This is a book in which Scots tell the truth about their national drink. Ignoring the mythology which surrounds Scotland and her favourite tipple, it is written by people who are passionate about their subject, who know what they write about and who love what they know. It is about whisky and about Scotland - the real Scotland behind the invented one of the advertisers and the gift shops.

Over the last 40 years Scots have reasserted their spiritual and cultural independence, and as part of this process they have redicovered the unique quality of their national drink. This renaissance not is a cause for celebrations not only by Scots but also by the rest of the world. Malt whiskies have risen from a minority taste in a small nation to become internationally recognised as the connoisseur's spirit par excellence.

Contributors include acclaimed writers Ruth Wishart, George Rosie, Trevor Royle, Colin McArthur, Alan Bold and Derek Cooper; Russell Sharp, formerly chief chemist at Chivas and now president of the Caledonian Brewing Company; and poets Hamish Henderson, Hugh MacDiarmid and Norman McCaig.