BLOG TOUR: The Whisky World Tour - Joel Harrison

With a foreword by Charles MacLean MBE, the celebrated 'world authority' on whisky

The Whisky World Tour takes you beyond the glass to discover 52 of the very best whisky distilleries open to the public, around the globe. Discover their unique stories and histories from the comfort of home, along with bottle recommendations, too.

Award-winning whisky writer Joel Harrison kicks off The Whisky World Tour in North America, taking in key bourbon producers, before moving on to the traditional whisky powerhouses of Ireland and Scotland. Along the way 'new world' whisky-makers from South Africa to Scandinavia are explored, before finishing in Japan, home to some of the world's most lauded whiskies.

Each stop along the way is a window into the world of whisky, so settle in, pour a dram and allow yourself to be taken on this grand and spirited journey.

Featuring distilleries across the globe including:

USA

Canada

Scotland

Ireland

Japan

Denmark

Australia

New Zealand

India

China

 

What did I think?

As a lover of whisky I was very excited to read The Whisky World Tour and I was not disappointed.  I thought it would be a book I would dip in and out of but once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down.  It's written in such a concise and engaging way that I learned so much about one of my favourite spirits and, with breathtaking photographs accompanying the narrative, I felt as if I was on a virtual whisky world tour from the comfort of my armchair.

This is a compendium of 52 whisky distilleries from around the world so it's not designed to be a comprehensive guide to every whisky and your favourite might not be included.  I was a little disappointed that there was no Welsh whisky included as one of my favourite whiskies is Penderyn, but there are a few others I have tried and a lot more I now want to try.

I love the way the book is set out, not just by country but with a lot of history about each distillery and then one or two of their products.  It's like a whisky distillery visitor's guidebook with address details, when to visit and what you can expect to see (and taste) when you get there.  It almost makes me want to apply for a passport!

Having read it cover to cover, this is a book I will continue to refer to as I continue my whisky tasting journey.  I read the book over two days and would have read it a lot faster if I hadn't kept stopping to add various whiskies to my wishlist.  I could have quite happily continued reading Joel Harrison's thoughts on each distillery beyond the 52 that are included in the book, so if he fancies writing Volume 2 I would definitely be interested in reading it.

Informative, interesting and immersive, The Whisky World Tour is an amazing virtual tour of  some of the world's best-known distilleries, and some new ones to look out for.  If you're a whisky drinker, or if you know a whisky drinker, this is the perfect book for you/them.  Very highly recommended.

I received a gifted hardback to read and review for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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BLOG TOUR: Rebellious Spirits - Ruth Ball

I reviewed the beautiful hardback of Rebellious Spirits in 2016 and you can read my review here.  I'm absolutely over the moon to open the paperback blog tour with an extract on how to make your own bootleg gin and a fabulous giveaway (UK only) to win your own copy of this excellent book.  I'd love to have a go at distilling my own alcohol although 20 gallons (just shy of an eye-watering 91 litres!!!) is a bit too much for me so I think I'll stick to the pre-bottled version of mother's ruin.

Bootleg Gin Extract – taken from Rebellious Spirits by Ruth Ball

With illegal gin sold from under a stranger’s skirt, you couldn’t be sure what you were getting. Gins had fancy names like White Satin, Blue Ruin, Cuckold’s Delight, King Theodore of Corsica, Flashes of Lightning or The Cure for the Blue Devils, but they were usually more turpentine than juniper. Even the less dodgy recipes for gin – those involving real juniper – were full of toxic ingredients. They were used in all kinds of food and drink at the time because their toxic properties just weren’t known. It wouldn’t be safe to try a truly authentic recipe for bootleg gin, but I have managed to put together a cocktail that should give you some idea of the taste without any of the nasty side effects.

BOOTLEG GIN: THE ORIGINAL

For twenty gallons of gin

Seventeen gallons of spirits one to five under proof. Take one penny-weight and three quarters of the oil of vitriol, one penny-weight and three quarters of the oil of almonds, half a penny-weight of the oil of turpentine, two penny-weights of the oil of juniper berries, mixed with lump sugar and spirits of wine, as before; add to it one pint of lime-water, and one pint of rose-water; use the whole. After you dissolve five pounds of lump sugar, in two gallons and a half of water that was boiled, as before directed, fine it down with the proportioned quantity of allum and salt of tartar.

