Jim Murray (writer)
Encyclopedia
Jim Murray is an English writer and journalist. He is best known for his observations on whisky
and his annually updated book on the subject, Jim Murray's Whisky Bible.
, Surrey
. A keen journalist from a young age, he wrote for his local papers whilst still at school and presented his own regional television show, Murray on Monday at the age of sixteen, a weekly programme in the Northamptonshire region. Murray would report on and often provide commentary to local sporting events. His passion for writing and sport, specifically football, culminated in his first book Millwall: Lions of the South (1988), a history of Murray's beloved and unfashionable Millwall F.C.
A national newspaper journalist with The Sunday People and Daily Star, in 1992 Murray left Fleet Street
after 13 years to become the world's first-ever full-time Whisky Writer. Having visited his first distillery, Talisker
, in 1975, it is believed that he has since visited more distilleries globally than any living person. He had used his secondments to Scotland in the early and mid 1980s with both the People and Star to visit as many distilleries as possible and even work in them during his free time.
1994 saw the release of Jim Murray's Irish Whiskey Almanac, the first of many popular whisky books that he would go on to write in securing his place as, arguably, the world's leading authority and most influential on the subject. This book was revised and extended for a re-release three years later in the form of Classic Irish Whiskey (1997). Other publications include the hugely popular Jim Murray's Complete Book of Whisky (1997), Classic Bourbon, Tennessee & Rye (1998), Classic Blended Scotch (1999) and The Art of Whisky (1998).
Murray won the Glenfiddich
Whisky Writer of the Year award on the three separate occasions he was entered for the competition. Murray is quoted as saying that he fiercely guards his independence and honesty. He says that he believes this can be compromised by writing for an advertising-dependent media. His recent magazine writings have been selective and only on the understanding that he retains full copyright
. To further protect his writing, Murray has trademarked his name.
Jim Murray's Whisky Bible is an ongoing project, with the first of the series having been published in 2003. It is a compact guide containing every whisky that Murray and a team of researchers are able to source from the worldwide market. Each whisky is tasted by Murray alone and graded out of an overall score of 100. This total is reflective of the four key criteria, with nose
, taste
, finish
and balance
each awarded marks out of 25. With every new edition of the Whisky Bible, Murray provides tasting notes and ratings for around 1,000 newly released or previously undiscovered whiskies, with nearly 4,000 brands being reviewed overall.
As well as writing and broadcasting on whisky, and being a chair judge at the International Wine and Spirit Competition
, Murray has also worked as a consultant blender
with both whisky and rum
. He claims one of his achievements include playing a major role in resurrecting Ardbeg
distillery in Islay after it closed in 1996. Murray has also become well known for his championing the cause of American rye whiskey, Japan
ese whisky, and Irish
Pot still
whiskey, all of which had fallen out fashion when he first began writing about them.
Murray lives in Wellingborough
, Northamptonshire
, England, and also has a home near Frankfort
, Kentucky
, USA, in the heart of the bourbon
-making region.
Whisky
Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Different grains are used for different varieties, including barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and corn...
and his annually updated book on the subject, Jim Murray's Whisky Bible.
Life
Murray was born in MersthamMerstham
Merstham is a village in the Reigate and Banstead borough of Surrey, England, in the London commuter belt. It is just north of Redhill, near the intersection of the M25 and M23 motorways, on the edge of the North Downs and on the North Downs Way.-History:...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
. A keen journalist from a young age, he wrote for his local papers whilst still at school and presented his own regional television show, Murray on Monday at the age of sixteen, a weekly programme in the Northamptonshire region. Murray would report on and often provide commentary to local sporting events. His passion for writing and sport, specifically football, culminated in his first book Millwall: Lions of the South (1988), a history of Murray's beloved and unfashionable Millwall F.C.
Millwall F.C.
Millwall Football Club is an English professional football club based in South Bermondsey, south east London, that plays in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the...
A national newspaper journalist with The Sunday People and Daily Star, in 1992 Murray left Fleet Street
Fleet Street
Fleet Street is a street in central London, United Kingdom, named after the River Fleet, a stream that now flows underground. It was the home of the British press until the 1980s...
after 13 years to become the world's first-ever full-time Whisky Writer. Having visited his first distillery, Talisker
Talisker
Talisker is an Island Single Malt Scotch whisky produced by the Talisker Distillery, Carbost, Scotland; the only distillery on the Isle of Skye. The distillery is operated by United Distillers and Vintners for Diageo, and is marketed as part of their Classic Malts series...
, in 1975, it is believed that he has since visited more distilleries globally than any living person. He had used his secondments to Scotland in the early and mid 1980s with both the People and Star to visit as many distilleries as possible and even work in them during his free time.
1994 saw the release of Jim Murray's Irish Whiskey Almanac, the first of many popular whisky books that he would go on to write in securing his place as, arguably, the world's leading authority and most influential on the subject. This book was revised and extended for a re-release three years later in the form of Classic Irish Whiskey (1997). Other publications include the hugely popular Jim Murray's Complete Book of Whisky (1997), Classic Bourbon, Tennessee & Rye (1998), Classic Blended Scotch (1999) and The Art of Whisky (1998).
Murray won the Glenfiddich
Glenfiddich
The Glenfiddich Distillery is a Speyside single malt Scotch whisky distillery owned by William Grant & Sons in Dufftown, Scotland. Glenfiddich means ‘Valley of the deer’ in Gaelic, hence the presence of a deer symbol on Glenfiddich bottles.- History :...
