Personalized Whisky Recommendations from Mark Bylok

Mark Bylok and I met for lunch a month or so ago to talk about our experiences writing about whisky. Mark's first book, The Whisky Cabinet will be released shortly and we shared our stories of authors' angst in preparing our manuscripts. As we discussed the difficulties of getting a new book noticed, Mark told me about an idea that I thought was a stroke of brilliance: He said he would be offering personalized recommendations of whiskies that would make good gifts for whisky lovers. Your spouse is crazy about whisky but you don't know what to give him or her for birthdays or Christmas?  Just ask Mark.  Here is how he puts it on his Whisky Cabinet website:Mark Bylok, author of The Whisky Cabinet, offers a unique gift item for the whisky enthusiast in your life. Receive this personalized bookmark geared to the preferences of the recipient with three whisky recommendations to complete their whisky cabinet. Mark Bylok has tasted hundreds of whiskies when researching for his book, The Whisky Cabinet, and he’ll use that gained knowledge to build this list of recommendations.How does this work? After making the purchase, Mark will reach out to find out some background on the recipient. It'll be a few questions on what sort of whisky they like. You can even just send a photo of their whisky cabinet! Information that’s helpful could be a list of their favourite few whiskies, or the whisky the recipient currently owns (you can even just email a photo of their whiskies to mark at markbylok dot com). With this information, Mark Bylok will personally tailored the bookmark to include three unique whisky recommendations! If you don’t have that information, that’s okay. Mark will send you his personal three favourite whiskies that are available in your area.What better gift than a personalized shopping list to round out a whisky enthusiasts whisky cabinet? With this purchase you’ll receive:One bookmark with hand-written tailored whisky recommendationsIt’ll go perfectly with your copy of The Whisky Cabinet (sold separately). Books can be purchased through Amazon.* Quantities are extremely limited* This item will not be available after December 15th, 2014. price $9.95I've not yet read Mark's book but I love his creative idea for drawing attention to it just in time for the Christmas whisky season.  If you are looking to give someone a general introductory book about whisky why not have a look at Mark's Whisky Cabinet on Amazon.