durch das Buch interessante Sorten kennen gelernt, auf die ich sonst wahrscheinlich nicht gekommen wäre. Das Buch ist in Englisch, aber leicht verständlich geschrieben.

Honestly I believe that the book is written to keep the available whiskies...I some how didn't like it .... ...

First published in September of 2010, whisky connoisseur and enthusiast Ian Buxton's book `101 Whiskies to Try Before You Die' is a compact book (12cm x 18.5cm) offering advice, guidance and tips on a range of important and particularly tasty whiskies that the author (who is very much in the know) has compiled. The book is not aimed at the whisky collector or those with vast wads of cash rolling around their home. Instead this is a book for everyday folk who simply enjoy a good whisky. The range of whiskies included in the book span across the globe; from Scotland to America, Ireland, Japan, Canada and even Sweden amongst other places. The whiskies are listed in alphabetical order, each with two pages allocated to each whisky. On the first page you have a large colour photograph of the whisky, together with the name of the producer, the location of the distillery (not applicable if it's a blend), whether or not there is a visitor centre, the general availability (e.g. specialists, supermarkets, duty free etc) and a rough guide to the price. The pricing guide is broken into five categories. These are: (1) Under £25, (2) £25-40, (3) £40-69, (4) £70-£150, (5) Over £150. In his introduction, Buxton admits that absolutely no whiskies over the £1,000 barrier even had a look in during the compilation of the book (thankfully!). Around half of the whiskies included are under £40, with an overall average price (after removing the three most expensive additions from the collection) of around £56 per bottle. Not bad! Furthermore, if you're feeling a little flush all of a sudden, Buxton assures us that you should be able to pick up a bottle of each of the whiskies in his list of 101 for a total of around £7,100 (best keep that little nugget of information from the wife). This is certainly not the definitive list of whiskies. But rather it is a list of 101 whiskies to hopefully broaden fellow whisky lovers and enthusiasts experience of this beautiful and uniquely varied spirit. There's a surprising number of blends included in the list (well I was somewhat surprised anyway) - with 21 of the whiskies being blends. On the second page of each entry, Buxton gives the reader a brief description of the whisky and its producer, with a little background information on its history etc. Then he gives some very readable tasting notes that don't fall into the trap of being too meandering and obscure (as is so often the case with whisky tasting notes). Indeed, Buxton gives very honest, understandable, identifiable and most importantly unpretentious points on the whiskies taste, flavour and depth. No nonsense whatsoever! Whisky is after all a subjective drink. What is one person's Holy Grail is another's dishwater (admittedly not usually on quite such an exaggerated scale). Therefore, Buxton has purposefully avoided using any scoring or ranking of the whiskies detailed in the book. Instead, he details each ones merits, their own uniqueness and where they fit in (or not) with the world of whisky. This truly is an invaluable and thoroughly interesting book. But be warned, it does entice you to delve a little deeper, and explore a little further into the world of this fine drink (for better or for worse)! The book runs for a total of 224 pages, which includes a five page (explanatory) introduction by Ian Buxton, a basic and down-to-earth one page `How to Taste Whisky and Use This Book', and a final page on `Where to Buy'. Finally, the book itself is a high quality hardback, with full colour glossy pages throughout.