The whisky bool - Everything you didn't know about the water of life

111 untold stories about whisky
The world of whisky is full of incredible stories. This unique book brings together those stories, making it the perfect complement to other books about distilling, tasting, and travel. Enjoy heart-warming tales of secret recipes, haunted castles, hidden distilleries, lavish drinkers, and the first whisky tourist. And discover aspects of whisky you won't find in any other book.
For more than forty years, the Flemish writer and whisky devotee Fernand Dacquin has travelled through the wonderful world of whisky in search of its most striking stories and images. Now he distills those experiences into 101 stories, presented in his trademark, tongue-in-cheek style. The result is a special book, in a handy format which allows you to leaf through the pages with one hand and keep the other hand free for a glass of whisky.

List of contents

1 Whisky or whiskey? – What a mess 2 Lindores Abbey – Thanks to dear old brother John Cor 3 Muckle Flugga – The whisky nabody knows 4 Du Kang – The god of whisky (and the rest) 5 Thou demon drink – Poetry vs alcohol 6 Drambuie – Bonnie Prince Charlies’ whisky 7 ‘If by whiskey…’ – The famous whiskey speech 8 Borvo – Gallic god of whiskey 9 Martin Martin – The father of the first ‘tasting notes’ 10 Charles Doig – And ‘the coronet of the distillery’ 11 Coburg 1830 – The ‘first’ Belgian whisky 12 W.C. Fields – Drinking for joke 13 Biawa Makalunga – The ‘spirit’ of Rothes 14 Jessie Cowan – The Scottish mother of Japanese whisky 15 David Lloyd George – The man who changed whisky forever 16 Warehouse 6 – The smallest in the world? 17 Baudoinia Compniacensis – The whisky world full of mould 18 SS Politician – A gift from the gods 19 Agoston Haraszthy – Beneficiary of the Scottish whisky industry 20 Winston Churchill – Alcohol or not? 21 Archibald Haddock – No more alcohol for him 22 “Weel done Cutty Sark” – Whisky and witches 23 Alfred Barnard – The very first whisky tourist 24 The quaich – Cup of friendship 25 The Pattison Brothers – Whisky and parrots 26 Father Mathew – Whiskey hater, whiskey killer 27 Robert Bentley Todd – ‘Father’ of the Hot Toddy 28 Ralph Steadman – Still Life with Bottle 29 Charles II of Navarre – Aqua vitae as a last remedy 30 Lagganmore Distillery – Romantic, fake whisky 31 Whisky and records – The more the better 32 Carry Amelia Moore – “All nations welcome, but Carry!” 33 The Monarch of the Glen – Whisky saves art 34 The Keepers of the Quaich – ‘Water of life forever’ 35 The Atlantic Challenge – Talisker Whisky rules the waves 36 Whisky? – For men only! 37 France’s treasured whisky – Liberté, égalité, Tullamore DEW 38 Thanks to Cassis de Dijon – Europe sets the record straight 39 The shooglebox – Essential tool 40 The Highland Line – Not always very clear 41 Light whiskey? – OMG! 42 Bakery Hill Distillery – Australia’s ‘last’ and ‘first’ distillery 43 The man with the red socks – and Australian whisky 44 Taiwan – Strong riser 45 63.4 = 111 – The mysterious number 46 Japanese nude – Japanese standards 47 Sherry butts – A Spanish fairy tale? 48 Devil’s share – The angels miss out 49 Aircraft tasting – Stay on the ground 50 Single malt, pure malt – Vatted malt, blended malt, blended whisky 51 1494 – Was James IV an alcoholic? 52 The 9.09% rule – Canadian whisky 53 Teapot whisky – … for a rainy day 54 Elijah Craig – Father of the charred casks 55 Jameson Whiskey – Irish whiskey? 56 Von Liebig versus Pasteur – The secret of fermenting 57 Excisemen – The man with the second key 58 Maillard reaction – Delicious but mysterious 59 The Maker’s Mark case – You spoke. We listened! 60 Ah, those Scots! – Never satisfied 61 Towser and Shortie – Hardworking four-legged friends 62 Shaken or stirred? – Ask James 63 Tongue twisters – Gaelic for beginners 64 Campbeltown – Whisky capital of the world 65 Zero point zero zero zero zero… – Caramel and whisky 66 Holy water – Three drops is enough 67 Hide a case – Playing hide and seek 68 Tennessee whiskey – The Lincoln County process 69 Bottle decomposition – Nice little fragment 70 The battle of the crows – Not every crow is an old crow 71 Gan bei – And see what happens 72 Ernest Shackleton – Whisky and ice 73 The Queen and her units – 14 or 21 or 56? 74 Royal whisky – The Purveyors to the Royal Household 75 The royal crash – Good news for Laphroaig 76 The water of life – Aqua vitae is good for you 77 The seven-drops principle – What we all throw away! 78 Keep walking … – Left? Or right? 79 Glencairn glass – Not all glasses are created equal 80 Loch Ewe Distillery – Scotland’s smallest distillery 81 Mekhong Whisky – The pride of every Thai 82 Glenmorangie helps – Forget the emergency number 83 Macallan’s secret room – The sound of bottles 84 Fake whiskies – No one is safe 85 Copper beauty – Scratches and dents included 86 11.11.11 – First drop of Japanese whisky 87 Paul the Apostle – ‘Stop drinking water…’ 88 Dufftown – Whisky capital of the world 89 Whisky, a man’s world? – The lady of the house speaking 90 Diet whisky – Don’t worry about Weight Watchers! Drink! 91 Whisky mathematics – To lose count 92 Cricket and whisky – And a South African girl 93 Faraday Still – All-in-one 94 Dr. Jim Swan – The Einstein of whisky 95 My property on Islay – Wonderful investment 96 Dornoch Castle – Whisky castle hotel 97 Lomondian confusion – Still x and still y 98 Ode to the nose – But don’t exaggerate 99 Per mil – To spit or not to spit 100 Tommermænd – No, nay, never no more 101 Bluff your way – Practice makes perfect Epilogue

About the author

Fernand Dacquin has traveled the world as a journalist, specializing in tourism and distillates. He’s visited Scotland, the birthplace of whisky, hundreds of times and drew inspiration from all these trips for articles on whisky in newspapers and magazines in Flanders and the Netherlands. In 2011, he became Keeper of the Quaich, which is usually reserved for people from the whisky industry itself. He is co-organizer of the International Malt Whisky Festival in Ghent and also took part in the festival in The Hague. In 2017, he was inducted into the Royal Celtic Society, founded by Sir Walter Scott in 1820, for his contribution to publicizing and spreading Scottish culture.

Product details

• Authors: Fernand Dacquin
• Assisted by: Lannoo (Editor)
• Publisher: Lannoo
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 31.01.2022
• EAN: 9789401479585
• ISBN: 978-94-0-147958-5
• No. of pages: 384
• Dimensions: 135 mm x 183 mm x 31 mm
• Subject: Guides > Food & drink > Drinks