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Jim Murray | |
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 Jim Murray at his tasting lab | |
| Born | 13 November 1957 Merstham, Surrey |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Whisky writer |
| Website | Dram Good Books |
Jim Murray (born 13 November 1957) is an English writer journalist, and whisky critic. He gives observations on whisky and his annually updated book on the subject, Jim Murray's Whisky Bible. [1]
Murray was born in Merstham, Surrey, UK. A keen journalist from a young age, he wrote for his local papers while still at school and presented his own television show in Northamptonshire, Murray on Monday, at the age of sixteen. Murray would report and comment on local sporting events. His passion for writing and sport, specifically football, culminated in his first book Millwall: Lions of the South (1988), a history of Murray's beloved and unfashionable Millwall F.C.
As a national newspaper journalist with the Sunday People and Daily Star in 1992, Murray left Fleet Street after 13 years to become a whisky writer. Having visited his first distillery, Talisker in 1975, he believes that he has since visited more distilleries globally than any person. [2] He had used his secondments to Scotland in the early and mid-1980s to visit as many distilleries as possible and even work in them during his free time.
1994 saw the release of Jim Murray's Irish Whiskey Almanac, the first of many whisky books that he would go on to write. [3] This book was revised and extended for a re-release three years later as Classic Irish Whiskey (1997). Other publications include Jim Murray's Complete Book of Whisky (1997), Classic Bourbon, Tennessee & Rye (1998), Classic Blended Scotch (1999) and The Art of Whisky (1998).
Murray won the Glenfiddich Whisky Writer of the Year award three times. He has said that he fiercely guards his independence and honesty, which he believes can be compromised by writing for advertising-dependent media. His recent magazine writings have been selective and only on the understanding that he retains full copyright. To further protect his writing, Murray has trademarked his name.
Jim Murray's Whisky Bible is an ongoing project, with the first of the series having been published in 2003. It is a compact guide containing every whisky that Murray and a team of researchers are able to source from the worldwide market. Each whisky is tasted by Murray alone and graded out of an overall score of 100. This total is reflective of the four key criteria: nose, taste, finish and balance, each awarded marks out of 25. With every new edition of The Whisky Bible, Murray provides tasting notes and ratings for around 1,000 newly released or previously obscure whiskies, with nearly 4,000 brands being reviewed overall.
As well as writing and broadcasting on whisky, and being a chair judge at the International Wine and Spirit Competition, Murray has also worked as a consultant blender with both whisky and rum. He claims one of his achievements includes playing a major role in resurrecting Ardbeg distillery in Islay after it closed in 1996.[ citation needed ] Murray has also championed the cause of American whiskey and Canadian rye whisky, Japanese whisky, and Irish single pot still whiskey, all of which had fallen out fashion when he first began writing about them.
In late 2020, after claims were made that Murray's whisky reviews include sexist language, a distiller and a retailer sought to distance themselves from him. [4] The Scotch Whisky Association characterized Mr. Murray's language as “offensive.” [4] Murray denied that his reviews were sexist, stating "It is to do with sensuality. All foods and drinks are sensual." [4]
Murray lives in Northamptonshire, England,[ citation needed ] and also has a home near Frankfort, Kentucky, United States, in the heart of the bourbon-making region.
Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from fermented grain mash. Various grains are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden casks, which are typically made of charred white oak. Uncharred white oak casks previously used for the aging of port, rum or sherry are also sometimes used.
Bourbon whiskey is a type of barrel-aged American whiskey made primarily from corn (maize). The name derives from the French House of Bourbon, although the precise source of inspiration is uncertain; contenders include Bourbon County, Kentucky, and Bourbon Street in New Orleans, both of which are named after the House of Bourbon. The name bourbon might not have been used until the 1850s, and the association with Bourbon County was not evident until the 1870s.
Single malt Scotch refers to single malt whisky made in Scotland. To qualify for this category, a whisky must have been distilled at a single distillery using a pot still distillation process and made from a mash of malted barley. Therefore, a single malt means that the whisky has not been blended elsewhere with whisky from other distilleries. As with any Scotch whisky, a single malt Scotch must be distilled in Scotland and matured in oak casks in Scotland for at least three years, although most single malts are matured longer.
Single malt whisky is malt whisky from a single distillery.
A blended whiskey is the product of blending different types of whiskeys and sometimes also neutral spirits, colorings, and flavorings. It is generally the product of mixing one or more higher-quality straight or single malt whiskey with less expensive spirits and other ingredients. This typically allows for a lower priced finished product, although expensive "premium" varieties also exist.
