Spirit of Place
'Superb regional guide ... Shots of the distilleries combine with wonderful landscape photography' Country Life
'Mr MacLean serves up dram after dram of useful detail... This is armchair travel at its best' Wall Street Journal
A new handbook sized editon of Spirit of Place, a wide-ranging and evocative portrait of Scotland's distilleries, with text by renowned whisky expert Charles MacLean and photographs by Lara Platman and Alan MacDonald.
Treating Scotland as eight distinct regions, this fascinating book describes the 'cultural terroir' of the country's fifty greatest distilleries; the ingredients, practices and traditions that result in such an exquisite range of whiskies. Specially commissioned photographs capture the texture of the surrounding landscapes and communities through the changing seasons, as well as portraits of those craftsmen who work there, and the fabric of the buildings themselves.
Spirit of Place is a unique addition to the literature on Scotch whisky, from the world's greatest expert on the subject. The perfect gift for anyone planning a tour of Scotland's distilleries, a souvenir for anyone who has visited them, and simply the perfect companion to a dram at home.
He was founding editor of Whisky Magazine (1997), contributes regularly to many publications, and has written historical and promotional materials for all the leading Scotch whisky companies. He is a member of the Judging Panel (Spirits) of the International Wines & Spirits Competition, was runner-up as "Communicator of the Year" in the 2003 IWSC Awards, and won "Outstanding Achievement of the Year in Scotch Whisky" in the 2012 Awards. He was elected a Keeper of the Quaich in 1992, and elevated to Master of the Quaich in 2009.Lara Platman is a photographer and writer, specialising in documenting areas of culture that are often considered to be eccentric or endangered. Coming from a family who produced theatrical costumes, she has grown up around creative craftsmen. She trained as a photographer and then a journalist and now combines these two skills to bring an in-depth study to each of her projects. She has just completed a book of portraits of 130 craftsmen in their working environments for the Art Workers Guild, (October 2009, Unicorn Press). Her overarching ambition is to ensure that Britain's living national treasures are acknowledged by a wider audience. She lives in Gloucestershire.
Allan MacDonald is a photographer and folk musician, specializing in landscape and portraits. A son of the Hebrides, he is now based in Edinburgh. His work has been published in TIME, The Huffington Post, The Daily Telegraph, and The Daily Mail among others.