Ian Buxton

Sixth edition, fully revised and updated. 'something of an institution . . . We highly recommend you get a copy for its amusing tone, on-the-nose criticism and Buxton's unerring nose for value' Master of Malt 'excellent' The Sunday Times 'a must-buy for whisky enthusiasts who prefer high-level expertise executed with humour and irreverence rather than lofty academic pretensions . . . accessible, funny and fact-packed' Robb Report 101 Whiskies to Try Before You Die is a whisky guide with a difference. It is not an awards list. It is not a list of the 101 'best' whiskies in the world in the opinion of a whisky expert. It is simply a guide to the 101 whiskies that enthusiasts must seek out and try in order to complete their whisky education. Avoiding the deliberately obscure, the ridiculously limited and the absurdly expensive, whisky connoisseur Ian Buxton recommends an eclectic selection of old favourites, stellar newcomers and mystifyingly unknown drams that simply have to be drunk. The book decodes the marketing hype and gets straight to the point; whether from Canada, India, America, Sweden, Ireland, Japan or the hills, glens and islands of Scotland, here are the 101 whiskies that you really want. Try them before you die - Slainte!

From the author of the bestselling 101 Whiskies to Try Before You Die. Island whiskies have long held a fascination and a powerful emotional draw on whisky drinkers the world over. Their special combination of heritage, mystique and remote location captures the imagination; their highly distinctive flavours are often imitated but seldom bettered. Join Ian Buxton on a personal journey across Scotland’s islands, where he learns to fish with high explosives, ends up hurling his dinner into the sea and comes face to face with a basking shark. Combining an expert’s knowledge of whisky with a travel writer’s fondness for anecdote, and with a keen description of place, he provides a special treat for all who love the islands’ magical drams. This new edition brings the acclaimed book up to date, capturing changes on the island whisky scene, including new and proposed distilleries such as Benbecula; Ardnahoe, Gartbreck Farm, Ili, Laggan Bay, Port Ellen and Portintruan (Islay); Orkney; Lerwick and Shetland Reel (Shetland); Isle of Tiree and others, along with Ian’s typically acerbic comments on whisky investment, luxury marketing and private cask sales.

Heavy gun mountings dominated the design of larger warships, on account of their size, weight, protection and cost. In the 1890s, British gun mountings developed rapidly with new gun technologies (wire winding, cordite) and the rise of the two major ordnance companies, Armstrongs and Vickers, producing large numbers of weapons for the Royal Navy and for worldwide export. But by 1960, aircraft and guided missiles had made the big gun redundant, so the period from 1890s to 1950s covering the two world wars is the most historically significant. The focus of this book is on the larger mountings and those fitted in the larger ships – the massively engineered ‘non transferable’ mountings, whose complexities and associated magazines took up a huge volume of the ship, unlike the smaller calibre ‘transferable’ mountings mostly bolted to the deck. Such mountings could weigh over 1000 tons, take two years to build and make up a quarter of the cost of a battleship. Although they existed in many variants, there were only about forty basic mountings from 4.5in to 18in calibre fitted to the majority of the RN’s larger ships so these take up the bulk of the book. For each, well illustrated handbooks with coloured plates were produced, but are largely inaccessible to the public, so about 50 of these highly detailed drawings are reproduced at large scale. The smaller mountings and the guns themselves each have a separate chapter. Although the impact of the book is largely visual, there is an expert account of the design, construction and installation of such mountings, and their manufacturers, supported by a range of internal and close-up photographs. The reference value of the work is enhanced by a comprehensive table of mountings and their characteristics, plus a list of all the mountings made by Vickers of Barrow between 1900 and 1950. Providing easy access to so much rarely seen material, this handsome volume will appeal to modelmakers, ship enthusiasts and technical historians.