P. Boyle, The Publican and Spirit Dealer’s Daily Companion (Sixth Edition, c. 1800)

THE ALCHEMIST’S VERSION

1 part vodka

½ part retsina

¼ part amaretto

¼ part neat sugar syrup

⅛ part rosewater

½ part water

1–2 drops of juniper oil

Simply mix and serve. But how? With tonic? While this gin would be really lovely with tonic, that wouldn’t be authentic. Tonic wouldn’t be introduced to Britain for more than another hundred years; so while you could drink it with tonic, it would be a little like going to a re-enactment wearing a digital watch. Chilled or with ice? Although this gin would also be excellent shaken over ice with a splash of vermouth and served in a well-chilled Martini glass, historical authenticity will not allow.

Drink it the authentic way. Just add a little water and drink at room/street temperature. If possible, try to throw some mud at an MP, or anyone who looks like they might be rich or important, at the same time. That’s the eighteenth-century way!

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If you like the sound of this book (and who wouldn't?), you can click HERE to buy a copy from Amazon or enter my giveaway to be in with the chance of winning a copy - you've got to be in it to win it!

GIVEAWAY

Win a paperback copy of Rebellious Spirits by Ruth Ball courtesy of Elliott & Thompson.  The giveaway is open to entrants in the UK only and is open for 3 days from 19th April 2018 to midnight on 21st April 2018.  One winner will be chosen at random and contacted via email on 22nd April 2018.  If the prize is not claimed within 48 hours, another winner will be chosen.  GOOD LUCK!

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Rebellious Spirits - Ruth Ball

A delicious history of the secret, exciting and often dangerous world of illicit spirits

For as long as spirits have existed, there has been someone doing something really naughty with them: selling gin through pipes in a London back alley; standing guard on a Cornish clifftop waiting for a smuggler's signal; or dodging bombs and shrapnel running whisky in the Blitz. It is a history that is thrilling, utterly fascinating and uniquely British.

Packed full of historical recipes, from Milk Punch to a Wartime Martini, along with cocktails from contemporary bartenders, Rebellious Spirits is a treasure trove for the curious drinker.

From the gin dispensed from a cat's paw at the Puss and Mew shop which could have been the world's first vending machine, to whole funeral corteges staged just to move a coffin filled with whisky, the stories show off all the wonderful wit and ingenuity required to stay one drink ahead of the law. The accompanying recipes are just as intriguing: How did we drink gin before tonic? Was punch really made with curdled milk? Or breakfast served with brandy porridge, and gin mixed into hot ale? What did the past really taste like?

What did I think?

Although it took me a while to read it, this book was really interesting.  It is so full of information that I could only read one chapter at a time so I could fully digest what I had read, and spend some time sampling the alcohol I had just read about, of course.

I absolutely loved the recipes, both original and alchemist versions, although I have yet to try them out.  It will be really interesting to try some authentic versions of drinks our ancestors will have supped.  I'll start off with some easier ones like Egg Flip, Gimlet or Bobby Burns as some of them are really adventurous like the Blue Blazer whereby a stream of liquid fire is passed between two containers - with the author pointing out that you should make sure you have a helper to put you out if it goes wrong.

The book starts with a chapter on the origins of alcohol, but also has excellent sections on whisky, gin and poitin.  I had many laugh out loud moments at the hilarity of hiding whisky from the excise officials - from whisky babies to innovative seating arrangements.  I have taken great delight in telling my friends the story of the Puss and Mew shop, although having read later chapters whereby people were paralysed by illegal alcohol perhaps it wouldn't be such a good idea to drink unnamed spirit passed through a spout in a painting. Desperate times do indeed call for desperate measures and it just proves that Brits will do anything for a shot of gin.

Something else that really interested me was the hidden bars also known as secret speakeasies.  From a secret bar in New York called PDT (Please Don't Tell) which you access via a phone booth in a hot dog joint to a Detective Agency in Kensington which has a bar hidden behind a secret entrance in the wall, they sound like amazing places that I would love to visit.

It's such an interesting book that I am sure I will pick it up again for many years to come.  It has certainly made drinking whisky and gin much more interesting as I now have so many stories of their origins.  I think the author has done a brilliant job of writing such a comprehensive history of booze, with just the right amount of history and humour.

I received this book from the publisher, Elliott & Thompson, in exchange for an honest review.

My rating:

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