Hans Offringa: 'I think the book with Charlie will be my last major whisky book in English'

Sunday, 09 November 2025 at 11:57

Hans and Becky Offringa: The Whisky Couple

Who hasn’t heard of Hans Offringa? He’s written more than 40 whisky books and over 1,200 articles, is the only Dutchman inducted into the Whisky Hall of Fame, and has had experiences straight out of a James Bond film. What keeps him going in 2025?

Did you know his writing career began in Scotland, he once went to Russia for a real “James Bond” assignment, and he once sold a company to Amazon?

A boy from Zwolle

Hans (69) has traveled the world and has spent decades dividing his time between Scotland, the United States, and the Netherlands. We meet him on a quiet Friday morning in Zwolle, the place where he went to school and grew up.

'After high school I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do. So I went to England with a friend. We lived and worked there for a while. When I came back, I had really solid, hands-on command of the English language. I wanted to do something with that.'

Hans looks back on his career while sipping a coffee at Hotel Fidder - Patrick’s Whisky Bar. After his England adventure, he decided to study English and corporate journalism, and started working as a proofreader and editor-in-chief at a publishing house. Around that time he’d have the occasional whisky, and the first seed was unknowingly planted in his mind.

'It’s not just the drink I love, but the history around it and the culture (Scotland, ed.). I kept digging deeper and deeper.'

On the road in Scotland

1990 was the year Hans took the plunge and headed to Scotland.

“I just walked into a distillery with my camera and notebook and started asking questions,” he says with a wide grin.

That wasn’t common back then. The Scots loved that an enthusiastic Dutchman, with long flowing hair, had taken such an interest in their culture and their handcrafted whiskies.

It was a product they were proud of, but nowhere near as popular as it is today.

'From there I gradually started visiting more and more distilleries. In 1994 I received my first prize. ‘Award’ is a big word, but I got a certificate from United Distillers, which later became Diageo, recognizing my whisky knowledge. It was the very first time I had a document I could show people. So I hung it on the wall.'

Hans immediately apologizes for the remark and says he doesn’t want to brag. With an extremely modest smile: “But you did ask for the background.”

Godfather of Printing & Publishing On Demand

By then Hans had long since left traditional publishing and had built a successful media production company, one that kept him at the forefront of new developments. The rise of the computer and whisky’s growing popularity suited him perfectly.

He helped build Teletext and was the inventor of on-demand printing: “I’m officially recognized as the Godfather of Printing & Publishing On Demand.”

Before long, he was writing about whisky for various Scottish magazines. The eager spirit from Zwolle had simply landed in the butter, or should we say, the nectar of the gods, completely by chance.

First whisky book on labels

By coincidence, Hans got in touch with a Global Brand Manager at The Glenlivet. This person happened to know someone who had spent his entire life designing whisky labels for the industry.

They were looking for someone to turn that story into a book, and because Hans had a media production company, it was a natural fit. In 1998, Hans’s first whisky book became a reality. Up to that point, he had published multiple articles, two novels, and a few historical books.

Although the man from Zwolle was always writing and truly loved the craft, there still wasn’t a clear path mapped out for the rest of his life. Meanwhile, his production company handled other assignments that had nothing to do with whisky.

Luckily, he still got to work with the nectar of the gods now and then. A cool TV gig took him to Scotland with a camera crew. For Hans, it was an awesome experience that left him wanting more.

A book about a Russian nuclear submarine

Though Hans had plenty of work, he secretly hoped the production team he’d worked with in Scotland would call him again for another job. For a few years he heard nothing, and then one day the phone rang. It wasn’t for a new TV project or a whisky story, but something James Bond would have jumped at.

Hans recalls that one phone call:

'Together with Mammoet, we raised the Kursk, that submarine, from the seabed. And we want to publish a book about it. We found a journalist and he’s finished a manuscript. We’re doing it together with Mammoet, but we’d like a second opinion.'

The boy from Zwolle can’t believe his ears. Are they really asking him for this project? The manuscript he’s given, though, reads far too much like a technical manual. This has to change.

Hans wants to turn it into a book that a wide audience will read, with room for innovation, technology, human interest, and that sort of thing. He has just one condition if he’s to take on the assignment: he wants access to all the files.

'A week later I was in Russia, interviewing people. (…) I even got to interview the designer of the Kursk. How amazing is that? A kid from the provinces. I sat down on the couch and thought: what on earth just happened to me?'

In just a few days he records dozens of interviews and heads back to the Netherlands with a stack of tapes under his arm. The book, The Salvage of the Kursk, is published in both Dutch and English.

'I was on Russian state TV for the whole affair, and in the Netherlands every program wanted a piece of it. I was even driven around the country in a limousine.'

Still no whisky book in the Netherlands

Although Hans is known in Scotland as a whisky writer and has made a name for himself, nothing much has happened with whisky in the Netherlands at that point. But thanks to the Kursk book, Hans also pops up on the radar in our little country.

After that he gets a call asking if he’ll translate three books by, among others, Michael Jackson and David Wishart. That finally opens doors for him in the Netherlands.

'They were quite pleased with that. Then the publisher said: you know what you should do? You should write your own book about whisky. (...) So I wrote The Road to Craigellachie. It was immediately published in English as well, by a Scottish publisher. It became a cult book.'

