Fortunately, though the "magic" and "glory" of Scottish distilling processes are not exportable, the finished product is. No alcoholic beverage in the world is so closely and immediately identified with its homeland as Scotch. And two brands exemplify and symbolize the world-renowned quality and prestige of Scotch whisky—Chivas Regal and The Glenlivet.
In A Double Scotch, celebrated beverage author, journalist, and columnist F. Paul Pacult tells the stirring story of how two families forever changed the Scotch whisky playing field by producing benchmark whiskies that, over time, became standards of excellence, not just in Scotland, but the world over.
Set against the spectacular, craggy backdrop of the Scottish Highlands, this multigenerational saga offers a study in contrasts between families as different from each other as the exquisitely blended Chivas Regal is from The Glenlivet, the quintessential single-malt Scotch.
You'll meet the Chivas brothers, James and John, an ambitious pair of upscale Aberdeen grocers who never owned or operated a distillery, but elevated the process of blending whiskies to a fine and very profitable art. The father-and-son team of George and John Gordon Smith, on the other hand, were hardy Highlands farmers from the Glenlivet district of Banffshire whose sideline malt whisky business became too lucrative to remain a part-time pursuit.
For all of their differences, the Smiths and the Chivas brothers shared a common dedication to quality, authenticity, and customer service. It was that dedication that helped both families weather a storm of cutthroat competition that, along with excessive taxation and ill-advised government interference in the whisky trade, gave birth to an infamous era of widespread skullduggery, illicit distilling, rioting, smuggling, and even murder. Through it all, these two families—along with their flagship brands—not only survived but also transformed their local craft by creating first a nationwide, then a worldwide market for their products.
Amidst this remarkable tale of family drama, business intrigue, and bloody mayhem, Pacult taps into a deep vein of dry Scottish humor and infallible common sense. Served neat, A Double Scotch will whet the whistle of Scotch lovers, Scotland aficionados, and business enthusiasts alike.


作者简介
F. PAUL PACULT is the founding editor and publisher of the newsletter F. Paul Pacult's Spirit Journal – The Quarterly Independent Guide to Distilled Spirits, Beers, and Wines, now in its fifteenth year of publication. He is the author of the critically acclaimed book American Still Life: The Jim Beam Story and the Making of the World's #1 Bourbon, from Wiley, as well as Kindred Spirits and The Beer Essentials. He is the wine and spirits columnist for Sky, the Delta Air Lines in-flight magazine; a contributing editor and the spirits tasting director for Wine Enthusiast magazine; a contributor to CARGO; a special projects editor for the New York Times Magazine; and the judging director at the annual San Francisco World Spirits Competition. He is also honored to be the only journalist worldwide to be a member of The Bourbon Hall of Fame, a member of the Armagnac Company of Musketeers, and a life member of The Keepers of the Quaich Scotch Whisky Society. Paul lives in Wallkill, New York.

Foreword by Patrick Ricard
Preface:Sparks and Bonfires in Whiskyland
Acknowledgments
PART ONE:RASCALLY LIQUOR
Prologue:The Guid Auld Drink
1 A Magic of Locality
2 Reaching the Boiling Point
3 George Smith,Glenlivet,and Ancient Liberties
4 The Great Era of Smuggling
5 The Glenlivet
6 Timely Passages
7 Smoking Guns and Castles Three
8 From On-the-Job Terror to Purveyou to Her Majesty
9 Panicked Grouse and the End of a Defining Era
PART TWO:THE SONS
10 A Father's Dreams
11 The Chivas Brothers Company
12 Such a Character as the Late Mr.Smith
13 The Mgic Works:Chivas Regal
14 The Gallant Major's Whisky,O!
PART THREE:THE BARONS
15 A Spirit of No Common Rate
16 Young Men of Conspicuous Gallantry
17 Mr.Sam and Scotland's Prince of Whiskies
18 Drams of America
19 Mr.Sam's Historic Scotch Whisky Gambit
20 The Joining of Two Scotch Whisky Giants
Epilogue:The World of Opportunities
Appendix A:Whisky Talk
Appendix B :Personal Tasting Evaluations
Bibliography
Index