Growing up, I was the fussiest eater on the planet. I really earned the nickname “fusspot” from my family members.

My main issue with food was trying new things. If I were to go to a restaurant, I would be scared out of my skin to try a new dish. So, I always played it safe. I liked safe. Even in my university days, my meals would consist of a very bland pasta, a frozen pepperoni pizza, and the occasional basic fry-up.

Around the time I became vegetarian a few years back, my attitude towards broadening my palate completely changed. I couldn’t just rely on pork, or beef, or sausages as the central focal point of my meal, so I was forcing to myself to actually be adventurous. It was terrifying at first. The thought of trying green lentils, or shiitake mushrooms, or halloumi created an almost fight-or-flight response in my body. But over time, food has become one of the things I most appreciate about this world, and it’s because I allowed myself to finally try new things.

Sometimes it can be easy for us to sit within our own bubble of whisky preference. Whenever my wife’s grandad asks for a bottle of whisky at Christmas, he’s always quick to clarify that it’s Scotch he wants. But I know for certain he hasn’t tried whisky from anywhere else. He hasn’t tried whisky from Japan, or from Denmark, or from Australia. To him, the spirit of whisky starts and ends within the borders of Scotland. Speaking to colleagues, so many of them experience the same conversations with friends and family.

However, it’s not as simple as just putting a bottle of Kavalan or Paul John whisky in front of a devout Scotch-only drinker and expecting them to drink it. The same could be said for bourbon drinkers in the United States.

Our responsibility as whisky writers, at least in my humble opinion, is to help the whisky lovers out there to broaden their horizons and discover a whole new world of whisky. My hope is always that you, the reader, will come away from each issue having learned about a brand, or a technique, or a style, that you may have known nothing about.

That brings us to this edition of Whisky Magazine, which you will soon notice inside has a very specific theme — the whiskies and whisky culture of Asia.

For those of you with already broadened horizons, I hope you’ll find the following pages insightful. For those of you who read about my wife’s grandad and thought, “I can relate to that!” I hope you’ll find a temptation to discover some of the whiskies inside! One of our wonderful contributors, Jeanne Peixian Qiao, has crafted not one, but two excellent features exploring the ends of the whisky production spectrum. The first explores Wolin Cooperage and the incredible efforts of cask creation with Whisky Magazine Hall of Famer Jisheng Fang. The second looks at Guqi Whisky, a new whisky venture marrying two spirit cultures together.

Inside, we also explore Kavalan, Amrut, travel retail in China, whisky creation in Japan, and how whisky connects communities. Even our food pairings, perfectly curated by Rothes Glen head chef Alan Robertson, have followed our theme of Asia, with recipes for those fancying some Asian cuisine to pair with the Scotch in your cupboards.

It’s not just about the liquid either. My own feature in this issue explores the conception of Kandoblanc and its subsequent creations that have been auctioned off for charity, one in 2023 and 2025. I learned so much from talking to Dhavall Gandhi, primarily about the meticulous techniques used when crafting such unique products.

I must conclude by stating that there is absolutely nothing wrong with having a favourite style or country of whisky. For so many, Scotch is a preference, or bourbon is best-loved. Your favourites are your favourites for a reason, and that’s okay.

What I hope by broadening your horizons is that you may surprise yourself, and you may have a new preference. And how can having even more options to choose from in a bar, or for gifting at Christmas, possibly be a bad thing?