Charles MacLean
M.A., LL.B., W.S., F.S.A. (Scot)

Charles MacLean is a writer whose special subject is Scotch whisky, about which he has published ten books to date, including the standard work on whisky brands, Scotch Whisky (Mitchell Beazley, 1993) and the leading book on its subject, Malt Whisky (Mitchell Beazley, 1997; translated into French, German, Swiss, Danish, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Russian and Portuguese), both of which were shortlisted for Glenfiddich Awards. (In addition to whisky, he has published eight further books, mainly on Scottish social history.)

Whisky: A Liquid History was published by Cassell in September 2003 and won ‘Wine & Spirits Book of the Year’ in the James Beard Awards 2005 and ‘Best Drinks Book’ in the International Food Media Awards 2005, the most prestigious American gastronomic prize. MacLean's Whisky Miscellany (Little Books, 2004, revised 2006 and republished as Whisky Tales 2006), followed. In 2007 he was Editor in Chief of the global Eyewitness Companion to Whisky (Dorling Kindersley, 2008).

He was founding editor of Whisky Magazine and of the Russian magazine Whisky, is whisky correspondent for Scottish Field and regularly contributes articles to magazines in Britain, The Netherlands, the U.S.A. and Canada. He is the host of a TV channel (accessed via the internet) dedicated to the world of whisky, www.singlemalt.tv.

He was trained in ‘the sensory evaluation of potable spirits’ by the Scotch Whisky Research Institute in 1992 and has presented numerous tastings and talks in the U.K. and abroad for whisky companies, corporations, universities and clubs, and on radio and TV He is a member of the Judging Panel (Spirits) of the International Wines & Spirits Competition.

He acts as a consultant to the whisky industry on a variety of matters, and over the past 25 years has written promotional materials for all the leading companies and brands. He was elected a Keeper of the Quaich, the industry's highest accolade, in 1992 for ‘his services to Scotch over many years’.

He holds degrees in Art History (St Andrews) and Law (Dundee), is a Writer to Her Majesty's Signet, a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, a Visiting Lecturer to the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, an Honorary Fellow of Massey College, University of Toronto and of Champlain College, University of Trent, a Councillor of the Clan Maclean and a member of the Society of Authors. He lives near Edinburgh with his wife and three sons.