Billy Abbott is a drinks writer, educator and presenter based in London. He began his drinks career in 2011, after a succesful decade working in IT and finance. Following his passion for great drinks, he changed careers and joined online retailer The Whisky Exchange as a writer. In the intervening years, his role has grown, seeing him become editor of The Whisky Exchange Blog and a senior writer for the Speciality Drinks group, and, as a WSET spirits educator, he now leads internal drinks training for the group. He is also The Whisky Exchange's ambassador, hosting tastings and seminars about all categories of drink. This has included being one of the lead presenters for Whisky Show 2020 & 2021, week-long real-life and online celebrations of whisky (and more). Along with his work at The Whisky Exchange, he is a freelance writer, presenter and educator, writing words, leading tastings and teaching people about drinks around the world. Since 2014, he has led Whisky Squad, a London-based whisky-tasting club that celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2020. He is also a judge for a number of international drinks competitions, covering whisk(e)y, rum, beer and Asian spirits. His work has been recognised with a Highly Commended nod in the Communicator of the Year category at the Icons of Whisky Awards 2020 and a win in the Rest of World region in 2021, and a shortlisting for the IWSC Spirits Communicator of the Year in 2020, 2021 and 2023. His first book - The Philosophy of Whisky - was published by the British Library in October 2021 and is available from all good bookshops as well as his own website, https://philosophyofwhisky.com. It was nominated for the Fortnum & Mason Debut Book award 2022. Billy also has his own blog, which he doesn't get much time to update, at https://spiritedmatters.com. You can find more about him at http://billyabbott.co.uk