Andrew Jefford’s Peat Smoke and Spirit is the best whisky book published this year. In this extract, he writes about trhe constitution of peat itself
So what are they exactly, these dark sods which Norrie has been cutting for 44 years, and his Uncle John Campbell cut for a lifetime before that, and which Islay’s farmers have been cutting to keep themselves warm and cook food with for the last 5,000 years?
Dead plants. Not just any plants, though...
Whisky Literature
from Issue 44 published on 25/11/2004
Guest writer Andrew Jefford smokes out the truth on the issue of peat in whisky
When I was a lad, I used to look at the books on my parents’ shelves with a sense of wonder. I loved both reading and writing; books were the unhidden treasure of my childhood. The desire to write one, naturally, became an ambition.
There was only one problem. How would I ever know enough? The proc...
The Last Word
from Issue 44 published on 25/11/2004
We have invited four of the best drinks writers to take it in turn to write for us. First up, award-winning journalist Andrew Jefford argues that whisky is a matter of tastes
It’s never comfortable to be a heretic. Agreed, I’m not going to be burned at the stake, disembowelled or thrown into Laphroaig’s lauter tun for my apostasy, but even self-exclusion is a lonely business. To ease the burden, I’m going to tell all. For the best Socratic reasons: if we don’t ask questi...
The Last Word
from Issue 40 published on 4/6/2004
Andrew Jefford took the slow boat around Scotland’s most famous distilleries and discovered that malt whisky is the best antidote to bad weather
The skipper looked the part, anyway, even if the week's guests were a motley crew. Jamie Robinson was his name. Sea dogs don't come any saltier: weather-beaten cheeks, rolling gait, the strength of three men when it came to reefing the mainsail in a rising force six. It wasn't just the seamanship, e...
Whisky Travel
from Issue 6 published on 16/10/1999
Whiskies, like people, mature at different rates. Andrew Jefford (himself in his prime) wonders why
Sitting on the table in front of me, as I write this, is my most treasured bottle of whisky. It’s a Glenlivet; still largely full, I’m pleased to say. This Speyside is not necessarily my favourite malt, but the contents of the bottle were distilled in the same year that, so to speak, I was: 1956. No...
Whisky Production
from Issue 3 published on 13/5/1999
