The Whisky Whisperer

Jim Murray, one of the world’s foremost, independent whisky writers and blenders, was in Calcutta and Gurgaon for events organised by Amrut as part of their 75th year celebrations. With 4600 tasting notes and 1000 whiskies, Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible celebrates its 20th edition this year. UpperCrust caught up with him for a spirited discussion.

Text: Malini Banerjee  

Do you remember the first whisky you ever tasted?

It was a Teachers from my uncle’s glass and I loved it.

How did you end up from sport to whisky writing?

I was a sports writer, and then a crime-beat reporter, but then in the late 80s, I realised there were no whisky writers. There were wine writers who knew nothing about whisky who were doing some writing and I thought that was wrong. As a reporter, you owe it to people to write the truth, so I decided to start the Bible. And went from a decent-paying job to almost nothing as a single parent. But as a journalist, you owe your readers the truth. So you do what you have to do.

What are the most challenging aspects of being a whisky taster?

Well, when I’m writing the Bible, it takes about four to five months. After that, I won’t have anything to do with whisky for about weeks. Then the first thing I will do is to have a meal in an Indian restaurant and have biryani. I have to be mindful of my tastebuds when I’m writing the Bible or tasting. Like today I only had chicken cheese potatoes even though I’m in India. I cannot eat all the spicy food that I would like everywhere I travel because I have to watch my palate.

When I first did the Whisky Bible in 2003 most of the whiskies were about 40 to 43% alcohol by volume. Now the vast majority of whiskies are at 46% cask strength. The amount of punishment that your palate takes... At the end of the day your brain is cooked.

Another difficulty being a whisky taster is that relationships can kind of flounder. You have to be careful you do not catch a cold. Last year the WhiskyBible came out two months late because I picked up COVID and it threw me off for two months. I could not smell or taste anything. But the blender for Glenmorangie also got COVID in the same week and he was back at
work in a week. It cost me nearly £200,000 in lost sales during Christmas.

Would you insure your nose? Considering perfumers do it too?

Yes, that’s why we wear seatbelts, isn’t it?

How many whiskies do you taste in a day?

So I try to do about 20 whiskies a day but it depends on the whisky. If I have had some bad whiskies then it can ruin the day. Say you get sulphur-treated casks which will get very low scores in the Bible, and usually you can smell it, then I don’t go further. But sometimes they hide the smell in a peaty whisky. Only when you taste it can you feel the sulphur. Then, too, I have to stop. It will knock out my taste buds for half an hour. I usually have raspberries and cheese and then wait half an hour. But if I get more than three in a day then that is it.

By that do you mean inebriated?

No no, as you will see in my method I always spit. But what I mean is the amount of concentration it takes is exhausting. I have to drive back from my tasting lab and I always test myself before leaving.

So, some of your pronouncements have shocked the world. In 2009 you pronounced Amrut among the very best and in 2016 the Yamazaki. Which do you think rocked the world of whiskies more?

I think Japanese whisky shocked the world. It got a lot more column inches. I bumped into the CEO of Suntory two years after in Shanghai and he said, “You have made us 3 billion USD.” And I said, “I am delighted for you because I might have sold about seven extra books. I do not charge people to review whiskies in the Bible. Even this one was bought in some shop in London. With Indian whisky, it has been a much more subtle kind of osmotic effect, and people have opened up more to the idea of Indian whiskies.

I’ve hosted blind tastings across the world and every now and then I often slip in a bottle of Amrut or Paul John and people taste them, and once the name is revealed the shock is palpable.

Is there any rule of thumb for pairing whisky with food?

Yes, don’t do it.

Why not? A lot of other liquors lend themselves to pairings.

Most wines are at about 12-15% alcohol which lends itself to pairings. It washes down with food. But whiskies are 40% and upwards, your palate needs to pick up the sugars in the whisky which it will not with food. With 40% or more alcohol, any food that you have will feel sweeter as the whisky will always be bitter.

I turned down a lot of money when I was offered a five-part TV show on food and whisky because I don’t think it can be done.

I was married to a Scottish woman for a long time. And we paired every kind of whisky and every type of food imaginable, and there wasn’t one which made the other better. I turn down 30 events a year that are whisky and food pairings.

But there is another kind of pairing that I do enjoy. I often pick out what whisky I will drink with what I am watching. So if it is an old Humphrey Bogart movie I will bring out a bottle of rye. If it is a 1950’s movie I might bring out a blend or even blend something to that style for myself.

One thing you abhor among whisky drinkers

Snobbery. I hate whisky snobs.

The most surprising entrants to the Whisky Bible over the years?

I suppose if I have not heard of it, it comes as a surprise. Like there was one from Cyprus. I did not know that Cyprus was a whisky-producing nation. Sometimes it is a distillery that’s been making bad or ordinary whisky and they make one that is outstanding, those turn out to be surprises.

What are your top five whiskies this year?

Well, no surprise because this year there was a bourbon. There are a lot of good whiskies from Kentucky these days and I am not saying that because I have a home in Kentucky. The second was an Ardbeg. I was the first ever blender for Ardbeg and I was almost getting used to seeing the quality deteriorate over the years…But their Correyrevkan was outstanding. When it turned up it was a shock. A pleasant one. Another award went to an Australian whisky for an amazing rye. If an American were to try it they would never suspect it to be an Australian which was astonishing. They smoke their whisky with sheep dung, so they called their whisky Wholly Shit whisky. And it’s brilliant. Another one in the top five came from Denmark. I genuinely judge the quality of the whisky and not what their advertising budget has produced.

Are there any whiskies that you would say will always be part of the greatest hits, so to speak, that have always featured in the top 20?

Most whiskies change over the years but Glen Grant and Buffalo Trace from Kentucky have always been good. They are two of the most consistent whiskies on the planet. Most change over the years. They have been producing high-quality whisky for years which is not an easy thing to do.

The still is self-sacrificial – when it’s making the whisky, and it is giving of itself. The copper is actually dissolving in the spirit and the still dies and has to be rebuilt every few years so you get different amounts of copper and thus the whisky keeps changing year after year. But these two distilleries have produced good whisky in the same style.