Obituary: Dominic Roskrow

The Drinksbiz team has been greatly saddened to learn of the passing of respected drinks writer and Drinksbiz columnist Dominic Roskrow.

He died in England after a short illness in November. He was 61.

Tributes have been flowing from around the international whisky industry since news of his death.

Dominic had been the spirits columnist for Drinksbiz for more than a decade, offering insightful commentary on whisky and the wider global spirits industry in each issue.

A drinks writer for more than 30 years, Dominic was a highly regarded figure in the whisky world, having edited several whisky publications including Whisky Magazine, The Spirits Business, and Whisky Quarterly. He also wrote more than 15 drinks books and, with Gavin D. Smith, was tasked with revising and updating Michael Jackson’s Complete Guide to Single Malt Scotch (7th edition, 2015).

Dominic was regarded as an authority on and staunch supporter of New World whiskies. In mid-2021 he launched an online magazine, Stills Crazy, dedicated to celebrating the best of New World whisky. He had also created an awards programme, the New Wizards Awards, to recognise independent whisky producers and bottlers from around the world.

New Zealand held a very special place in Dom’s heart, and he was a huge fan of the All Blacks, having been to the All Blacks XV v Barbarians game in London shortly before his death.

His contributions to the pages of Drinksbiz will be very much missed by the team and our thoughts are with his family.