Chasing the Dram

Book excerpt: ‘Hard not to hate Rachel McCormack who bags the best gig of the year and then writes a brilliant book’ Val McDermid Whisky is Scotland's national drink and has been for over five hundred years, since then becoming a global phenomenon. It is a drink that is a profound and important part of Scottish life and culture but, unlike other countries and their national libations, it has hardly been used in food. Rachel McCormack is going to change that with this book. Limiting whisky to a drink, she believes, is similar to the traditional Presbyterian attitude to sex; it should only be done with the lights off and in the missionary position. Rachel believes that there is an entire Karma Sutraof whisky use out there and she has put it in this book. Interspersing an engaging mix of anecdotes, history and information on distillers and recipes, this book will appeal to everyone from the cooking whisky connoisseur, to the novice whisky learner looking for some guidance on what to eat and cook. Rachel travels the length and breadth of Scotland, discovering a myriad of unique and interesting people and facts about this remarkable drink, with interviews with the key people who create it around the country, as she visits the famous distilleries of her country, as well as the more home-grown variety.