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Spirit Of Place
A wide-ranging and evocative portrait of Scotland' s distilleries, with text by renowned whisky expert Charles MacLean and photographs by Lara Platman and Alan MacDonald. Treating Scotland as eight distinct regions, this fascinating book describes the ' cultural terroir' of the country's fifty greatest distilleries; the ingredients, practices and traditions that result in such an exquisite range of whiskies. Specially commisioned photographs capture the texture of the surrounding landscapes and communities through the changing seasons, as well as portraits of those craftsmen who work there, and the fabric of the buildings themselves. Spirit of Place is a unique addition to the literature on Scotch whisky, from the world's greatest expert on the subject. The perfect gift for anyone planning a tour of Scotland's distilleries, a souvenir for anyone who has visited them, and simply the perfect companion to a dram at home.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2015
16 people are currently reading
82 people want to read
About the author
Charles MacLean
41 books14 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the goodreads data base.
Charles MacLean is a writer whose special subject is Scotch whisky, about which he has published ten books to date, including the standard work on whisky brands, Scotch Whisky and the leading book on its subject, Malt Whisky, both of which were short-listed for Glenfiddich Awards.
Whisky: A Liquid History, published by Cassell in 2003 was named Wine and Spirit Book of the Year (2005) by the James Beard Foundation of New York. MacLean’s Whisky Miscellany followed in 2004, expanded in 2006 as Whisky Tales; in 2008 he was Managing Editor of Dorling Kindersley’s Eyewitness Companion to Whisky, and in 2009 their World Whiskies.Whiskypedia was published in June 2009.
Charles MacLean is a writer whose special subject is Scotch whisky, about which he has published ten books to date, including the standard work on whisky brands, Scotch Whisky and the leading book on its subject, Malt Whisky, both of which were short-listed for Glenfiddich Awards.
Whisky: A Liquid History, published by Cassell in 2003 was named Wine and Spirit Book of the Year (2005) by the James Beard Foundation of New York. MacLean’s Whisky Miscellany followed in 2004, expanded in 2006 as Whisky Tales; in 2008 he was Managing Editor of Dorling Kindersley’s Eyewitness Companion to Whisky, and in 2009 their World Whiskies.Whiskypedia was published in June 2009.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 12, 2020
Spirit of Place: The perfect book to plan a whisky tasting trip to Scotland
For newbie fans of Scottish single malt whiskies, this is a perfect introduction to 50 major distilleries in Scotland, separated into the different regions: Lowlands, Islay, Highlands, Speyside, and the Islands. It has a great two page summary of the fascinating and volatile history of most distilleries, with the humble beginnings from illegal stills trying to avoid the excise men, to the whisky boom of the 1880s and the brutal collapse of the industry after that, then the kick in the stomach from US Prohibition, followed by the resurgence after WWII and the more recent boom in this century, including ownership by Japanese distillers. You really learn how many times distilleries have changed hands over the centuries, the ambitious vision of their founders and subsequents generations of family management, the rise of the industry giant Distillers Company Ltd (DCL) which became the even bigger as Diageo, the presence of the French owners (Remi Cointreau, Pernod Ricard, etc) and Japanese owners (Suntory, Nikka), and the rise of younger distilleries to rival the old venerable names. It's a great story, and each entry has color photos of the distilleries and their works.
This book is PERFECT for planning a whisky tasting tour of Scotland. I've loved reading a few entries each day, checking out the offerings of each distillery online and reading their reviews in Jim Murray's Bible, and then looking at the locations on Google Maps. You can really get a sense of how many distilleries there are in each region, and start to plan your trips. Speyside alone has 17 major distilleries, and Islay has 8 very well-regarded ones, so those would be the most obvious tours, with the Islands and Highlands making for more remote adventures.
The author Charles Maclean has also written Malt Whisky: The Complete Guide, and also plays a whisky expert (i.e. himself) in the 2012 Ken Loach film "The Angel's Share", which is about the discovery of a legendary Malt Mill cask at the Lagavulin distillery. Great film, and great performance!
For newbie fans of Scottish single malt whiskies, this is a perfect introduction to 50 major distilleries in Scotland, separated into the different regions: Lowlands, Islay, Highlands, Speyside, and the Islands. It has a great two page summary of the fascinating and volatile history of most distilleries, with the humble beginnings from illegal stills trying to avoid the excise men, to the whisky boom of the 1880s and the brutal collapse of the industry after that, then the kick in the stomach from US Prohibition, followed by the resurgence after WWII and the more recent boom in this century, including ownership by Japanese distillers. You really learn how many times distilleries have changed hands over the centuries, the ambitious vision of their founders and subsequents generations of family management, the rise of the industry giant Distillers Company Ltd (DCL) which became the even bigger as Diageo, the presence of the French owners (Remi Cointreau, Pernod Ricard, etc) and Japanese owners (Suntory, Nikka), and the rise of younger distilleries to rival the old venerable names. It's a great story, and each entry has color photos of the distilleries and their works.
This book is PERFECT for planning a whisky tasting tour of Scotland. I've loved reading a few entries each day, checking out the offerings of each distillery online and reading their reviews in Jim Murray's Bible, and then looking at the locations on Google Maps. You can really get a sense of how many distilleries there are in each region, and start to plan your trips. Speyside alone has 17 major distilleries, and Islay has 8 very well-regarded ones, so those would be the most obvious tours, with the Islands and Highlands making for more remote adventures.
The author Charles Maclean has also written Malt Whisky: The Complete Guide, and also plays a whisky expert (i.e. himself) in the 2012 Ken Loach film "The Angel's Share", which is about the discovery of a legendary Malt Mill cask at the Lagavulin distillery. Great film, and great performance!
December 25, 2016
Wonderful book for anyone with any kind of interest in Scotch whisky. Lots of great pictures but enough text to give some fascinating background information if you are a fan of whisky.
January 14, 2018
Absolutely loved it.
May 6, 2021
Nice book with a lot of information about the surrounding places
May 15, 2019
En boek met zeer veel interessante weetjes en
leuke verhalen over whisky uit de 19de eeuw , de eigenaars van de stokerijen en van hun familiegeschiedenis. Verhelderend als je de whisky zelf er niet bijneemt. Bedwelmend als je het wel doet.
leuke verhalen over whisky uit de 19de eeuw , de eigenaars van de stokerijen en van hun familiegeschiedenis. Verhelderend als je de whisky zelf er niet bijneemt. Bedwelmend als je het wel doet.
April 14, 2017
An excellent guide, both to the distilleries and their surroundings. The pictures are quite amazing, and often capture details of the distilling process that are being lost or overtaken at many distilleries.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews