Our Henry moves on to pastures new

For the last six years, the person who has run this here blog was Henry Jeffreys. 

Henry Jeffreys became a writer after working in the wine trade and publishing and came to us as a seasoned freelancer with proper published books and contributions to places you’ve heard of like The Guardian and The Spectator as well as appearances on BBC radio and TV. 

He was named Fortnum & Mason Drink Writer of the Year 2022/23 and his four books: Empire of Booze, The Home Bar, The Cocktail Dictionary, and Vines in a Cold Climate were all critically acclaimed, with the latter recently being named Best Drink Book at the Fortnum & Mason Food and Drink Awards 2024.

A big name in our small corner of the world, Henry joined the good ship Master of Malt in 2018 and brought with him his considerable expertise as well as an unparalleled ability to don a cocktail helmet.

Now Henry is taking his many words onto new pages (although he may well grace us again with some freelance contributions, watch this space…). You can expect to see the kind of quality that produces uncompromising opinion pieces on the lack of older people in whisky advertising, wry takes on how to sound like a real whisky expert, authoritative explanations on terroir in whisky, how English whisky should be defined or sherry casks in whisky and exclusives obtained through his inquisitive nature like his work on peated malt shortages. 

We could count on Henry to entertain and inform whenever he dug deeper into a brand’s story, from African gin pioneers Procera to returning giant Brora, English whisky innovators Copper Rivet and Panama’s finest Ron Abuelo. Henry is also a lover of history and his passion shined in deep dives into Johnnie Walker, Bols, and rye whiskey, while his appreciation for food and travel shined guides like his how to drink Spain like an expert. He was always handy for recommendations full stop, just ask the many people here who bought wine off his advice, or check out his top tips for whisky collecting, which Armagnac whisky lovers would appreciate or how to find cheap whisky these days.

Then there’s Cocktail of the Week. The architect of one of our longest-running series, Henry was Cocktail of the Week. While some of us did contribute from time to time, it was Henry who was the reason that series existed and thrived, with his breadth of knowledge of cocktails as well as his genuine ability to make them meaning that each of his entries became the essential guide to that drink on the internet. From Martini to Manhattan, we’ve got you covered, thanks to Henry. 

Of course, we know that Henry was most proud of finally, once and for all, distinguishing the difference between whisky and whiskey. 

Among those who will speak highest of Henry include the many freelance writers who graced our blog pages, all of them engaged and edited by Henry. But we couldn’t let him go without us expressing our own thoughts too.

Here’s team MoM on Henry:

“Henry was my go-to on all things words for six years. That’s a long time. It’s odd not to send him work to proof. It was a hell of an education to work with a writer of his standard. He is, simply, a brilliant storyteller and his wit and charm will be sorely missed in our Monday meetings. Although, I never did get a signed copy of his new book…”
– Adam O’Connell, the Obi-Wan to Henry’s Qui-Gon Jinn

“Having Henry as a colleague has been an utter delight. He’s both hilarious and forthright. He can be whimsical but is sharply inquisitive. His writing always feels personal and is full of wit. With hindsight, I wish I’d made much more of the pre-covid time when we were regularly in the office together.”
– Jake Mountain, doer of things and getter of more of Henry’s music references than most.

“Henry always has a brilliant angle on things, hilarious, always accurate, and not afraid to challenge things but in the most gracious and constructive ways. I found him hugely valuable in helping me navigate the world of content writing and I always looked forward to his hilarious yet spot-on summaries of some of the weirder press releases that we’ve encountered.”
– Emma Symons, the only person who made cocktails to rival Henry’s.

“Henry is an absolute pleasure to work with, incredibly funny and always super knowledgeable. His writing style is personal and approachable yet filled with interesting facts, and obviously, his own brilliant touch. I can’t wait to see the amazing things Henry will work on next and hopefully get to work with him again, very soon.”
– Giovana Petry, relentless buyer of all Henry’s wine recommendations

“How we will get by without Henry’s bottomless pit of knowledge and recommendations, I don’t know, but it has been a complete and utter pleasure to work with Henry. I’m excited to see what Henry gets up to next and will keep my eyes peeled for when I see his next article/book release.”
– Danni Coletta, Henry’s #1 content requestor/pesterer

“Never have I come across a more noble booze scribe 

Who poured words onto pages like the finest claret into crystal

Missing you billions Henry! Alex x”.
– Alex Holbrook, PR to the stars and channeler of Lord Byron

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