Whisky – the Manual is a book by the hand of Dave Broom, starting its introduction with debunking the most known myths in the whisky world we all know about: whisky is an old fashioned drink and for old men, should only been drunk neat as an after dinner dram, single malts are better than blends and Scotland makes the best whisky… Whisky is so much more than that and it is not (or at least a lot less) frowned upon anymore to chill, shake, mix and match with all kind of liquids and foods. Like many books about whisky, the book starts with a short history lesson and a brief explanation of the processes that take place in making whisky. Explaining details in a clear language, interesting for whisky-nerds and beginners alike, the core part of the book concentrates on his suggestions towards how one can drink whisky, leaving all possibilities open to the reader.

Dave Broom takes these myths, and the one thing that most whisky-aficionados will agree to*; never let anyone tell you how to drink your whisky, a refreshing approach. Dave focusses on 102 different whiskies, ranging from Scottish blends and malts to whiskies from Ireland, America, Canada and Japan, with a brief summary about the whisky and a short recap of the results of his experiments, where it gets interesting. Knowing the world with its myths and prejudices, Dave has tried these whiskies with five different kind of mixers; soda water, ginger ale, cola, coconut water and green tea. At first we thought Dave had gone crazy, but when reading on, we became curious and wanted to try it ourselves. And why not?  Instead of going nuts with sparkles, live octopuses and fireworks, consumed from a fairy’s belly button**, start with only a little sacrilege and see what happens…

Dave shows us a different way of looking at our favourite drink, exploring different sides, and it is clear that some types of whiskies easily accept (or look to be designed) to be mixed with one or more of the mixers and even get lifted towards another level, where others are clearly killed with the addition of the same liquid. There are also whiskies that clearly do not accept anything other than a drop of water, or the addition of a cube of ice. The last part of the book gives us a short, informative suggestion towards whisky and food pairing, after which the focus goes back to mixing, with a wide selection of recipes for whisky based cocktails, some of which we are eager to try. The goal of the book seems to convince the reader that it is okay to mix your favourite blend, grain or single malt whisky with a choice of different, easily available soft drinks. A very informative and educational book that reads effortless.

Have some fun and explore the possibilities. Dave has recently released a GIN – the Manual in September 2015 and is this year recently RUM – the Manual. Another two certainties to be added to our bookshelves.

* whisky aficionados disagree on many levels, but this one, most of them agree with
** we clearly don’t know shit about making cocktails

Information on the author
Award-winning author and whisky expert Dave Broom has been writing about whisky for over 25 years as a journalist and author. He has written multiple books, is a Master of the Quaich and a Kentucky Colonel. He took over as the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Ambasador from Martine Nouet, has won numerous awards and was was contributing editor to Whisky Magazine: Japan, consultant editor to Whisky Magazine (UK, the USA, France, Spain), and a lead columnist on Whisky Advocate (USA) and many other magazines for 17 years, some of which he quit in 2015 when he was asked to become managing editor of Scotchwhisky.com

Info on the book

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Copyright notice: Product photo in the article and book photo by WhiskySpeller