Blog #46 - Book Review - Whiskey From Grain To Glass by Matt Strickland
- Michael Foti
- Jul 1
- 4 min read
Whiskey: From Grain to Glass
by Matt Strickland
Reviewed by Michael A. Foti, MBA, BSMT, CSP, CWS, CBS, CWA, CSJ
Bourbon & B.S. | Bison Bourbon & Spirits Training Company LLC
A Book That Earned Its Place in My Carry-On
I purchased Whiskey: From Grain to Glass just before departing on a trip to Scotland — one of those last-minute additions to the carry-on that you tell yourself you'll get to eventually. I set a personal goal of finishing it before the return flight home, and I'm pleased to report I beat that deadline by two full days. That alone says something about the quality of what Matt Strickland has put together.
I've been around whisky production in ways that most enthusiasts never experience — firing the peat kiln at Springbank, sitting in on fermentation workshops with Dr. Pat Heist at Wilderness Trail, attending a maturation session with Strickland himself. I've walked malt floors, nosed new make, and studied production at distilleries across Scotland and Kentucky. With that context, I can tell you without hesitation: this book delivered value I didn't fully anticipate.
Who Is This Book For?
The stated audience is founders and early-stage distillery operators. If you're in that category, stop reading this review and order a copy immediately — it's exactly what you need. But I want to push back on the idea that this is where the readership ends.
Whiskey: From Grain to Glass is genuinely accessible to any curious drinker who wants to understand what's actually happening between the grain field and the glass in front of them. Strickland has done something that very few technical writers manage: he presents rigorous production science without making you feel like you're reading a chemistry textbook. The equations and device specifications are there for the operators who need them, but they don't block the path for the enthusiast who wants to skim past those sections and stay with the concepts.
Think of it as a two-lane highway. The distillery-bound professional can take the technical lane, deep and detailed. The whiskey lover who wants to understand the "why" behind what they taste can stay in the other lane and still reach the same destination with a richer appreciation for every bottle they open.
What Stood Out: Column Distillation, Finally Explained
I've read a great deal about distillation over the years — books, course materials, trade publications, distillery guides. Column distillation, specifically, has always been one of those topics that I thought I understood until someone asked me to explain it clearly. There's a reason for that: most treatments of the subject either over-simplify it into uselessness or dive straight into engineering specifications that lose the thread of what's actually happening inside the still.
Strickland breaks that pattern. The way he structures the column distillation chapter — building the concept methodically, using language that maps to what you can actually visualize, and pairing the explanation with a diagram that genuinely earns its place on the page — is the clearest treatment of the subject I've encountered. I didn't just re-confirm what I thought I knew. I understood it in a new way. That's a rare thing at this stage in my education.
"Column distillation, finally explained in a way that actually sticks."
That chapter alone was worth the price of the book. If you've ever found yourself nodding along to a distillation explanation while not fully tracking what's happening, this is the book that will fill that gap.
The Deeper Value: Appreciation Through Understanding
There's a version of whiskey education that's all about labels, rankings, and tasting notes. It has its place. But the deeper level — the level where you start tasting with genuine comprehension rather than just vocabulary — comes from understanding what happened before the liquid reached the barrel. Strickland's book is a guided tour of that entire journey.
Understanding fermentation doesn't just make you a more informed buyer. It changes how you think about yeast-forward notes in a Wilderness Trail bourbon or an unpeated Lowland malt. Understanding maturation doesn't just explain why age statements matter. It explains why they don't always matter, and when the wood is doing the heavy lifting versus when it's the distillate character coming through. This is the kind of framework that makes a whiskey drinker genuinely better at what they love doing.
Strickland writes with the authority of someone who has spent significant time on both the technical and the sensory side of this industry. There's no pretension in the prose. He's a teacher, not a gatekeeper, and that comes through on every page. I also appreciate his sense of humor!
A Personal Note
I've had the privilege of attending one of Matt Strickland's maturation workshops in person. His ability to connect the science to the sensory experience was evident then, and this book is a natural extension of that teaching approach. He doesn't talk down to his audience, and he doesn't hide behind jargon. He respects your intelligence and your curiosity in equal measure.
Reading this on the way to and around Scotland — a country where whisky production is woven into the landscape, the culture, and the conversation — gave the book an added resonance. Standing in The GlenTurrett still house with this framework fresh in my mind made the experience richer. That's the best endorsement I can offer: it made the trip better.
The Verdict
Whiskey: From Grain to Glass is a well-constructed, accessible, and genuinely educational read. It respects the complexity of whiskey production without weaponizing that complexity against the non-specialist reader. Whether you're planning to open a distillery, working toward your next credential, or simply want to understand the craft behind the bottle you opened last Friday night, this book will meet you where you are and take you somewhere further.
Pick up a copy. You will be surprised at what you learn, and even more surprised at how much it changes the way you experience the whisky in your glass.
"From Grain to Glass — a journey worth taking in print before you take it in production."
— Michael A. Foti
Founder & Director, Bison Bourbon & Spirits Training Company LLC
UK Whisky Ambassador & Executive Bourbon Steward
Distillery Ambassador & Tour/Tasting Director, Buffalo Distilling Company
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