Rye whiskey can refer to two different, but related, types of whiskey:
Tennessee whiskey is straight whiskey produced in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Although it has been legally defined as a bourbon whiskey in some international trade agreements, most current producers of Tennessee whiskey disclaim references to their products as "bourbon" and do not label them as such on any of their bottles or advertising materials. All current Tennessee whiskey producers are required by Tennessee law to produce their whiskeys in Tennessee and – with the sole exception of Benjamin Prichard's – to use a filtering step known as the Lincoln County Process prior to aging the whiskey. Beyond the perceived marketing value of the distinction, Tennessee whiskey and bourbon have almost identical requirements, and most Tennessee whiskeys meet the criteria for bourbon.
Heaven Hill Distilleries, Inc. is a private, American family-owned and operated distillery founded in 1935 and headquartered in Bardstown, Kentucky, that produces and markets the Heaven Hill brand of Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey and a variety of other distilled spirits.
Single barrel whiskey is a premium class of whiskey in which each bottle comes from an individual aging barrel, instead of coming from blending together the contents of various barrels to provide uniformity of color and taste. By contrast, some other whiskeys, even ones that are not blends, may be combined from more than one batch, or even from differing years to achieve consistency. The whiskey from each barrel is bottled separately, with each bottle bearing the barrel number and in most cases the dates for the beginning and end of aging. Each barrel is believed to contribute unique characteristics to the finished whiskey.
Powers is a brand of Irish whiskey produced by the Irish Distillers subsidiary of Pernod Ricard. Historically a single pot still whiskey, the flagship Powers Gold Label brand was the first Irish whiskey ever to be bottled. Powers Gold Label was the best-selling whiskey in Ireland.
Midleton Very Rare is a premium Irish whiskey, produced by the Irish Distillers subsidiary of Pernod Ricard at the New Midleton Distillery, in the East Cork town of Midleton, from which it gets its name. A non-age statement whiskey, containing a mix of pot still and grain whiskeys, it is matured for about twelve to twenty years in ex-bourbon American Oak barrels. One of the most expensive whiskeys regularly produced by Irish Distillers, since its launch in 1984, Midleton Very Rare has frequently been the recipient of strong reviews and awards.
Old Overholt is America's oldest continually maintained brand of whiskey. It was founded in West Overton, Pennsylvania, in 1810. Old Overholt is a rye whiskey distilled by A. Overholt & Co., currently a subsidiary of Beam Suntory, which is a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings of Osaka, Japan. It is produced at the Jim Beam distillery in Clermont, Kentucky. It is one of the most commonly available straight rye whiskies in the United States, where it is available at most liquor stores. It is aged for four years and since early 2020 is non-chill filtered and bottled at 86 proof. A four-year bottled in bond, 100 proof version was released in late 2017. Old Overholt has been called a "foundation stone of American whiskey" because of its long history.
W. L. Weller is a brand of "wheated" bourbon whiskey. The brand was created by the Stitzel-Weller Distilling Company, and was sold several times after 1972. Since 1999, the brand has been owned by the Sazerac Company. It is produced at the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky. Like all bourbons, Weller is distilled from a mash composed of at least 51% corn (maize). The secondary grain used for the Weller brand is wheat, whereas most bourbons use rye.
German whisky is a distilled beverage produced in Germany made from grains traditionally associated with the production of whisky. The distillation of German-made whisky is a relatively recent phenomenon having only started in the last 30 years. The styles produced resemble those made in Ireland, Scotland and the United States: single malts, blends, and bourbon styles. There is no standard spelling of German whiskies with distilleries using both "whisky" and "whiskey" and one even using "Whesskey", a play on the word whisky and Hessen, the state in which it is produced. There are currently 23 distilleries in Germany producing whisky.
Old Forester is a brand of Kentucky straight bourbon whisky produced by the Brown–Forman Corporation. It has been on the market continuously for longer than any other bourbon, and was the first bourbon sold exclusively in sealed bottles. It was first bottled and marketed in 1870 by the former pharmaceutical salesman turned bourbon-merchant George Garvin Brown – the founder of the Brown–Forman Corporation. During the Prohibition period from 1920 to 1933, Brown–Forman received one of only six licenses authorizing lawful production.
Distillery 291 is a whiskey distillery in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Garrison Brothers Distillery is a distillery in Hye, Texas. The distillery produces Texas Straight Bourbon, as well as some experimental variants. In 2006, the distillery was granted the first stiller's permit for bourbon outside of Kentucky and Tennessee, which makes it the oldest legal bourbon distillery in Texas. Garrison Brothers Distillery did not originally plan on ever selling outside the state of Texas, but it is sold in 42 states as of November 2021.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to whisky:
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