Fifth edition, fully revised and updated.'something of an institution ... We highly recommend you get a copy for its amusing tone, on-the-nose criticism and Buxton's unerring nose for value' Master of Malt'excellent' The Sunday Times'a must-buy for whisky enthusiasts who prefer high-level expertise executed with humour and irreverence rather than lofty academic pretensions ... accessible, funny and fact-packed' Robb Report101 Whiskies to Try Before You Die is a whisky guide with a difference. It is not an awards list. It is not a list of the 101 'best' whiskies in the world in the opinion of a self-appointed whisky guru. It is simply a guide to the 101 whiskies that enthusiasts must seek out and try in order to complete their whisky education. Avoiding the deliberately obscure, the ridiculously limited and the absurdly expensive, whisky expert Ian Buxton recommends an eclectic selection of old favourites, stellar newcomers and mystifyingly unknown drams that simply have to be drunk. The book decodes the marketing hype and gets straight to the point; whether from Canada, India, America, Sweden, Ireland, Japan or the hills, glens and islands of Scotland, here are the 101 whiskies that you really want. Try them before you die - Slainte!

The launch in 1906 of HMS _Dreadnought_, the worlds first all-big-gun battleship, rendered all existing battle fleets obsolete, but at the same time it wiped out the Royal Navy's numerical advantage, so expensively maintained for decades. Already locked in an arms race with Germany, Britain urgently needed to build an entirely new battle fleet of these larger, more complex and more costly vessels. In this she succeeded spectacularly: in little over a decade fifty such ships were completed, almost exactly double what Germany achieved. It was only made possible by the country's vast industrial nexus of shipbuilders, engine manufacturers, armament firms and specialist armour producers, whose contribution to the creation of the Grand Fleet is too often ignored. This heroic achievement, and how it was done, is the central theme of this book. It charts the rise of the large industrial conglomerates that were key to this success, looks at their reaction to fast-moving technical changes, and analyses the politics of funding this vast national effort, both before and during the Great War. It also attempts to assess the true cost and value of the Grand Fleet in terms of the resources consumed. And finally, it describes the effects of the post-war recession, industrial contraction, and the very different conditions that influenced the last generation of British battleships built before and during the Second World War.

'An enjoyable romp through the craft whisky industry. Prepare to have your eyes opened and taste buds transported along the ever expanding whisky route.' Will Lyons'Buxton has done it again: a cracking read. A novel and invaluable addition to any whisky library.' Charles MacLean'Ian Buxton is the perfect guide to the rapidly changing world of whisky. Can you afford to be without a copy of 101 Craft and World Whiskies?' Henry Jeffreys, author of Empire of BoozeDiscover the exciting new world of craft distillers and whiskies from around the world in Ian Buxton's brilliant new addition to his 101 Whiskies series. From Austria to Argentina and Norway to New Zealand, the world of whisky is expanding as we have never seen before. Distilleries as far away as Taiwan and as close to home as England are reinventing what whisky means - and an iconoclastic generation of boutique, craft distillers are challenging previous orthodoxies and teasing drinkers with their exciting new styles and radical releases.101 Craft & World Whiskies to Try Before You Die is an up-to-the-minute guide from best-selling whisky commentator Ian Buxton, author of the popular 101 Whiskies series, and the first independent assessment of this global drinks revolution. Guaranteed to appeal equally to whisky aficionados and new enthusiasts in search of a trusty and well-informed guide, Ian Buxton's wonderful new handbook is delivered in his trademark irreverent and trenchant style. There's a whole world of whisky to be discovered, free of bagpipes and heather and far from leather-clad fireside armchairs, that's overturning tradition. Taken neat or over ice, 101 Craft & World Whiskies will blow the cobwebs off your dram.

Unlike the United States, which has preserved a number of battleships as museums or memorials, not a single British dreadnought survives in the country that invented them. This book is an ambitious attempt to achieve the next best thing - a level of documentation in plans, photographs and words that portrays every aspect of the ship, albeit in two dimensions. Although the ship was chosen primarily because of the wealth of source material, _Duke of York_ enjoyed a distinguished wartime career that included sinking the German battleship _Scharnhorst_ in 1943 and serving as the flagship of the British Pacific Fleet in 1945, so is a fitting subject for such in-depth treatment. The core of the book is the reproduction in full colour of a complete set of as-fitted plans of the ship, including many details and close-ups. These are complemented by an unusually thorough set drawn after the ship's major refit in March 1945, showing all the modifications undertaken to prepare the ship for service alongside the US Navy in the Pacific. Photographic coverage begins with the stunning views taken by the builder's professional cameraman during every stage of construction, and concludes with an illustrated chronology of the breaking up. This last is included not just for completeness but because photos of the ship at various stages of demolition demonstrate many aspects of the interior structure, compartments and their fittings that are otherwise invisible. While the emphasis may be primarily visual, the accompanying narrative and captions display the expertise and in-depth knowledge of the authors, making the text as enlightening as the illustration. The result is a uniquely comprehensive portrait of a great ship in all its complexity, and a book that no warship enthusiast will want to miss.

