Just a wee, wee dram

If there is a magic to a great Scottish single malt which you can sniff in the air from several paces, then that magic is potently captured in words and pictures in "Scotland and its Whiskies", with a text by Michael Jackson and superlative photography by Harry Cory Wright.

Yes, this looks like a coffee table souvenir book, but Jackson's measured, assured prose and the droolsome photography elevate the book into something much more valuable. You get a true insight into the individualities and eccentricities of the Scottish malts by sitting down to savour this book, which celebrates the landscapes from which the malts emanate just as much as the distilling process. Gorgeous.

Published by Duncan Baird Publishers @£16.99stg.