Whisky Focus - Smokehead Rulebook Made To Be Ripped Up

Smokehead has created the world’s first rulebook that’s literally made to be ripped up – and burned! The mystery smoky Islay single malt has brought together some of the UK’s most exciting visionaries, entrepreneurs, and business rebels, including Professor Green and Steven Bartlett, to create the rulebook.

Each page of the limited-edition book features advice given to the collaborators at the beginning of their career - advice that would have held them back if they’d paid attention to it. Instead, they chose to trust their own gut instinct and forge their own path.

You could say Smokehead whisky has ripped up the single malt whisky rule book since day one. The punchy, peaty single malt was born in opposition to tradition, breaking the rules and asking why single malt whisky couldn’t be mixed and enjoyed by each to their own. It is now the fastest growing whisky in the UK and the rulebook pays homage to the broken rules that led to success.

Each page contains quotes of ignored advice, designed to be ripped out and set alight to ‘smoke rinse’ cocktail glasses, allowing the drinker to raise a toast to what (thankfully) never was.

Soon-to-be the youngest-ever investor on BBC’s Dragon’s Den, Steven Bartlett wanted to leave university to start his own business but was told "Quitting is for losers". At the age of 18, he did it anyway and at 21 he started The Social Chain from his bedroom in Manchester. At 27, he took his company public with a market valuation of £200m and it is now one of the world’s most influential social media companies. With a current market valuation of £300m+, Steven now 28 believes that knowing when to quit has been the key to his success.

He is also a best-selling author and the voice behind Europe’s most listened to business podcast, Diary of a CEO, which has featured guests like Joe Wicks, Mary Portas and Liam Payne.

Musical pioneer, now entrepreneur, Professor Green aka Stephen Manderson grew up on a council estate in east London, before going on to become a multi-platinum artist, and then diversifying into other creative businesses. He was often told that "A bad idea is better than no idea" but knew that was never right for him. Instead, he prefers to leave the studio with a blank piece of paper rather than produce work for the sake of it – and he’ll never launch anything new unless he knows it’s excellent.

Joining Steven and Pro Green in the Smokehead Rulebook is a collection of other doers, makers and creatives who have smashed boundaries and found success, including:

• "Better to make a great living doing something you hate, than a decent one doing something you love": Comedian Adam Rowe ditched his maths degree for a life of stand-up and is now one of the most sought-after names in British comedy
   
• "You can dream, but keep it realistic": Musician, Billy Nomates was in countless bands in her twenties, none of which made it big. She stuck to her dream, released her own album and has been described as one of the “most distinctive new voices in British music"
   
• "You’re not supposed to enjoy your work": Award-winning chef & restauranteur, Neil Rankin ditched his corporate 9-to-5 to follow his heart. He founded Temper, one of the world’s biggest restaurant fire pits and now pioneers sustainable, satisfying plant-based meat
   
• "Just stick to what you know": Photographer Martina Martian was a successful illustrator who decided to try something different. Traveling the world for a year, she picked up a camera and now shoots for some of the biggest brands and magazines in the world
   
• "Don’t do anything crazy": Smokehead ambassador Mikey Sim has never stuck by the rules – and that includes how he pours his whisky. He constantly innovates with the single malt and its serve.

Each page of the rulebook is handmade and infused with orange, peppercorn and ginger oils. Readers can tear out a page of the best-ignored advice, crumple it up and set it alight on an accompanying coaster. Turn a glass over the slow burning paper and once the smoking has stopped (the effect is similar to incense), add ice and Smokehead. Readers can break the rules and add a mixer of their choice before finally raising a glass to those that choose their own path.

Stephen Manderson aka Professor Green said "I’ve been told plenty of times just to make something and that it doesn’t matter if it’s not totally perfect. That might be good advice for some, but it doesn’t work for me. Some people think that a blank page is your worst enemy - imagine a painter with a blank canvas fearing their first stroke – but the challenge of walking into a studio with no idea for a song and having to come up with one is what spurs me on. It’s the best part of what I do, because it precedes the moment of conception, it pushes you to make something that matters and also because I f***ing LOVE a challenge. Reading the book, I can relate to plenty of the other comments – I think anyone who has fire in their belly will too."

Only 200 Smokehead Rulebooks have been made and will be sold alongside Smokehead whisky on www.smokehead.com.

You will also find the current Smokehead whisky whisky range available from specialist online whisky retailers such as The Whisky Exchange, Amazon and Master of Malt
 

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