Malt Whisky Yearbook 2018

The Whisky Show London takes place every year on the first week of October (“whisky lovers’ OktoberFest:) Last week I attended the show for the 4th time and had the chance to taste several new expressions that we cannot find in Turkey. One of the highlights of this show is the launch of the Malt Whisky Yearbook which definitely is one of the most important reference books on whisky culture. This year Malt Whisky Yearbook 2018 is released and its the 13th edition of this masterpiece.

Malt Whisky Yearbook isn’t a classical tasting notes book like Jim Murray’s famous “bible” and Michael Jackson’s masterpiece. It gives an overview of the latest whisky trends, includes articles by the experts and each distillery is listed in full detail with the new expressions of the year. It also lists the whisky shops around the world and the whisky websites to watch. It’s a definite must-have for every whisky enthusiast

Meleklerin Payı is listed once again in the Malt Whisky Yearbook 2018

Like every year one of the first things I did was to head to the Whisky Show shop to lay my hands on this great book. I was thrilled to see that Meleklerin Payı is listed 2nd time on Page 81 on the Websites to Watch section. Ingvar Ronde’s wonderful words are definitely one of the unforgettable moments of my Meleklerin Payi journey.

“Meleklerinpayi.com: I dont read Turkish, but since Burkay Adalig’s blog is the 7th most visited whisky blog in the world (!), a lot of people do.”

Last year Meleklerin Payi won Best Blog in Turkey award and this made me ecstatic; now these words make me incredibly happy not only because of my blog’s success but also highlighting the booming whisky culture in Turkey. We have now Facebook groups of >8000 people (we had none 3 years ago) following trends and exchanging new ideas on whisky culture. My Instagram account almost reached 15k . Due to the great interest of Turkish whisky enthusiasts my blog was the 6th (not 7th:) most visited whisky blog in May 2016 Recently I’m also listed in Top 40 Whisky Blogs in Feedspot.  

This is a huge success considering that I blog in Turkish language. My next steps are working on my English language website (a huge task considering >500 articles and tasting notes) and to publish my book.

Like every other edition, Malt Whisky Yearbook 2018 has different sections:

Whisky Trend Analysis Articles

This year the latest trends are summarized by great whisky experts like Charles MacLean, Gavin Smith, Dominic Roskrow, Neil Ridley, Jonny McCormick, Ian Wisniewski and Stefan van Eycken. Gavin gives a great overview of still making, Neil talks about the craft distilleries with a brilliant Star Wars analogy, Dominic summarizes the booming English whisky making business, Jonny wrote about new whisky production and my idol Charlie beautifuly summarizes the laws shaping the industry over years. Ian’s article on how sweet and dry notes form is like a textbook chapter.

Whisky Distilleries and 2017 Expressions

One of the largest sections of the book is dedicated to distilleries. Each distillery has a page and a detailed history of the distillery and the core expressions are listed.

Lists

Different lists are scattered among the pages of the book. The whisky shops and the websites to watch (I’m there on Page 81!) are very helpful for new whisky enthusiasts.

Theme of the Year

Again scattered thoughout the book are the thematic pages. This year’s theme is “History” and we can learn about the detailed history of how whisky giants like Diageo, Pernod Ricard and Suntory are formed.

Global Whisky Market

Each year the Malt Whisky Yearbook summarizes the global market figures on whisky sales based on last years IWSR figures. You can see the latest figures on my recent blog post Best Selling Single Malts of the World (in Turkish)

Like every year we had a great chat with Ingvar at The Whisky Show London and talked about the book and whisky scene in Turkey; sure I asked for an autograph!

You can order Malt Whisky Yearbook 2017 over www.maltwhiskyyearbook.com

My review of the Malt Whisky Yearbook 2017

My review of the Malt Whisky Yearbook 2016 (in Turkish)

Of course I listed Malt Whisky Yearbook in my 10 Must Have Whisky Books

May the Malt Be With You! Slainte!