In 1885, Alfred Barnard was charged with the task of visiting and reporting on every active whisky distillery throughout Scotland, Ireland and England. It took him two exhaustive years. In this book you will see the distilleries through his eyes. His detailed descriptions of every step in the distilling process is work that remains unparalleled to this day. But that's only part of the story. As he and his companions traveled the countryside, he fell in love with Scotland and all its grande...

The often harsh and unforgiving Australian landscape was a far cry from what the early colonisers were used to, and it proved a daunting obstacle to settlement. However, a few brave and at times foolhardy men were determined to prove themselves equal to the challenge. AUSTRALIA'S GREAT EXPLORERS looks at the tragedies and triumphs of men such as Wentworth and Lawson, Hume and Hovell, Burke and Wills, Leichhardt and Strzelecki as they battled to conquer the Great Diving Range, find an elusi...

The Colony is the story of the marvellously contrary, endlessly energetic early years of Sydney. It is an intimate account of the transformation of a campsite in a beautiful cove to the town that later became Australia's largest and best-known city.From the sparkling beaches to the foothills of the Blue Mountains, Grace Karskens skilfully reveals how landscape shaped the lives of the original Aboriginal inhabitants and newcomers alike. She traces the ways in which relation...

There are few spirits that command such dedication, interest and affection as whisky. The purpose of this book is to provide a pathway through the whisky maze, to demystify it and to provide a platform from which a lifetime’s hobby can be launched.Whisky expert Dominic Roskrow explores all aspects of this popular drink, delving into its history, dispelling the myths surrounding it and highlighting individualities of the many varieties that exist.Includes:Origi...

Why should you buy this book? Easy: I’ve written a straightforward and easy-to-follow guide to malt whiskies which will point you straight in the direction of malts which will be to your taste, based on whiskies you’ll probably be familiar with and which are readily available to try out in many pubs. Based on those malts I’ll show you which are similar in character so you’ll know that if you like such and such a whisky then you’ll probably like these also. The tasting notes give an overall...

Whisky, A Very Peculiar History' takes a sideways look at this most inebriating beverage from its simplistic origins to its pride of place in the drinks cabinets of the world. When Henry VIII disbanded the monasteries and let those brewing monks out into the wilderness, he had no idea of the kind of beast he'd unleashed. Whisky was used as a medicine, giving 'the glow of apparent well-being' and even horses were known to be given a dram here and there (although via the kneecaps). Featuring...

This guide to single malt and Scotch whiskey is an essential resource for novices and seasoned experts alike. It includes more than 200 brands and varieties of Scotch and single malt whiskey. Ratings and detailed information on Scotch and the Scotch industry are included. Information on each brand includes the varieties' strength, aroma, flavor, and distinguishing characteristics. The history and lore of single malt and Scotch whisky is shown in both text and color photographs.

WHISKY is not only the world's most consistently successful and popular drink, it is also one of the oldest, having been around in one form or another since the first millennium. However, documentary records only commence in Scotland in 1494 when it was distilled as a spirit known as aqua vitae. Its growth since then has been better detailed and a complete lexicon has developed in line with whisky's increasing sophistication and worldwide popularity. The A to Z of Whisky is designed for wh...

For more than two thousand years the people of St Kilda remained remote from the world. Their society was viable, utopian even; but in the nineteenth century the islands were discovered by missionaries, do-gooders and tourists, who brought with them money, disease and despotism. In 1930, the few remaining islanders were evacuated, no longer able to support themselves.An exploration of the life and death of the remote Hebridean society, Island on the Edge of the World is a ...

In the bestselling Black Kettle and Full Moon, master storyteller Geoffrey Blainey takes us on another absorbing journey – a guided tour of a vanished Australia. Covering the years from the first gold rush to World War I. Blainey paints a fascinating picture of how our forebears lived – in the outback, in towns and cities, at sea and on land. He looks at all aspects of daily life, from billycans to brass bands, from ice-making to etiquette, from pipes to pubs. The engaging text is...

Australia: 1813, Gregory Blaxland led the first known European expedition across the area of the Great Dividing Range known as the Blue Mountains, along with William Lawson and William Charles Wentworth, on a journey which would open up the inland of the continent.Blaxland's diaries show that he had a clear grasp of the scale upon which agricultural and pastoral activities would be profitable in Australia. In 1814, like many others almost insolvent because ...