In this work, Phillip Hills of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society has brought together a distinguished and challenging team of writers on the dram. In this illustrated volume George Rosie discusses the place of whisky in the politics and economics of Scotland over the last 100 years; Trevor Royle examines the role of whisky in the British Empire; Murray Grigor assesses the portrayal of whisky in the media; David Daiches considers the place of whisky in Scottish society; Hamish Henderson looks at the amber nectar in folk song, ballad and broadsheet; Alan Bold ruminates on the impact of the national liquor on Scots literature; Ruth Wishart confronts the issue of women and whisky; while Derek Cooper deliberates on how whisky is coming to be perceived by discerning drinkers worldwide. Norman McCaig, Liz Lochhead and Hamish Henderson contribute poetry and verse.