Since the publication of the first edition in 2014, the whisky industry has continued to change. This book provides the reader with an overview of the latest academic research and industry best practice in an accessible and authoritative format. Despite the recession, new distillation capacity has been added at a record pace and new consumers in new markets have entered the arena. Distillers are experimenting with new finishes, packaging and marketing techniques and amongst consumers there is a hunger for knowledge and informed commentary. An entirely new chapter discussing the management and utilization of co-products and recent developments in areas such as anaerobic digestion is included along with revisions and updates to most chapters. Written by acknowledged and experienced authorities of the subject, this book provide an up to date treatment of this fast developing area. Aimed at the popular market, it provides a leading text for students of distilling, industry practitioners, new craft distillers and whisky enthusiasts. Review of the 1st Edition ‘The authors have clearly put much effort into this book... I enjoyed the book almost as much as I enjoy whisky. Fascinating stuff from cover to cover.’ Ian W. Davies, Chromatographia, 2014, 77, 1733-1734 ‘Sometimes, you come across a book that’s so comprehensive that it’s worth shouting about….a fascinating book that can be engaged with on numerous levels, even if you aren’t a student of distilling. Pop it on the shelf and consult it from time to time over the coming years. This might be the only whisky book you’ll ever need.’ http://malt-review.com/2014/08/01/book-review-the-science-and-commerce-of-whisky/

Rum, once the poor relation of the spirit world, has undergone a revival and is no longer seen just as the preferred tipple for tipsy pirates. The craft drinks movement has certainly stimulated the rum world, with high numbers of new artisan rum brands launching around the world in the last few years. The rise of the rum cocktails is another successful trend, with the popularity of mojitos and mai tai contributing greatly in the growth and development of the rum market. Ian Buxton, the UK’s No.1 bestselling author on spirits, takes us on a tour of the different colours, flavours, creation methods and characteristics, and makes his pick of the best rums in the world. Whether you like your rum in cocktails, or prefer to sip it neat, this is the only book on rum you will ever need.

Ian Buxton's latest book explores the finest and rarest whiskies in the world: wonderful whisky you're dying to try but probably never will. These drams may be extraordinarily hard to find, impossible to buy or literally the sole survivor of a long-lost distillery - some are even priceless - but, for the first time ever, they're assembled here for you to 'savour'. Some are the Ferraris of whisky: luxury thoroughbreds beyond the reach of all but the most fortunate, discerning and wealthy of enthusiasts and collectors. Some are whisky's equivalent to the Model T Ford - once ubiquitous, but now rendered exceptional by the passage of time. All are legendary. Whether the world's oldest, rarest or most expensive, leading whisky writer Ian Buxton unlocks these liquid treasures and meets the people who make, sell or simply preserve them. 101 Legendary Whiskies You're Dying to Try But (Probably) Never Will shares the secrets of whisky's elite - what makes these whiskies so special, so intriguing and so desirable.

In the history of naval warfare probably no type of ship has provided more firepower per ton than the monitor - indeed they were little more than a huge gun mounting fitted on a simple, self-propelled raft. Designed and built rapidly to fulfil an urgent need for heavy shore-bombardment during World War I, they were top secret in conception, and largely forgotten when the short-lived requirement was over. Nevertheless, they were important ships, which played a significant role in many Great War campaigns and drove many of the advances in long-range gunnery later applied to the battle fleet. Indeed, their value was rediscovered during the Second World War when a final class was built. Monitors were largely ignored by naval historians until Ian Buxton produced the first edition of this book in 1978. Although published privately, this became an established classic and copies of the first edition are now almost unobtainable, so this new edition will be welcomed by many. It has been completely revised, extended and redesigned to a generous large format which allows material deleted from the original edition for lack of space to be restored.