101 World Whiskies to Try Before You Die Hardcover – Illustrated, September 18, 2012

I'm not going to beat around the bush here, Ian Buxton's "101 World Whiskies To Try Before You Die" is utterly indispensable for both serious whisky enthusiast and the casual malt sipper alike. There is essential information on the explosion of new whiskies transforming the universe of malt that you will not find anywhere else - certainly not presented in such a cheerful, accessible, non-threatening fashion. Furthermore, in a subtle and not immediately obvious way that I will discuss later in this review it is an important whisky book - perhaps the most important in years. You need to own this book.101 World Whiskies is, initially it seems, very like the extremely well regarded tome Ian Buxton wrote a few years prior,  101 Whiskies to Try Before You Die , which did so very much to fan the flames of Scotch appreciation in its current renaissance of popularity. Ian Buxton is a distinguished writer of many books, articles, and columns in top whisky magazines such as Whisky Advocate. He's the kind of guy who knows absolutely everybody and is one of the folks who gets invited to taste and describe those $20,000 bottles that mortals like us never taste. As for the "101 Whiskies" books, these are both excellent works that, paradoxically, move me alternately to flights of delighted appreciation and spitting fits of wrath and rage as will become readily apparent. Both of these books are more collection of profiles and brief tasting notes than conventional 'whisky books'. By that, I mean that many common features of whisky books are absent. There are no ponderous chapters on whisky philosophy, production details and methodology, or history, and only a brief one paragraph on "how to drink" with no instructions on deciphering your own palate such as maps of the tongue. All this stuff is almost inexcusably omitted (or refreshingly so, depending on your perspective). Also missing are detailed history chapters that explain the roots of an industry, or even very detailed histories of various distilleries. You also will not find extensive and carefully written tasting notes. Buxton, indeed, sometimes omits tasting notes altogether; sometimes for the most important distilleries listed. An example is Highland Park, where Buxton not only fails to give us any tasting notes at all - he also cannot be pinned down to a recommended expression either - otherwise a firm rule throughout the book(s). I mean, if it's 101 whiskies you HAVE to taste before you shuffle off this mortal coil you should have 101 of them. Instead Buxton suggests, in the case of Highland Park, that we just have "all of them" - a suggestion he acknowledges as patently absurd even within that very chapter given the explosion of limited collector's releases and the fact that the 50 year old expression he depicts on that chapter's front retails for £10,000. This last part is particularly galling given that he assured us in the introduction that he would give us a tour of whiskies for drinking and that absurdly priced drams £1,000 and up flatly wouldn't be considered. Tasting notes, when actually provided, are often inexcusably brief - although I'll readily grant that what little is there is usually spot on. Furthermore, you don't get any scoring or rankings at all. Each chapter is illustrated with frontally nude bottle shots and nothing else - no illustrations of distilleries or images of the faces of the personalities mentioned. Images of lovely barley fields, castles, and malting floors are totally MIA.But this isn't what really burns me up. What really gets me mad and confused and toss the book to the floor in a rage periodically are the facts that Buxton 1) doesn't like peat - but appears guilty enough of this that he includes a number of peat monsters ***in case YOU do***. 2) Sometimes includes whiskies he hasn't even tried or that don't even exist yet! 3) includes items that aren't even properly (ie legally) whisky. 4) Seems to evangelize major blends that I'm busy ignoring because I'm a whisky snob and look down my nose at major manufacturer blends in favor of rare single malts and interesting craft whiskies. To give you a taste of what I'm talking about let's look at # 1: Bakery Hill Cask Strength Peated Malt from Australia. Fascinating stuff. However, as Buxton readily admits, he hasn't actually tasted it. He provides us some tasting notes from the cut sheet. **Bam** - sound of book (Kindle, actually) hitting floor in a rage. How about # 78: Buffalo Trace, White Dog - Mash #1. Wow, a fascinating unaged new make that doesn't qualify as a Bourbon because it's new. It's technically whiskey - in the old sense of our colonial forebears. Well, if Ian Buxton is putting this in the 101 Whiskies you MUST try before you DIE he probably thinks it's pretty damn well good, right? Not so fast. I'm going to actually quote Mr. Buxton on this one:"Apart from the curiousity value, though, what do you actually use this stuff for? Well, enterprising cocktail experts have been mixing it into some innovative and truly unusual cocktails where the very high strength has some value and, er, that's about it.""Rather than buy a whole bottle yourself (even allowing for the fact that it comes in a half-bottle size), you might want to consider buying this with friends and using it to kick off a tasting session. Nothing will more clearly demonstrate the role of barrel aging and the impact of good wood on whisky. After which you can quickly move on to the proper stuff!"