A Ramble Round the Globe

Dewar's trip was motivated not only by a desire to market his brand, but also by medical imperatives: Dewar had been battling a persistent cold that had been growing worse, and his doctor suggested that a warmer climate could rid him of this threatening cold.

The journey departed from Speyside in Scotland and embarked for Boston in the US, then onto New York, Washington, Chicago and San Francisco. He then sailed to Hawaii, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, China and Hong Kong. The writings both praise and chastise his surroundings as he traverses through the very differing cities around the world.

The journey was a success. Upon his return, Dewar's was on both sides of the Atlantic and Pacific. Whisky was little known, let alone drunk outside Scotland at the time, and Sir Thomas Dewar played a large role in changing this to bring the Dewar's brand to homes around the world.

The 1894 book was revisited by Malcolm Greenwood, another Scotch Whisky enthusiast, in his 1999 A Ramble Round the Globe: Revisited. Inspired by the original book, Greenwood decided to trace Dewar's footsteps and travel around the globe in order to re-examine the places and cultures Dewar visited over a hundred years earlier.

• Full text of A Ramble Round the Globe on Google Books