Neist Point, Isle of Skye

At Neist Point, on the Isle of Skye, I met a fellow tourist from England and remarked that I had come to Scotland for the whisky and had fallen in love with the beauty of the country.

"Yes," he answered, then slyly added, "but the whisky has an edge."

Without an appreciation of whisky, I think a visitor to Scotland misses the true beauty of the country; whisky and Scotland are inseparably intertwined. Busloads of tourists unload at distilleries, take short walking tours, snap innumerable pictures, then wrinkle their noses when offered a sample of a single malt. They leave without ever having experienced Scotland.

This web site is a combination of pictures I have taken in Scotland, my recollections of the country, the people, the whisky, and my tasting notes. It isn't meant to be the definitive authority on single malt whisky, simply one man's impressions.

About the name, maltwhiskey.com: There are two spellings: "whisky" refers to product from Scotland, while "whiskey" is the spelling used for Irish and American products (interestingly, until early in the twentieth century the official spelling in Scotland contained the "e"). I chose the American spelling because the information provided about availability is based upon distribution in the US. Most Americans will probably search for information with the "e" spelling. I apologize to the much larger (and correct) body of whisky-lovers who appreciate the difference.

Also, I apologize for the long download times of these pages. Due to the numerous images of Scotland, the distilleries, bottles, and labels many of the pages load excrutiatingly slowly, especially if you are using an older modem. Please be patient. I think you'll find the wait worthwhile.

Come back to visit from time to time. Though the site looks the same from day to day it is a work in progress. I am continually updating information -- a new label here and there, tasting notes from a new release, added photos of distilleries or Scotland, and I go back to update and revise tasting notes I have previously posted.

In the best of spirits,

Charles Shields