**BAM** (sound of kindle hitting the floor in a rage... again... poor little e-book reader). There are so many amazing whiskies, and Buxton is having me buy something that's maybe good for cocktails (like gin or vodka) but isn't so fine on its own (as new make) so I should plan on splitting it with friends rather than own a whole bottle. Is this just me or is this august gentleman looking for a kick in the shins?Now, where was I? Oh yes, you absolutely must read 101 World Whiskies. Why? because it is a superb profile of where the world's malt whisky distilling scene is headed at the current moment. Interesting and worthy new malt whiskies are coming out of crazy places such as Holland, Germany, France, South Africa, the USA, Australia, England, Spain, Belgium, Canada, Ireland, Japan, Wales, and even (this may shock you) Scotland. Buxton describes scores of distilleries and expressions I've never even heard of - and I follow this stuff somewhat avidly. Buxton does more than list these revelations, he describes their context and why, exactly, you want to taste them. Why you need to, in fact. He does so with merciful brevity, an infectious good cheer, and a friendly aspect often missing from enthusiast's narratives. This is one part of the magic of "101 Whiskies To Try Before You Die". He makes you fall in love with a new whisky on virtually every page. He very quietly fills you with a passion for the malt and its people and its houses both great and small. He attacks your biases, (seemingly no matter what they are) yet he evangelizes the whisky topics I, personally find most vital: whisky tastes better bottled at higher strength, for example, and the less messed with the better.But 101 World Whiskies isn't simply a catalog of obscure and weird drams. It's far too varied. Rather it's a catalog of what you should want to try - and why. And, yes, there are tons of weird obscure drams you've never heard of - but there are also tons of mainstream blends you may have been too snooty to desire lustfully (I certainly was). Buxton fixes that. There are some non-whisky items here too, a liqueur and a whisky fruit/spice infusion. Buxton leaves you lusting hard for those too. Indeed, it's this quality if inciting interest and lust, all without hyperbole or rants or volume of any kind that is on the whole, rather remarkable.Did I mention that each short chapter is exactly the right length to enjoy while "using the facilities"? This "bite size" aspect makes reading Buxton feel a lot like feeding from your favorite bag of chips ("crisps" if you come from one of the countries where people drive on the wrong side of the road - like Ian Buxton). 'Once you pop', so to speak, 'you can't stop'. And you emerge revitalized and incredibly aware of a whole brave new world, with such wondrous drams in it. There is a special talent in being able to convey a great deal of information in a very small number of words. Buxton is a master at it. His brief profiles tell you a tremendous amount, almost without you realizing it. He has an ability to pack a dense amount of information into few words but have it feel breezy, conversational, and, above all, friendly.Recently Steve Urey (Sku) wrote about the end of whisky's 'Golden Age' on top American whisky blog "Sku's Recent Eats". His point was that the explosion of popularity of whisky has resulted in prices shooting through the roof, and hard to find expressions becoming unobtainable. There's also the question about the loss of complexity in the flavor profiles of whiskies over the past few decades because of mechanization (or perhaps deliberate choice) - such as one I frequently wrestle with on my blog at "cooperedtot(dot)com" as described in the "dramming(dot)com article "Has Whisky Become Better, Worse, Or Just Different?" These discussions can lead to a sense of loss. The implications of these narratives is that the epicurean opportunities of the Whisky world are becoming diminished. 101 World Whiskies is an antidote to these feelings. Reading Buxton fills me with a contrary "sense of gain". There is a huge world of new whiskies, and new expressions, and even new flavor profiles and some of them are really good. And there is more of this new good stuff going on than you knew about, or even had hopes of in your secret heart. And, furthermore, this new good stuff is coming from all over, including established brands and even stuffy mainstream blends that you wouldn't think of at all in searching for what's new. Reading Buxton makes me feel that the golden age is yet to come. This optimism creeps in many parts of the lovingly detailed descriptions in many areas of the book, such as Whisky Castle from Switzerland, where Ian's prose waxes into the beauty of true affection. In this radiant light the true impact of 101 Whiskies becomes apparent: an almost seditious expansion of whisky's world view. This isn't Ian Buxton's invention, but with this book he has taken up the mantle of an evangelist for a kind of positivism about the future of whisky.But, wait, there's more. In a subtle and almost sneaky way, the biggest and most disruptive aspect of Buxton's 101 Whiskies books isn't the text narrative, factual content, or editorial perspective. It's the selections themselves. In choosing a set, Buxton is making an argument. As it is, the argument is as personal and subjective as an argument can possibly be. Buxton bends over backwards to say so in the introduction and at various points. However, Buxton isn't making his decisions lightly and it shows. He is carving a set and they stand like the stones of Stonehenge - individual and hewn - but in a common configuration and forming a common whole. This common whole, that you don't immediately see until you've read and understood and thought about the set of selections, is a powerful statement about how to appreciate whisky. In this aspect 101 World Whiskies stands head and shoulders above its brother and emerges, in my opinion, as an important book. Buxton wants you to be rounded. He wants you to be worldly. He wants you to transcend your own limitations and the blinders of preconception that hinder virtually every community of drinkers I've ever come across. That is the special genius of this book. This is why I picked up my kindle off the floor and resolved to grab a bottle of Buffalo Trace White Dog Mash #1 - tail firmly planted between my legs - and take my medicine. I know that if I follow Buxton down all these paths I will grow as a whisky drinker. It's a little bit like the part in Karate Kid where the master has the kid picking up the coat over and over. The logic isn't immediately apparent - but one day it's going to be the margin of glory and honor.So buy 101 World Whiskies. Buy it as a bathroom read. Buy it as an excellent shopping list. But most of all buy it to have Ian Buxton lead you to become bigger inside. Buy it to have Ian Buxton fill your heart and your sails with the joy of discovery and the delicious anticipation for what is yet to come.

