Michael Jackson is renowned for his pithy wisdom and a remarkable ability to evoke aromas and flavors. This fully revised and expanded edition of Michael Jackson's Complete Guide to Single Malt Scotch is the definitive guide to single malt whisky and its producers worldwide. The completely new introduction incorporates Jackson’s most recent research on the origins and evolution of the water of life,” the nature of aromas and flavors, and regional differences. The book’s core is the comprehensive A-to-Z of single malts, arranged by distillery. Each entry offers a new introduction and key information, and features Jackson’s evocative, highly regarded tasting notes and ratings. This edition features a refreshed design, specially commissioned photographs of distilleries, and more than 1,000 tasting notes.
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Product Details
Author:
Michael Jackson
Hardcover:
448 pages
Publisher:
Running Press
Publication Date:
August 04, 2004
Language:
English
ISBN:
0762413131
Package Length:
8.7 inches
Package Width:
5.1 inches
Package Height:
1.2 inches
Package Weight:
1.7 pounds
Average Customer Rating:
based on 32 reviews
Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review: ( 32 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 found the following review helpful:
Essential, Inspired & Inspiring Guide to the "Water of Life" Nov 03, 2004
By mirasreviews "Michael Jackson's Complete Guide to Single Malt Scotch" is a truly great reference for the connoisseur and novice alike. This 5th edition includes descriptions and scores for over 1,000 single malt Scotches, about 250 more than the previous edition. It is a handsome volume, well-organized and printed on slick high-quality paper. The book has an attractive, durable cover instead of a dust jacket.
The "Complete Guide"'s first 80 pages are dedicated to educating the reader about whiskies in general and single malt Scotches in particular. Ten chapters discuss a useful variety of topics: trends, origins, definitions of terms used in labeling, the influence of the terrain on flavor, the characteristics of various regions, the significance of age, the woods used in casks, and a list of the companies that own Scotch distilleries, with some explanation of their history. The chapter on Flavours is particularly interesting. Michael Jackson is a good writer. His explanations are clear without being dull, and they will leave few questions in the minds of readers who are new to Scotch whisky.
The core of the Guide is the "A-Z of Single Malts". Michael Jackson explains his scoring system and the components of his tasting notes: colour, nose, body, palate, and finish. Then he launches into descriptions of more than 1,000 Scotches produced by, I believe, over 90 distilleries. A few paragraphs explain a little bit about each distillery's history and unique characteristics. The Producer (owner), Region, District, and Address are listed for each distillery, as well as telephone, e-mail and web site where it is available. I found that the palate and finish descriptions took some getting used to before I was able to reconcile Jackson's description to how the malt really tastes. He has a sensitive palate, which has become, or always was, keen to certain nuances. I'm sure everyone is different in that sense, but I picked up on his meaning after a while. His attempts to describe all aspects of the sensory experience unique to each whisky are most helpful and impressive. It is a pleasure to browse his descriptions. The book's single imperfection is the absence of pronunciation guides. The pronunciations of some distillery names are mysterious to those unaccustomed to hearing Scottish words.
In the last pages of the "Complete Guide', Jackson gives us some general information on whiskies from Ireland, the United States, Japan, Asia, and continental Europe. There are also brief descriptions of some vatted malts and Jackson's recommendations for how best to enjoy whisky.
7 of 7 found the following review helpful:
Excellent for reviews and consistency, with some reservations May 05, 2007
By desimanus Michael Jackson's "Complete Guide To Single Malt Scotch" is an encyclopedic collection of scotch knowledge and reviews of the most common offerings from every one of the nearly hundred malt distilleries in Scotland.
The book starts off by offering a concise education about the origins of scotch, interpretation of scotch labels, flavors, regional variations and factors that influence the taste of scotch all distilled down to less than eighty pages with numerous color pictures.
After you read the first section you will have a some idea about the decisions that affect the taste of your scotch, for example you might be able to tell whether the dram in your glass was matured in bourbon cask or a sherry cask and make some educated guesses about the shape of the copper stills that the scotch was distilled in.
