Michael Jackson's Complete Guide to Single Malt Scotch: A Connoisseur’s Guide to the Single Malt Whiskies of Scotland

There are a few Scotch Whiskey books on the market, and many of them comparable to this. The critical differentiator for this book however, is you are not going to see any blends in here, only single malt. And from my perspective, that is fine! You are also not going to get every variation from each distillery, just the ones that Michael has tried. But I'll tell you, he's tried a lot. So you've got some distilleries where he's only got one whiskey he has rated, but may be the most well know, or common. I rarely came upon a distillery where his tastings didn't coincide with the vast majority of what they were offering, then he would have a couple rare ones you couldn't find, and they would have some he hadn't tasted. Some people like this, some people don't, but what I liked was the historical and scenic descriptions of the distilleries. Because I was going there, and not just drinking them, I wanted to know which were the best to visit, which had "pour your own bottle" options, and which weren't open to the public. This was EXTREMELY helpful. I just carried this book in my bag and would make notes in it everywhere I was drinking whisky. Now it sits on my bar and is my go to reference every time I am looking for my next bottle of Single Malt. By the way, it also has Single Malt Irish, Japanese, etc., not just Scotch! Pretty darned comprehensive.

Since we're retired now, we have nice leisure time in the evenings in the living room, in our chairs. My husband has always enjoyed Scotch, and so he'll have 2 or 3 fingers of Scotch of an evening with his church warden's pipe, which smells really nice. He is SO hard to buy for, so I got a wild hair, and got him a bottle of single malt Scotch Whiskey. (Only whiskey from Scotland has the 'e' - every other one is 'whisky.') Since that first bottle, I've found a website where I can browse different single malt Scotches from different regions of Scotland. I can look at the area it's from, what distillery, what grain they malt, all kinds of information. When I looked at this book, I saw it has detailed descriptions of the taste of different Whiskeys, (which make no sense to me). So I bought this book. It really helps make sense of these taste descriptions, why a given Whiskey is so peaty, or smoky, and so forth. So when I ask him if this bottle or that bottle smells and tastes better, I can look it up, and see what characteristics that Scotch has. I can make more educated choices about what single malt Scotch Whiskey I want to get for him next. This is an excellent reference book, easy to read and use, and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good Scotch.

I purchased this newest (6th) edition as a gift. The 5th edition has been a staple on my coffee table for years now. If you are looking for a little help in explaining many of the various single malt scotch choices out there, this is a great read. While most single malts are fundamentally good products, this book helps to explain the flavor profile of each specific brand and age in greater detail. It helped me pick a brand that I would not have previously considered, and score a great one for only around $60 a bottle. While you can spend a lot more on good scotch, these guides prove that you don't have to.

(This is a review of the latest 6th Edition, published in 2010) Michael Jackson died in 2007 and his book had not been updated since 2004. The malt whisky industry has changed greatly since then. The goal of these three editors was to update Michael's classic book while trying to do it as he would have himself. The layout of the book is in alphabetical order by distillery. There is a short half-page introduction to each distillery, a sentence on the distillery's house style, followed by very short reviews and ratings of several whiskies from the distillery. Many reviews also include a picture of the bottle label. The beginning of the book starts with a general introduction to whisky, left mostly untouched from how Michael wrote it. The editors say that their goal was to keep as many of Michael's original reviews as possible, while updating them with reviews of new whiskies and removing outdated whiskies. The introduction says that two-thirds of the reviews are new, but I also found many of Michael's iconic tasting notes still in the book. The authors have intentionally changed very little in The Macallan section due to Michael's special affection for The Macallan, although they have added reviews of the Fine Oak series. When it came to reviewing the whiskies, the editors say that they tried to stay true to Michael's style. This means that the reviews are terse, ratings are rarely above 85, and also that the editors tried to put aside their own opinions of the whiskies and tried to rate them as Michael would have (based on their reading of his past reviews). They spent 18 months updating the book, each working on reviewing separate distilleries without consulting each other on the reviews. Overall I am satisfied with this book, although I do not own the previous versions. Many recently released modern whiskies are reviewed now, while I was also able to find some reviews that I know to be Michael's originals. The editors hope to continue to update this classic and release new editions, but there are legal issues surrounding Michael Jackson's estate; therefore, future editions of this book are still uncertain.

I purchased an earlier version of this guide close to 20 years ago. Given that Michael Jackson has passed away, I wasn't sure what to expect with this revised edition updated by other people. I wasn't disappointed. This is the go to book about Single Malt Scotch! I use it to sort out what new (to me) single malt's I'll try next. I find it particularly useful for finding extremely high quality scotches that don't cost as much as a large screen TV! It's also very useful to understanding the differences between Isle, Highland and Lowland scotches. Definitely worth the money. I give it as gifts to fellow single malt scotch lovers.

I bought this for my fiance since he and I both enjoy Scotch and want to learn a bit more. This book is well organized; so much so that I was able to select two new bottles for his birthday and claim success when he was pleased with both. He and I love the descriptions as some are intriguing and others are a little scary with descriptions of tar or asphalt flavors! The book is easy to read and understand but I would recommend it for Scotch connoisseurs and beginners alike. I do agree with another reviewer who says this book will cause you to buy more Scotch! It's true and we have.

a great and informative book about whiskey but it’s a little outdated now,

Latest and last edition well worth the cost. Covers the Single Malts from A-Z in a very clear concise manner complete with a brief history of each distillery, tasting notes and places a tasting score for each single malt reviewed. If you don't know about Single Malt Scotch, this is one of the best places to begin your education.