Tag Archives: Richard Betts

Scratch & Sniff Your Way To Becoming A Whiskey Expert

Featured Story / October 1, 2015 / No Comments.

scratchandsniff

Every once in a while it’s nice to kick back and open up a good book. Sometimes it’s a classic thousand-page work of literature, other times it’s an informative scratch & sniff collection.

Fans of the esteemed author Richard Betts are familiar with The Essential Scratch & Sniff Guide to Becoming a Wine Expert. With a beverage that relies so much on smell, it was easy to discover which wines you would enjoy without ever having to taste them. Now that we’ve all learned everything there is to know about wine it’s time to move on to a new alcoholic category.

Betts returns to the bookshelf on October 6th with The Essential Scratch & Sniff Guide to Becoming a Whiskey Know-It-All. Now even beginners can impress/annoy their friends with their sophisticated tastes at the bar. Each page is loaded with information about the whiskey-making process and sniff-able swatches that allow your nose to experience new blends. Why taste samples at the bar when you can figure it all out before leaving your couch?

So enjoy the most recent drinking textbook and remember to smell responsibly.

Photo

Scratch N Sniff Sommelier

Our Stories / November 24, 2014 / No Comments.

wine-04_wide-35f2f55346ffcae46e731e83421a528c5db2d0a7-s1000-c85

In addition to family and food, if you’re like us, your holiday season will also include copious amounts of adult beverages. Not only does it get us in the holiday spirit, it’s essential to help cope with questions from extended family about your job, your love life, and whether that’s your third or fifth glass of vino. If the only thing you know about wine is that it comes in red or white, look no further than wine expert Richard Betts’ new book: The Essential Scratch and Sniff Guide to Becoming a Wine Expert. That’s right—a scratch n’ sniff book for adults.

The Essential Scratch and Sniff Guide to Becoming a Wine Expert is illustrated by Wendy MacNaughton and is a 10 page board book that might look at home in your kid’s stocking. Don’t let the pretty drawings and scented sketches fool you—there’s some genuine science in Betts’ book. Addressing the notes and aromas of both the good stuff and cheaper wines with humor and simplicity, Betts’ book isn’t a substitute for a sommelier’s license, but it does present wine knowledge in accessible terms. Betts, who is one of only 200 Master Wine Sommeliers, hopes to make drinking wine more inclusive, saying: “Wine is a grocery, not a luxury.”

If you’re intimidated by not knowing the difference between a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Sauvignon Blanc, look to Betts’ book, which demystifies wine tasting in terms we can understand. Humor, scented drawings, and wine knowledge in a ten pages? We’ll raise a glass and give thanks for Richard Betts and The Essential Scratch and Sniff Guide this season.

Photo