However the first section was just the warm up. The real meat of the book is the second section which is an exhaustive listing of the most common offerings from every one of Scotland's roughly hundred or so malt distilleries with reviews written in Michael Jackson's signature concise style and a ranking on a 100 point scale. If you're like me you'll find yourself reading the first section and then coming back to both sections periodically for quick reference on a particular distillery or region. The second section is more of a reference and not meant to be read linearly.
And now I come to what makes this book unique. Michael Jackson is almost pathologically consistent in his review ratings, more so than the other popular whisky reviewers e.g. Paul Pacult. Taste is highly personal and subjective so it is unlikely you will agree with any one reviewer's ratings 100% of the times however Michael Jackson is very consistent about the factors that he rates well. I found that he especially appreciates robust full bodied whiskies with complex taste with no big surprises i.e. the nose should be a fairly good indicator of what the whisky will deliver in the mouth.
So while you may not always agree with him, reading his reviews and the ratings gives you a fairly good idea of what to expect from the whisky. This is what makes Michael Jackson such a great author. That and the encyclopedic listing of reviews makes this book a must buy for a scotch enthusiast like me.
Cons? Just a few. Like other Amazon reviewers have noted, he devotes an excessive amount of print to rare and expensive offerings that the average scotch drinker will never come across in his lifetime. Also his reviews are too concise. I would recommend getting this book for its unique merits but also looking into the writings of other scotch reviewers like F Paul Pacult, Jim Murray and Dave Broom who have a more engaging and conversational style of writing, and will help round out your scotch education.
Edit: Just a quick revisit. Sadly, Michael Jackson is no more. He passed away in August 2007. May his soul RIP and I hope he is in whisky heaven enjoying a bottle of Talisker 18. There will be no newer editions of this book. Eventually, as distilleries come and go and their offered bottlings change, this book will get of date. But until then this will remain one of the best Scotch references on the planet.
18 of 22 found the following review helpful:
great book, but becoming obsolete Dec 08, 2008
By S. Flask I can't say many positive things about this book that haven't already been covered by other reviewers. This book proved to be a great introduction to whisky for me. It allowed me to understand how it was made, taught me about the different regions and, to a certain extent, the styles that are generally associated with these regions. I also found Jackson's tasting notes and distillery descriptions beneficial when trying to choose a diverse set of whiskies for my cabinet. The book is well laid out, easy to read, has a solid construction and contains a lot of valueable information on whisky.
That said, the book is unfortunately becoming outdated since Jackson's passing. It's creeping up on half a decade without an update, and not only are whiskies (an ever-evolving spirit) not the same as they were when it was written, but there are many new lines that are not included in the book and some distilleries have completely revamped their lineups since it was written. So while the information on how whisky is made will still prove helpful, and the distillery history will still be interesting, as time goes on the tasting notes - which comprise 90% of the book - are becoming more and more obsolete.
At this point in the game, I wouldn't recommend purchasing this book without taking this into consideration. Perhaps one of the other annually updated books, such as the Whisky Bible or the Malt Whisky Yearbook would be a good, up to date alternative, but I haven't personally read either.
Overall a very good book with a lot of good information, that's unfortunately starting to gather a bit of dust.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Great to Pair with a bottle of scotch Jan 09, 2007
By T. Herrick
"denverdame"
The book is easy to read and was a great pairing idea with a bottle of scotch for a lucky recipient
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Very Informative Nov 06, 2006
By K. Craft
"Crafty"
The book was very informative and interesting. Descriptions of the whiskies I have tried seem spot on. I would definitely recommend this book.
based on 32 reviews
Essential, Inspired & Inspiring Guide to the "Water of Life" Nov 03, 2004
By mirasreviews
Excellent for reviews and consistency, with some reservations May 05, 2007
By desimanus
great book, but becoming obsolete Dec 08, 2008
By S. Flask