This is the turning point in his career, and while Hans might have had more James Bond–style adventures ahead of him, he decides to follow his heart and focus on whisky.

Love at first sight

By now things are going well for him professionally, and personally, too. He has two children and is divorced when Cupid strikes again. By chance he meets Becky at an exhibition. It’s love at first sight and, importantly, the feeling is mutual.

Hans sells an American POD company in which he owns a small stake to Amazon and is ready to discover the world with Becky by his side.

Becky is American, and thanks to the proceeds from the sale, the two of them can live somewhere new every three months for three years: the United States, Scotland, and the Netherlands (read: Zwolle).

The Whisky Couple

The love of his life is working as a marine biologist at the time, but ready for a new challenge. When it turns out she’s not averse to Scotch whisky, Hans asks if she’d like to help him with various whisky projects.

She’s exceptionally good at research and photography, and together they prove to be a golden duo. It’s no coincidence that she once jokingly records their voicemail greeting with the words: The Whisky Couple.

'It caught on so quickly that everyone started calling us The Whisky Couple. We registered the brand name with our media production company. And that’s how the ball started rolling.'

Becky lifts Hans to a higher level

In 2007 the first book appears to which Becky also contributed extensively: The Taste of Whisky.

“From that moment, early 2008, we noticed we were being asked to do all kinds of projects for producers in Scotland. Our clients included Diageo, Pernod Ricard, LVMH, Edrington, and Beam Suntory.”

One thing is clear: Becky is no longer a marine biologist, but a whisky expert. Hans emphasizes that he could never have built his career the way he has without her by his side. When he talks about her, his eyes genuinely light up and he looks almost like a boy newly in love. He’s clearly proud of her.

Together they became Keepers of the Quaich, the highest honor in the Scotch whisky industry. He was inducted in 2016, she in 2022. Although some think he had something to do with it, he stresses that this absolutely wasn’t the case.

A love for bourbon

Beyond the fact that Becky elevates Hans’s work, his love of bourbon has only grown since their relationship began. In recent years he has published many articles (and two books) about this beautiful spirit. Hans is a big fan of the blues, Frank Zappa in particular, and he’s found a perfect way to blend those passions. In 2011 his book Bourbon & Blues is released. For this he receives the civilian honor of Kentucky Colonel.

'I was allowed to launch the book at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival at Four Roses, at the distillery. I sat there looking around, thinking: what on earth is happening here?'

Too commercial?

The biggest breakthrough comes five years later with A Field Guide to Whisky. A smash hit published in multiple countries, and quietly sitting on our shelf in several translations, including one from South Korea.

'A total of 250,000 copies have been sold worldwide. I could never have imagined that when I was fiddling with those labels 20 years earlier.'

Every now and then, people say Hans is “too” commercial. He takes it in stride and doesn’t lose sleep over it.

'I’m self-employed. I don’t have an employer. So I always have to think about the next assignment. The bills still need paying. (…) Some people want to learn. They seek you out to take a step forward. And some people are envious. They try to pull you down to their level.'

Always chasing deadlines: what now?

Later this year or next, his newest book on blended whisky will be released, a project he’s been working on from the start with Charles MacLean. It will be a major milestone in his life.

'I think the book with Charlie will be my last truly major English-language whisky book.'

Hans wants to wind things down. His life has revolved around deadlines for years, and it’s time for other things.

'My life is very fragmented. It’s the result of the choices I’ve made. What would it have been like if I’d stayed in one place? We live part of the year in the United States and part of the year in the Netherlands. We don’t really live in Scotland, but we spend a lot of time there. We’re eternal expats. When we’re in the United States, we miss the people and places here in Zwolle.'

Because of the constant race against deadlines and splitting life across three countries, Hans saw his sons less during their childhood than he would have liked. Now that he has several grandchildren, he wants to savor that time.

'And I’d rather bow out while people are still enjoying it, instead of them saying: is he going to keep going this long? There’s a huge group of younger folks—like you and Thijs Klaverstijn, for example; very talented people who also have a voice. At some point you have to say: this has been great. I’m happy to make room for the next generation.'

Closing the circle

He’s keeping the timing of his retirement from writing in the Netherlands to himself for now, but one thing is certain: he’ll stop in the Netherlands first. He wants to end his writing career in Scotland, the place that once opened its doors wide to a boy from Zwolle.

The adventure story is nearly complete. That said, Hans will continue with whisky projects, such as his involvement with Saltire Rare Malt.

He stands up, shakes hands, and says: 'You can always call me for advice. If there’s any way I can help, I’m happy to. I’m ready for a Pay it Forward phase.'

Favorite whisky: 'At home I have about fifteen whiskies I keep coming back to.' (A few favorites: Four Roses Single Barrel and Redbreast).
Number of whisky glasses per week: 2.
Most fun bottle owned: 'That would be our own Macallan, of course.'
Most expensive whisky ever tasted: an 80-year-old Glenlivet from Gordon & MacPhail.
Whisky country to watch: the Netherlands.
Whisky you wish you’d invented: 'You know, I’ve always written about things others make.'

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