My husband loves looking at this and finding various whiskeys. His only complaint is that he already new many of the cheaper whiskey's. About half or so may have been new information.

Our adult son enjoys collecting and tasting sipping whiskeys, something about which I am basically ignorant. We gave him a copy of this book and kept one ourselves, so we can now communicate about whiskeys he likes and why he would chose one over another. It's been fun to be able to discuss something in which he is interested with a bit of insight, thanks to this slim volume. I recommend this book because it includes a wide overview of available whiskeys and excellent descriptions of each.

Great gift for someone who loves to drink whiskey.They can try the whole world.

Content wise, it's a very resourceful book and careful selection on non-rare whiskies / whiskeys, in enjoyed it. However, it's not a true kindle / book version, it's more like image and very hard to read and I was unable to put remarks or highlight info that I find important.

This was a christmas gift for my father. I completed it with one of those stones set to cold the dring. Its a fun and kind of useless gift

I love the way this book is set up. It makes it for an easy read that you can browse through if wanted. Made a great gift for my boyfriend who is into trying new things and likes to have a drink.

I got this as a Christmas gift for my brother who had just spent his honeymoon touring distilleries in Scotland and Ireland. He loves the book and is currently checking off the whiskeys the recommend as he tries them :)

SORRY THAT IS SPEND MONEY ON THIS BÖK

Despite the fact than many of this whiskies aren't available in Quebec/Canada, I find this book very interesting and insightful. The way Ian Buxton presents these products requires some basic knowledge of whisky in the first place but it is very humble and neutral in the way it is presented. Buxton doesn't pretend to like every bottle he chose to present in his book but still presents every aspect of the liquor in a very impartial, concise and effective way. I also really like the fact that he goes beyond the whisky itself and dives into the history of the brand and the various breweries.If you want a very straightforward scotch/whisky compendium where the writer tells you to enjoy or avoid a product without further thinking, this book isn't for you.