Whisky Writer of the Year award on the three separate occasions he was entered for the competition. Murray is quoted as saying that he fiercely guards his independence and honesty. He says that he believes this can be compromised by writing for an advertising-dependent media. His recent magazine writings have been selective and only on the understanding that he retains full copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
. To further protect his writing, Murray has trademarked his name.
Jim Murray's Whisky Bible is an ongoing project, with the first of the series having been published in 2003. It is a compact guide containing every whisky that Murray and a team of researchers are able to source from the worldwide market. Each whisky is tasted by Murray alone and graded out of an overall score of 100. This total is reflective of the four key criteria, with nose
Nose
Anatomically, a nose is a protuberance in vertebrates that houses the nostrils, or nares, which admit and expel air for respiration in conjunction with the mouth. Behind the nose are the olfactory mucosa and the sinuses. Behind the nasal cavity, air next passes through the pharynx, shared with the...
, taste
Taste
Taste is one of the traditional five senses. It refers to the ability to detect the flavor of substances such as food, certain minerals, and poisons, etc....
, finish
Finish
Finish refer to:* Finishing in the distillation of Scotch* Finished good, a good that is completed as to manufacturing but not yet sold or distributed to the end-user* Surface finishing, various industrial processes for modifying a workpiece's surface...
and balance
Wine tasting descriptors
The use of wine tasting descriptors allows the taster an opportunity to put into words the aromas and flavors that they experience and can be used in assessing the overall quality of wine...
each awarded marks out of 25. With every new edition of the Whisky Bible, Murray provides tasting notes and ratings for around 1,000 newly released or previously undiscovered whiskies, with nearly 4,000 brands being reviewed overall.
As well as writing and broadcasting on whisky, and being a chair judge at the International Wine and Spirit Competition
International Wine and Spirit Competition
The International Wine & Spirit Competition is an annual wine competition founded in 1969 by the [German/British] oenologist Anton Massel.. Each year the competition receives entries from over 80 countries worldwide. The awards given by the competition are considered to be some of the highest...
, Murray has also worked as a consultant blender
Blended whiskey
A blended whisky is the product of blending different types of whiskies and often also neutral and near-neutral spirits, coloring, and flavorings...
with both whisky and rum
Rum
Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak barrels...
. He claims one of his achievements include playing a major role in resurrecting Ardbeg
Ardbeg
Ardbeg Distillery is a Scotch whisky distillery on the south coast of the isle of Islay, Argyll and Bute, Scotland, in the Inner Hebrides group of islands. The distillery claims to produce the peatiest Islay whisky and uses malted barley sourced from the maltings in Port Ellen. It is one of the...
distillery in Islay after it closed in 1996. Murray has also become well known for his championing the cause of American rye whiskey, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese whisky, and Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
Pot still
Pot still
A pot still is a type of still used in distilling spirits such as whisky or brandy. Heat is applied directly to the pot containing the wash or wine . This is called a batch distillation ....
whiskey, all of which had fallen out fashion when he first began writing about them.
Murray lives in Wellingborough
Wellingborough
Wellingborough is a market town and borough in Northamptonshire, England, situated some from the county town of Northampton. The town is situated on the north side of the River Nene, most of the older town is sited on the flanks of the hills above the river's current flood plain...
, Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
, England, and also has a home near Frankfort
Frankfort, Kentucky
Frankfort is a city in Kentucky that serves as the state capital and the county seat of Franklin County. The population was 27,741 at the 2000 census; by population it is the 5th smallest state capital in the United States...
, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, USA, in the heart of the bourbon
Bourbon whiskey
Bourbon is a type of American whiskey – a barrel-aged distilled spirit made primarily from corn. The name of the spirit derives from its historical association with an area known as Old Bourbon, around what is now Bourbon County, Kentucky . It has been produced since the 18th century...
-making region.
Selected bibliography
- Murray, James (1988). Millwall: Lions of the South
- Murray, Jim (1994). Jim Murray's Irish Whiskey Almanac
- Murray, Jim (1997). The Complete Guide to Whisky
- Murray, Jim (1997). Classic Irish Whiskey
- Murray, Jim (1998). Classic Bourbon, Tennessee & Rye Whiskey
- Murray, Jim (1998). The Art of Whisky ISBN 1-873162-67-7
- Murray, Jim (1999). Classic Blended Scotch
- Murray, Jim (2003). Jim Murray's Whisky Bible 2004 ISBN 1-84442-991-1
- Murray, Jim (2004). Jim Murray's Whisky Bible 2005 ISBN 1-84442-670-X
- Murray, Jim (2005). Jim Murray's Whisky Bible 2006 ISBN 1-84442-550-9
- Murray, Jim (2006). Jim Murray's Whisky Bible 2007 ISBN 978-0-9554729-0-9
- Murray, Jim (2007). Jim Murray's Whisky Bible 2008 ISBN 978-0-9554729-2-3
- Murray, Jim (2008). Jim Murray's Whisky Bible 2009 ISBN 978-0-9554729-3-0
- Murray, Jim (2009). Jim Murray's Whisky Bible 2010 ISBN 978-0-9554729-4-7
- Murray, Jim (2010). Jim Murray's Whisky Bible 2011 ISBN 978-0-9554729-5-4
- Murray, Jim (2011). Jim Murray's Whisky Bible 2012 ISBN 978-0-9554729-6-1