Kevin R. Kosar - Whiskey: A Global History

Whiskey is fascinating. There are hundreds of brands of it, yet few whiskies taste alike. Ardbeg and Laphroaig are both single malt Scotch whiskies. They are made in distilleries located a stones throw from one another on the island of Islay, off Scotlands western coast. Yet their flavours are remarkably distinct.

Each whiskey reflects the ingredients, machines and people who make it. The passage of time wreaks changes small and large on all these factors; recipes get revised, water, soil and grain change, and both distilleries and whiskey-makers age and eventually are replaced. New brands of whiskey are born, old brands die, some brands even come back from the dead. So it is that a bottle of Bruichladdich Scotch whisky produced in 2010 will not taste exactly the same as one produced in 1950. For the curious soul, then, whiskey provides endless opportunities for discovery, as it ever evolves.

I also was drawn to writing this book because whiskey is not just a drink; it is a political, economic and cultural phenomenon. Arising sometime before the fifteenth century, whiskey began as an obscure and often throat-scorching drink that was produced by crude methods and enjoyed by poor village denizens and farmers in the British Isles. Today, whiskey comes in an astonishing number of types and brands, and it is consumed by the rich, the poor, the rural and the urban. Whiskey-making has moved far beyond its native shores and to places such as Germany, Japan, Pakistan and New Zealand, and whiskey-making has become as much a science as an art.

Does the world really need another book on whiskey? Yes. Here is why.

Most whiskey books are either tasting guides, or they address one type of whiskey (Irish, Scotch, bourbon, etc.) in its native land (Ireland, Scotland or the USA). These latter books tend to focus heavily on the stories of individual distillers and brands.

While this approach is illuminating and entertaining, it misses the bigger picture, and the remarkable parallels of nations whiskey experiences: governments struggles to regulate and tax it sensibly, and the sometimes violent responses these policies provoked; the booms, busts and industrialization of whiskey production; the politicization of whiskey; its seepage into nations cultures; and the moral backlashes it has elicited. Additionally, examining all the worlds whiskies together makes sense because today all whiskies are part of the global whiskey world and compete for consumers.

And I must also add that too many whiskey book writers fall hopelessly in love with their subject matter. They uncritically repeat tall tales told by whiskey-makers and hooey put out by public relations firms, and they paint blissful scenes where crafty old-timers and strong-backed young uns make whiskey the old fashioned way. I have visited distilleries and whiskey towns; many are beautiful and populated with unforgettable characters. It is not for nothing that whiskey has been celebrated in poetry and song.

But the whiskey world also has mundane and ugly features. First and foremost, whiskey is a business. A few amateurs may make tiny batches for their own consumption, but most whiskey is churned out by computerized factories where professionals keep a sharp eye on the bottom line. Additionally, whiskey is a potent drink and many individuals cannot handle it. Whiskey misuse and abuse has sparked brawls, ruined families and killed many.

It is a wild tale that runs from the British Isles in the Dark Ages to the New World in the twenty-first century, and the plot includes political upheavals, technological revolutions, criminal enterprises, moral backlashes and globalization. The cast of characters is rich, with alchemists, crooks, eccentrics, poets, politicians, preachers, scientists and the millions upon millions who simply enjoy a stiff drink.