“… a beautiful and unmissable book about Scotland, its distilleries, and the whiskies they produce. The book was first published in 2001, and we should be grateful that it has returned to print in an updated edition. The late, great, Michael Jackson was, until his untimely death … the world’s best-selling author on whisky. … This book shows why Michael Jackson’s writing was, and remains, so widely admired. He is perhaps best known for definitive guides to whiskies: books in which the focus is very much on the bottles and their contents, with background information provided as appropriate about the distilleries in which the whiskies are produced.

Encounters of a Connoisseur turns this approach on its head. Chapter by chapter Michael Jackson progresses through individual areas of Scotland, or individual islands. The stories of the whiskies he encounters en route are told as the end point in stories that start with the place in which they are made before covering the distilleries and the factors that makes each distinct. The book is rounded off with an up-to-date directory of distilleries. Michael Jackson’s words are ably illustrated by the excellent photography of Harry Cory Wright which brings to life the landscape of Scotland and the settings of its distilleries in a variety of moods. The result is a beautiful and lyrical travelogue that leads the reader on a memorable journey around Scotland. It has never been a secret that Michael Jackson was a leading authority on whisky. What comes through in this book is his depth of knowledge about Scotland and, even more compellingly, his love for the country as well as for the products of its distilleries. This book is a fitting epitaph for an outstanding author.”

“Michael Jackson combines his broad knowledge of these whiskies with superb color photographs of Highland vistas …. If it’s true, as the French contend, that the land itself dictates the kind of wine its vines produce, it follows that Scotland’s whiskies will vary from one distillery to another depending on the qualities of grain and water composing the final outcome. Growing taste for artisanal Scotch whisky makes this an especially useful purchase, and its exquisite Highland panoramas make it a worthwhile travel guide as well.”