Christopher “Billy” Abbott could arguably be shortlisted for the title of “The Most Interesting Man in the Spirits World,” or at least in whisky.
His story begins as a computing student at Imperial College London. His days were spent toiling away in the office of the City of London as a network administrator and systems programmer. His nights were spent longing to be a professional barman (for the drinks, of course) between gigs as the guitarist for his band, Dead Karma, with musical influences stretching from delta blues to Pink Floyd.
From government, Billy went to a brief stint at a software startup followed by working as a lead software engineer for a fintech (financial technology) company. As a member of the BCS (British Computer Society) Young Professionals Group Executive Committee, in addition to his duties as Secretary, he was the go-to “techie” (for the techies) and helped organize events. Later, these event skills would be an integral part of his day-to-day whisky career.
But Billy’s tell-tale geeky heart began to steer him toward other passions. First as a co-host for One More Go, a gaming podcast for GeekPlanetOnline and then volunteering for the annual Sci-Fi London Film Festival.
Building Billy 2.0
In 2009, Billy’s whirlwind life of tastings and travels would start to take shape on multiple platforms. He started Billy’s Booze Blog, covering a variety of alcohol with a focus on whisky and beer. He later rebranded to Spirited Matters, inspired by a whisky meme from blogger Anne-Sophie Bigot (aka “The Whisky Lady”).
He launched Village of the Drammed podcast as its resident geek covering the whisky industry and news; one notable episode explored the what, why, and how of whisky awards from the World Whiskies Awards to The Scotch Whisky Masters to the Malt Maniac Awards. In 2012, Billy joined one of London’s OG whisky tasting clubs, Whisky Squad and took over as co-organizer when the original organizers pursued whisky dreams away from London. Originally founded in 2010, it does not require a membership, only event ticket purchases and has been celebrated for its welcoming and casual atmosphere. He continues to run it today along with Elise Craft, a former restaurateur that also has spirits knowledge and has an affinity for rye whiskey.
Fittingly, his 9-to-5 was now at The Whisky Exchange, the world’s largest online retailer for Scotch as Online Content Editor. At the same time,he continued to write freelance and consult in areas such as product development for the drinks industry.
The Whisky Exchange
The Whisky Exchange was founded by Sukhinder and Rajbir Singh, two brothers with a passion for whisky that grew up helping out at their parents’ wine and spirits store in the ‘70s. When their parents decided to retire in 1999, they sold the family business and launched The Whisky Exchange for whisky enthusiasts to buy, sell, and swap bottles. Their inventory was renowned for old and rare bottles, particularly “dusties.”
Nerd Word: “Dusties” are a reference to bottles that are usually vintage or from distilleries that are no longer in operation. They are often unopened and have been collecting dust (either on a shelf or someone’s attic) which gives rise to the name.
While they do stock other spirits, the Whisky Exchange’s stock is approximately 70% whisk(e)y. Their inventory includes exclusive American whiskey expressions including Eagle Rare, Woodford Reserve, WhistlePig, Westland, Copperworks and New Riff, and Elijah Craig.
Eventually, Billy’s role expanded to Content and Training Manager, running courses internally for employees and externally at industry conferences and the general public leading to his present day Ambassador role. Billy’s impressive knowledge base includes multiple certifications from the globally renowned WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) in both knowledge and as an educator in Spirits (Level 3) and Wines (Level 2).
He is also credentialed as an Armagnac educator, a member of the Circle of Wine Writers, a Shochu Adviser, and an Awamori ambassador. (Awamori is a lesser known distilled spirit indigenous to Okinawa made from rice, water and kuro kōji, black koji mold.). Billy is also part of the Worshipful Company of Distillers, a livery company (i.e. professional guild) dating back to King Charles I who reigned from 1625 to 1649.
Billy then went on to publish The Philosophy of Whisky, with The British Library.
This short compendium is his love letter to whisky. It is delivered in classic Billy Abbott style: a journey around the world that is part geekiness featuring science and history through a fun and quirky tone that tells you exactly how he feels about things while he’s teaching you a thing or two.
Here are a few excerpts:
General
“Whisky is, in essence, a simple drink: make some very old-fashioned beer, boil it up, collect the steam, and put it in something wooden.”
On Whisky vs. Whiskey
“One of the most common disagreements in the whisky world is how to spell the word itself……if you find yourself arguing over how to spell the word…take a step back…have a long hard think about what you’re doing and then pour another glass of whisk(e)y”
On Fermentation
“…yeast doesn’t get much attention…most whisky fans…wax lyrical about grain and wood, but rarely will they dive into the microbiological world of yeast and fermentation.”
Whisk(e)y Geeks Unite!
“I think I’ll take my whiskey neat/My coffee black
and my bed at three”
Sweet by Hozier
With all this going on, one wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Billy is a self-professed insomniac. And it’s this small, yet relevant, fact that led to how we became friends.
While no one wants to journey back to 2020, we will briefly for the purposes of introduction. As people were immersed in back-to-back Zoom meetings, I received an invite from a respected lecturer I follow to the download the ClubHouse app, an audio community platform. I naturally gravitated toward whisky-themed groups and chats, Billy was the Londoner that seemed to be in almost every group and awake between the hours of 1 to 5 AM, London time, sharing whisky geekiness and drams into the wee hours with a mostly American crowd.
