High Spirits

The world's best-known whisky critic Jim Murray on the A to Z of drinking it right.

- Aditi Pai

Soon after a four-day visit to India in May, Jim Murray tasted his 20,000th whisky in England. His observations, done using the famous Murray Method, will go into the 2020 edition of his highly acclaimed Whisky Bible, hailed as the world’s most comprehensive guide on malts, blends, bourbon and rye. His journey into the world of whiskies began in 1975 when, as a trainee reporter with a British newspaper, he visited the Talisker distillery in Scotland. That, for him, was “truly a life-changing experience”. For several years, he tasted every single whisky he could “find or afford” and is now the world’s leading authority on the beverage and a much sought-after blender. In India, he conducted four blind tasting sessions arranged for whisky aficionados by sommelier Nikhil Agarwal’s All Things Nice.

How did your whisky journey begin?