The media could not be loaded.  First published back in July of 2012, '101 World Whiskies To Try Before You Die' was whisky connoisseur and enthusiast Ian Buxton's follow-on to his excellent first book ' 101 Whiskies to Try Before You Die ' (2010).Like with the first '101 Whiskies Book', this second volume is a same sized compact book (measuring approximately 12cm x 18.5cm) offering advice, guidance and tips on a range of important and particularly tasty whiskies from all around the world that Buxton himself has compiled. Like with the first book, again this 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.In the first book Buxton included a good range of whiskies from across the globe. However, being simply '101 Whiskies To Dry Before You Die', as one would expect, the vast majority of the whiskies were from Scotland (in fact 70 of the 101 whiskies were Scottish).However, in this second book there's far more of an eye on bringing the reader whiskies from all across the globe - mentioning the obscure, the unheard of and the often overlooked. The whiskies are listed in alphabetical order by the country that they're from. And Buxton brings you whiskies from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, England, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, India, Ireland, Japan, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, USA, Wales and finally a World Whisky.In the exact same format as his first book, two pages have been allocated to each respective whisky. On the first of these two pages you have a large colour photograph of the whisky bottle, 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.Again, as with the first book the pricing guide is broken into five categories. These are:(1) Under £25, (2) £25-39, (3) £40-69, (4) £70-£150, (5) Over £150.Once again, Buxton has flat-out ignored any whisky that ventures over the £1,000 barrier. Indeed, you'll find most of the whiskies in the book coming in to around £40, which is far more accessible and realistic for most people's price range.On the second page of each entry, Buxton again 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!Buxton has purposefully avoided using any scoring or ranking of the whiskies detailed in the book. After all, what one person thinks is an utterly divide whisky, the next may find near undrinkable. It's subjective - therefore making scoring a nonsense. Instead, he details each ones merits, their own uniqueness and where they fit in (or not) within the greater picture of whiskies of the world.Finally, at the very bottom of each listing the book offers up two blank lines for you to write your own verdict (and/or very brief notes) on the whisky. In fact, this is one of the biggest delights about these books - it makes for a 'whisky enthusiast's project' of sorts. I for one have utterly enjoyed slowly working my way through the first volume, writing my own personal notes as I go (I'm still a long way off sampling them all though). And now I have another 101 whiskies to start to work through!Once again Buxton has delivered another truly invaluable and thoroughly interesting book on whiskies. Flicking through the pages, it's amazing how many whiskies there are out there in the far reaches of the world (as well as much closer to home) which you probably had no idea about the existence of. Take the Finish 8 year old 'Teerenpeli', or the German 'Blaue Maus', or indeed the Spanish 'Embrujo de Granada' for three such prime examples. If anything, flicking through the book is an eye opener for most amateur whisky enthusiasts.Even though the books is called '101 World Whiskies To Try Before You Die', Buxton has slipped in an additional 'Special Bonus Whisky' at position number 102. It's a whisky that well-and-truly breaks the 'Accessible whisky for real people' rule that the rest of the book has followed. Priced at over £100,000, the Johnnie Walker Diamond Jubilee is not a whisky you'll likely be hunting down anytime soon. But the cheeky inclusion of it just shows Buxton's sense of humour.To be honest, since getting the book holidays abroad now have a whole new scope to them. It's now a case of flick through Buxton's '101 World Whiskies To Try Before You Die' before setting off, and if there's a good number in there from the country you're visiting (such as the USA, Ireland or Japan) then my advice would be to pop the book into your hand luggage before you go!The book runs for a total of 224 pages, which includes a six page introduction by Ian Buxton, a basic and down-to-earth one page 'How to Taste Whisky and Use This Book', a 'Further Resources' page, and a final page on 'Where to Buy'. Finally, the book itself is a high quality hardback, with full colour glossy pages throughout. 101 Whiskies to Try Before You Die

Seguito diretto del libro "101 Whiskies to Try Before You Die" (agosto 2010), in questa che è a tutti gli effetti la seconda parte, l'autore trova in giro per il mondo altri 101 (ma in realtà sono 102) nuovi whisky (molti imbottigliamenti ovviamente usciti dopo l'uscita del libro precedente e fino al 2012).Numericamente, una trentina gli scotch whiskies (principalmente single malt ma anche qualche blended), e più o meno altrettanti bourbon e rye americani. Poi bottiglie dal resto del mondo: da Giappone e Irlanda (ovviamente!) fino a Sudafrica, Australia, Germania, Svizzera, Spagna, Olanda, India, Taiwan eccLe bottiglie selezionate (eccetto la 102) rientrano tutte (perlopiù abbondantemente) sotto il limite dei 150£ (180€ circa).Dopo una breve (e simpatica) introduzione, in cui l'autore sostanzialmente spiega la sua filosofia (ad esempio la sua avversità ai voti numerici che infatti, a differenza di molti altri whiskologi di fama, non usa), si parte con le 101.Ogni bottilgia esaminata occupa due pagine:- da un lato la foto a tutta pagina (a colori) della bottiglia, un indice orientativo del prezzo e della reperibilità del prodotto (distillerie, supermercati, enoteche, duty free, Paesi specifici), nome della distllieria (ed eventuale visitor centre);- sulla pagina di fronte la sua personale descrizione della bottiglia (con info di tutti i tipi) e in fondo le note di degustazione NOSE/TASTE/FINISH (ma appunto sempre e solo descrittive) e un paio di righe lasciate per il commento del lettore.Libretto piacevole sia per il neofita che per l'esperto.Come sempre buona lettura e e sláinte! :)

Hier sind Whisk(e)ys aus aller Welt vereint - einige bekannte, viele unbekanntere. Der Autor gibt den verschiedensten Geschmacksrichtungen viel Raum und ist auch offen für ungewöhnliche Stöffchen. Als eingefleischter Scotch-Whisky-Trinker mag man bei den vielen genannten Bourbons die Nase rümpfen, jedoch ist es sicher einen Versuch wert, sich auch mal auf diese einzulassen. Daneben sind viele asiatische Whiskies sowie welche aus anderen europäischen Ländern genannt, die sich sehr interessant anhören.Sehr gut ist auch die Angabe der Preiskategorie - somit hat man einen Überblick, welche erschwinglich sind (das trifft glücklicherweise auf die meisten zu).Ingesamt ein schönes Buch, das Spaß macht zu lesen und viele Anregungen gibt.