We kept in touch virtually and eventually I met Billy in person at a trade show in 2023. At this point, he was judging for several competitions and that was the year he began to work with the New Scientist Discovery Tours.
Returning full circle to the beginning, Billy’s friend Jason, one of the original founders of Whisky Squad, had previously introduced him to Chris Simms, fellow whisky enthusiast and editor at New Scientist magazine. Chris had reached out to Billy because he wanted to write an article on the artificial aging of whisky.
As part of the research, Billy led a Zoom tasting that consisted of industry, flavor scientists, and the staff from New Scientist (including Becky Paskin, whom we profiled for Women in Whiskey (July 2023)). They wanted to know if chemistry could replicate the flavor of aging overnight. First, two artificially aged whiskeys were sampled. These were: Glyph – ‘the first molecular whiskey from Endless West, and Sayers of the Law by Lost Spirits. These were then compared to several traditional scotches (including Macallan Gold).
Billy was then brought on board to be part of the New Scientist Discovery Tours, “science inspired tours for the curious mind,” specifically the Science of Whisky tours. Its current iteration is a 7-night cruise that visits coastal towns and distilleries such as Bruichladdich, Kilchoman, Lagavulin, Ardnahoe, Bunnahabhain and Jura. Workshops and tastings feature straight-from-cask and exclusive bottlings and is a whisky geek’s dream.
London Calling
Should you happen to be in London at the time of this article’s publication, Billy will be running the first “The Science of Whisky” workshop at the annual New Scientist Live Conference later this month. This one hour session covers the following:
– What is whisky? Understand the basics and the legal definitions.
– Grain to Glass: Discover how grain is transformed through milling, mashing, fermentation, distillation, and maturation.
– The Science of Tasting: Learn how our senses perceive flavour and aroma.
– Where Flavor Comes From: Uncover the chemical and environmental factors that shape whisky’s unique character.
The session runs both on Saturday, October 18th and Sunday, October 19th and a conference ticket is needed to attend. (More information is available on the New Scientist Live website.)
And if you’re generally visiting London, Billy’s list of recommended stops include
– Dram Bar London (Soho): A funky whisky bar with an outdoor terrace, whisky shop that also has great cocktails.
– The Whisky Exchange: They have three shops located in Covent Garden, Great Portland Street, and London Bridge.
– Cadenhead’s Whisky Shop & Tasting Room: Scotland’s oldest Independent Bottler in Marylebone.
Other places to keep in mind are Milroy’s of Soho, Soho Whisky Club, The Vintage House, and The Scotch Malt Whisky Society.
Tastings and Travels
Today, sleep continues to elude Billy. He’s been to tastings in England, Scotland, Spain, Cyprus, the USA and Japan, A recent peek at his diary includes co-hosting a live 24 hour whisky show, a week holiday in Edinburgh for a friend that may or may not have included distilleries, Maltstock – described on its site as a relaxed, all-inclusive whisky weekend in Overasselt, Netherlands’, a work weekend in Beijing and baijiu judging in Chengdu.
At the time of this article being published, Billy will be finishing up his tour of Ardbeg House, the new luxury hotel in Islay that just opened a few weeks ago and prepping for the 2025 Whisky Show in London. This year’s edition features the Nordic Zone, the first time that a dozen distilleries from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden will showcase in solidarity.
And in true Billy Abbot fashion, he answered our Mashbill questions while on the plane en route to Islay.
The Mashbill: Whiskey Network Wants to Know Your Recipe
Whiskey Network asks these questions to each of our guests to gain a common understanding from whiskey enthusiasts.
What was the last whisk(e)y, bourbon, or Scotch in your glass?
Laizhou Huangjiu (yellow wine) cask Chinese single malt whisky
Do you prefer to drink your whiskey from a specific type of glass?
Anything that helps whisky to get from the bottle into my mouth is good, but I go between Glencairn-style tasting glasses and small tumblers. I have a weighty Waterford Crystal round-bottomed tumbler that I roll out for very special occasions.
Do you have a unicorn bottle?
The Cadenhead’s white-labelled 1978 Lagavulin. It lured me in with its looks and excellent vintage (the same as mine) and rumors of the excellence of the whisky have kept me lusting after it.
This is a hypothetical question: I’m looking for a gift for a friend and the budget is $50-$75. What would you suggest?
Something from the Signatory 100 Proof range – probably something a bit sherried.
What is your favorite toast?
Here’s tae us; wha’s like us? Damn few and they’re aw deid.
We are proud to welcome Billy Abbott to the Whiskey Network Family. He’s a Renaissance man whose Venn Diagram of whisky, STEM, and science fiction/fantasy has brought whiskey education to a new (and fun) level of engagement and entertainment.
At the time of this writing, Billy has been shortlisted for the IWSC (International Wine & Spirit Competition) Spirits Communicator of the Year Trophy for 2026. The award celebrates those who elevate the world of spirits through creativity, clarity, and passion; the winner will be announced in November. We wish him luck and look forward to following his storied journey!
