Whisky Spreadsheet

As well as being a bit of a whisky geek I'm also a spreadsheet geek! I make spreadsheets for everything and have, what I think, is a great one for keeping track of my whisky.

You can use it to keep track of every whisky you have in your collection, both those you have tasted or those awaiting tasting.

There is some of my sample data in my template, once you've worked out how it works simply delete my data (from the Whisky Tab) and put in your own.

The spreadsheet works on Google Sheets meaning you can use it on any web browser or phone. It will not work properly on Microsoft excel because of the query and filter functions it uses.

First of all it does look complicated - but if you have a basic knowledge of spreadsheets - it's really easy! There are only 5 pieces of information you need to enter for each whisky on the Whisky Tab, you can enter more if you want! All of the Stats and information tabs are completed automatically.

Secondly, It's continually evolving so the screenshots may not look exactly like the latest version!

The Stats tab (above) has every stat I can think of:

• Count of how many single malts, grains and blends I've tried from each region of Scotland and other countries around the world.
• How many drams I've had from each Distillery.
• How many drams I've had for each Independent Bottler.
• The oldest drams I've tried.
• The smallest batch sizes I've tried.
• The strongest drams I've tried
• A count of each age of dram I've tried
• A chart showing when drams were distilled and bottled
• The sources of all the swaps I've made
• Maps of where the distilleries I've tried are located

The Distilleries tab summarizes everything by distillery.

The Independents tab summarizes everything by Independent Bottler.

All of this information is generated automatically by filling in one simple tab, called Whisky with a line for each dram.

This needs to be filled in with a record of all of your tastings, bottles, samples and drams with mates!

It's split into two sections, the top bit being an alphabetical list by distillery of all the drams I have, but have 'Still to try', this would include closed bottles and sample swaps.

What's key to this section is the data that's input against each dram, Col A is a formula, the rest are manual entries:

Not all of these columns need to be populated, but the more you do the more the Stats will be completed. As a minimum you need B, C, D, E, F; Remember A is a formula.

• A : Region : A formula that looks up the Distillery you enter in Col E
• B : Date : Blank until you try the whisky, then you move the row down to the 'Tried section'
• C : Type : Owned, a Sample (bought, pub bought or swapped) or a Repeat
• D : Left : how much is left in the bottle (ml)
• E : Distillery : the name of the distillery / bottler the dram has come from - could also be a generic Scottish Blend
• F : Dram : the name of the dram [if it's from an Independent put their initials in square brackets]
• G : WB Link : a link to the Whiskybase page giving full info about the dram - you can add this yourself or ignore it.
• H : Review Link : a link to a review in my blog - you can add this yourself or ignore it.
• I : Age : the age of the dram if specified
• J : ABV : the strength of the dram
• K : Type : SM Single Malt, BL Blend, SG Single Grain etc
• L : Info : Information about the dram, I usually try to put other name info, distilled date (D:), Cask number and bottling date (B:) which update the two charts at the top right of the Stats tab.
• M : Casks : The types of cask the dram was matured in
• N : Bottles : The number of bottles filled
• O : Source : Where did I get the dram from
• P : Info : Additional info about the dram source, date, price ete
• Q : Bottle Size : how big was the bottle you have/had (ml)
• R : Rating 0-5 : Uses my rating scale 
• S : Tasting Label : Any identification marks for Blind Tasting etc
• T : Swap : Is this available as a dramble swap (Populates the Swaps tab for a Yes)

Below this the 'Tried section' lists by date, newest at the top, all of the drams I have tried.

The SMWS tab lists all the SMWS codes and the distilleries I've tried from them. This is coloured in automatically.

The 101 tab lists all of the Ian Buxton '101 Whiskies to try before you die' that I've tried - you have to colour this one in manually.

The Swap List tab lists all the drams available for sample swaps, this is completed automatically

The spreadsheet works on Google Sheets meaning you can use it on any web browser or phone. It will not work properly on microsoft excel because of the query and filter functions it uses.

If you are interested in a copy for your own use get in touch on Twitter, Instagram or Threads!

Further instructions:

1. It's really easy to use - just save a version in your own Google Drive.
2. Delete all the rows of data on the Whisky tab which have my whiskies listed except for the two green section headers "Still to try" and "Tried" and maybe one of the lines immediately beneath each to start you off - remember Col A is a formula.
3. Start entering your own whiskies, one on each row, either in the "Tried" section in date order with the most recent at the top. As you try a new dram insert a blank line just below the green "Tried" line, copy the formula in Col A from the cell below then enter the rest of the data that you want, Not all of these columns need to be populated, but the more you do the more the Stats will be completed. As a minimum you need A, B, C, D, E, F
4. Enter the drams you have but haven't tried yet, full bottles, samples swaps etc in the top section in distillery alphabetic order (or any order if you want but Distillery works for me!) As you try them you move them to the top of the "Tried" section and add a date.
5. I have split my "Still to try" section into 4 subsections but you don't need to - it just helps me keep track of all my sample swaps!
6. The Stats, Distillery, Independents, SMWS and Swaps page all populate automatically!

There are a lots of people using this sheet now, so we regularly make improvements - as long as you don't change the format of the Whisky tab you'll be fine to upgrade when required!