Chronicle Books The New Kindred Spirits

The All-New Bible of Spirits

In 2008, F. Paul Pacult published the second edition of his groundbreaking book of reviews, Kindred Spirits. In the dozen years since, interest in distilled spirits has exploded, and craft distilleries have popped up around the country and the world. 

Now, in The New Kindred Spirits, Pacult provides a new and comprehensive compilation of more than 2,400 detailed evaluations of whiskeys, brandies, vodkas, tequilas, rums, gins, and liqueurs—an indispensable reference for any spirits enthusiast or professional.

The New Kindred Spirits is essential for:

   • Consumers who are just beginning their personal adventure in spirits and want the dependable tutelage of the expert whom Imbibe Magazine recently called “…an all-knowing spirituous oracle, a J.D. Power of liquor.”
   • Seasoned spirits consumers looking to expand their repertoire and in need of a reliable, highly detailed purchasing guide. 
   • Industry insiders who would like to increase their knowledge about all spirits categories—and see what the competition is up to.
   • Retailers looking for both a trusted guide to help their clientele make buying decisions, and an educational textbook for their sales staff.
   • Restauranteurs/bar owners/bartenders who sell spirits and need to know more about them in a time of increasingly knowledgeable customers.
   • Journalists, educators and other writers who regularly or occasionally cover or teach distilled spirits and mixology.


New in this edition, The New Kindred Spirits will also cover the craft distiller explosion—wherein thousands of small, independent distillers burst onto the scene—through hundreds of reviews of craft spirits. 

The world’s most respected and trusted spirits authority, F. Paul Pacult is a critic, journalist, and the creator of F. Paul Pacult’s Spirit Journal, which provided meticulous and unbiased spirits reviews for twenty-eight years. But whether reviewing old standby spirits or up-and-comers, readers can count on Paul’s steely, unemotional critic’s eye, just as they have since 1991. More comprehensive than ever before, The New Kindreds Spirits remains true to the guiding principles of careful judgment, no advertising allowed, occasional wisecracks, and totally unbiased opinions.