Independent publisher launches new whisky history series
An independent publisher that specialises in drinks has unveiled a new series around whisky history.
Independent literary drinks publisher Mennie Drinks has announced the launch of Heads, Hearts & Tales, a new chapbook series capturing the lives and careers of the whisky industry’s most celebrated figures in narrative-led oral histories.
The first two volumes, to be published on 16 October feature Alan Winchester, former master distiller at The Glenlivet, and Frank McHardy, former distillery manager and director of production at Springbank.
Both chapbooks have been written by Gavin D Smith who is a master of the quaich, a contributing editor Scotland to Whisky Magazine, and a globally recognised whisky writer. The chapbooks are published by Mennie Drinks in a limited first edition of 100 numbered copies per volume.
Unlike conventional industry profiles or trade interviews, Heads, Hearts & Tales is built from extended conversation with its subject over a coffee, pint or a dram, and shaped into a literary narrative.
Each chapbook captures personal stories, industry knowledge, and accumulated memories from the subjects’ eventful careers in a form that is warmer and more lasting than a standard trade profile.
Alan Winchester entered the whisky industry in 1975 as a distillery guide at Glenfarclas. Over the following decades he held positions across Speyside before becoming master distiller of The Glenlivet in 2009.
He is a recipient of the International Spirits Challenge Lifetime Achievement Award and, since retiring from Chivas Brothers in 2018, has served as master of malt at The Cabrach distillery project and as a consultant to Grahamslaw distillery in the Scottish Borders.
Frank McHardy's career spanned six decades and multiple countries, and includes stints at Invergordon, Bruichladdich, Bushmills and Dartmoor in Devon. He served as distillery manager and then director of production at Springbank and was instrumental in the reopening of Glengyle distillery in 2004 - restoring Campbeltown's status as a whisky region.
He was inducted into the Whisky Magazine Hall of Fame in 2014 and became the first non-Swedish member of the Swedish Whisky Hall of Fame in 2022.
Each chapbook is produced to a premium specification with singer sewn binding, and archive and original photography. Each volume also includes a Glenfiction companion piece - an atmospheric short story by Alex Mennie that responds to the world of each subject through the tasting notes of a whisky connected to their career.
Of the launch of the series, author Gavin D Smith said: “Alan and Frank are two of the most knowledgeable and characterful figures I’ve encountered in a long career writing about whisky.
“Spending time with them and hearing their stories has been a privilege — and I’m delighted that Mennie Drinks has given these stories a home to do them justice”.
Alex Mennie, founder of Mennie Drinks, said: “Alan and Frank represent decades of accumulated knowledge, craft, and some great stories that deserve to be captured properly, in a form that will last — not just scrolled past. This series is our attempt to do just that."
Heads, Hearts & Tales: Alan Winchester and Heads, Hearts & Tales: Frank McHardy are available from menniedrinks.com, priced at £18. A limited first edition of 100 hand numbered copies is available per volume with the first fifty of each signed by the author and subject.
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