A Sense of Place: A journey around Scotland’s whisky

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If “A Sense of Place” is a travel guide, it isn’t telling whisky lovers where to go and what to see in Scotland. The sense of the place is everything together: land, water, ocean, air; trees, ferns, and crops; distilleries; history; and above all, people. “A Sense of Place: A Journey Around Scotland’s Whisky” is a tour of Scotch’s soul. One might say, “Place” is what puts the “Life” in “the Water of Life.” Or, as Broom puts it, “ is a visceral link with land, community, the past and the present, an active engagement with all the conditions that brought whisky to life.” The changing nature of communication baffles me. I’m an old, grey bearded man, but I find it amusing – bewildering and amusing: that these days a review of whisky can consist of…[Dave Broom holds up a bottle and smiles at the camera]. That is it! It has always been the people. What excites me about the world of whisky is the people who are coming into it and not just from a production point of view. Although that in itself is exciting. It’s also the people who have fallen in love with it, the fact that more women are involved in whisky and all aspects and drinking. That is hugely, hugely exciting and rewarding. Why?

A Sense of Place blends pin-sharp writing with evocative photography in a book to savour and treasure.” - Ian Rankin Dave Broom on collecting “I don’t have that mentality” Can I see a collection of music and a collection of whisky behind you? In what way you are not a collector of either?Nor is this a travel book, as the subtitle might imply. The nine chapters visit Orkney (chapter 1), the North-East (2), Spey valley (3), the Peninsulas (4), the Hebrides (6), and Islay (9). The careful reader might ask, “What about 5, 7, and 8?” Well, Chapters 5 and 7 are “Scottish Oak I” “Scottish Oak II”. And 8? That’s “Blends & Perfume”. Yes, Perfume. We seem to have got into a negative space so I’d just like to say that I am still enthused, genuinely enthused, about what’s happening with whisky around the world. Now, the same thing is happening at the very top end, though in a different way. Whisky is simply being sold as a thing that people would like to buy and I don’t necessarily blame the brands for doing it, because that market exists, but at the same time they’re selling the family silver.

The people who are interested in Japanese whisky, the ones who know about this are immediately suspicious – I’m immediately suspicious – of any new Japanese brand that appears. My initial reaction is “Is this right or not?” And that is not the way it should be. I will investigate, and I will dig before I write about it. Dave Broom, is there anything that you wish I would have asked you? Dave Broom on Japanese whisky labelling: “I’d been writing about the need for legislation for a while, but the scale of it surprised me.” Perhaps it is common practice. Starting in Orkney he travels south via the north east coast and Spey Valley to the westerly peninsulas and Hebridean islands, before his journey finishes, via the blenders of the central belt, on the island of Islay.

Rachel travels the length and breadth of Scotland, discovering a myriad of unique and interesting people and facts about this remarkable drink, with interviews with the key people who create it around the country, as she visits the famous distilleries of her country, as well as the more home-grown variety." Dave Broom was told “We’re not interested in the whisky market, we look to Ferrari” What depresses you about the world of whisky? The Braemar Literary Festival aims to explore the creative use of words and text in their broadest sense; celebrating the works of bestselling authors alongside visual artists, spoken word performers, singer-songwriters, scriptwriters, critics, and publishers alike, reflecting the many ways in which the ’literary’ creatively enhances our lives. A personal journey exploring Scotch whiskey through its terroir,including the land, weather, history, craft and culture that feeds and enhances the whisky itself.

In the book, Morgan answers these questions and looks at how Johnnie Walker, through reinvention and going against convention became the first truly global whisky brand, and how it revolutionised the world of advertising along the way. EATING YOUR WORDS – THE ART OF THE COOKBOOK: TOM PARKER BOWLES IN CONVERSATION WITH ANGELA HARTNETT OBE AND JEREMY LEE The boom in distilling around the world astonishes me. Did you know there are 250 whisky distilleries in Australia?! There are forty-five, maybe 50 in England! When I started writing there were two distilleries in Ireland, and they were owned by the same company. Now there are 50! The ending of Scotch’s hegemony over the whisky category is a good thing because it’s allowing space and it’s also challenging Scotch whisky. Those of us who live outwith a distilling community only see the end result of the work. As a result, we obsess and delight in the finished product and don’t give a second thought to how a distillery interacts with its locality.Four books written by Dave Broom “A different way of writing about whisky” Which of your books are you proudest of? Over his three-plus decades in the field, Dave hasbuilt up a considerable international following withregular training/educational visits to Japan, France, Holland, Scandinavia, Germany, Africa and NorthAmerica. He is actively involved in whiskyeducation and also acts as a consultant to majordistillers on tasting techniques as well as trainingprofessionals and the public. Dave has also workedwith Suntory in developing a language of tastingthat communicates Japanese concepts to English speakingaudiences. A synopsis reads: "Interspersing an engaging mix of anecdotes, history and information on distillers and recipes, this book will appeal to everyone from the cooking whisky connoisseur, to the novice whisky learner looking for some guidance on what to eat and cook. There are so many great whiskies, there are so many great people and the nature of whisky is shifting, evolving.