Contains hundreds of recipes, but never has the recipe I need. The indexing system is also quite inefficient.

This book is an indispensable shopping guide to the best, the best bargains and the most over rated in distilled spirits. I have never been disappointed in its recommendations. This book will pay for itself after one trip to the liquor store.

One of the best whisky guides, even though it is diluted with other hard liquors as well. Not as pretty as "Michael Jackson's Complete Guide to Single Malt Scotch" (there are no pictures), it has the better, more complete tasting notes, and user-friendly rating systems for both overall quality and price. Pacult is opinionated and often funny, especially when it comes to the one * liquors: The Borghetti Café Sport Espresso Liqueur (Italy) is "a disaster; one of the singlemost sickening liqueurs I've been within 50 miles of in the last decade." He can see the Licor 43 Liqueur (Spain) "as a useful addition in the kitchen of an imaginative cook; but on its own, it's horrible."

Even the popular Laphroaig 10-year old earns only one * ("...make sure you have a whip and chair handy after opening this beastie. . .") Yet, Pacult is not a curmudgeon, he gives the 15-year old Laphroaig a 3 (out of 5): "There's still oodles of peat, but my nose cavity isn't aflame as it was with the cantankerous 10," and the strong iodine and seaweedy overtones of another Islay Whisky, the Lagavulin 15-Year Old, gets a 4 * recommendation.

Pacult favors Bowmore, Clynelish, Highland Park, Longmore, Macallan, and Springbank as "Scotland's Finest Malt Whisky Distilleries." The 12-Year old Highland Park gets a full 5 * and is praised as a glorious malt...one of my top ten malts without any hesitation; find and hoard at all costs... on the palate...the sherry races to the front just ahead of peat, mild brine, and heather...." The 12-year old Macallan gets 4 * for its nose of spice nectarine, lanolin, tannin, and cream..." and "succulent tastes of ripe blueberry, bell pepper, sweetened coconut, and peppermint." Although I didn't agree with this last description, Pacult, as always, is opinionated, descriptive, and fun to read.

Although Pacult, the editor of "Spirit Journal" magazine, has a special love for Scotch whisky, the book includes similar notes on Brandy, White Spirits (e.g., Rum, Vodka, Gin, Tequila), Liqueurs, and Fortified Wines. Whisky, including single malt, blended, American, Canadian, and Irish varieties, take up about one-fourth of the 468 pages. The book describes briefly the making and appreciation of the liquors, an explanation of the rating system, and a bibliography. For a beautiful and informative "coffee table book" focused exclusively on whisky you might want Michael Jackson's recent volume, for a fun, thorough, and thoughtful guide to liquors, including a wonderful section on whisky, get this one.