Author Charlie MacLean has made a life out of rating Scotch whisky. Here are his favourite ways to enjoy a dram, from cosy city pubs in Edinburgh to Victorian hotels in the Highlands. Edinburgh, Scotland's cosmopolitan capital, is brimming with Unesco cache.
Both its architecturally splendid medieval Old Town and Neoclassical New Town are World Heritage sites , while Edinburgh itself was named the world's first City of Literature in 2004. Overseas, Edinburgh is equally as revered for its whisky culture. There are more than 385 pubs in the city where you can savour the peat-flavoured drink right in its country of origin.
"It's growing," says esteemed scotch writer Charles "Charlie" MacLean. "A lot of bars have expanded the range of whiskies and the knowledge on part of the bar staff in order to be able to advise customers. So Edinburgh has become a hub.
" For MacLean, the enduring global appeal of Scotch whisky owes much to "fashion – after the Second World War, it was the drink of the free world", particularly in dolce vita -era Italy, where it was "introduced by the GIs and promoted by Hollywood. But secondly, Scotch scores on its deep history and its craft. If you want to go beyond simply enjoyment, whisky rewards analysis, and I think that's become part of the appeal.
It is an acquired taste. It's not a child's drink. If you get the taste of it, it's hugely rewarding.
" But for all the historic and up-and-coming pubs in Edinburgh, there are glorious Scotch whisky experienc.