WhiskyCast

Charles MacLean is one of the world's top whisky writers, and is marking 30 years of writing about the water of life this year. We'll hear from this Master of the Quaich about how he developed his love for whisky and his nosing skills, along with what he likes and doesn't like about whisky these days. In the news, Graham Eunson leaves Glenglassaugh to become distillery manager at Tomatin, Diageo's...

The last time we heard from Japanese whisky blogger and Malt Maniac Chris Bunting, he was in the middle of writing a book on Japan's drinking culture. "Drinking Japan" has just been published, and Chris joins us to discuss his book and the status of Japan's whisky distilleries after the recent earthquakes.  Chris is also donating part of his royalties from the book to earthquake relief efforts. In...

Belgium is known for its outstanding beers, but the country has three languages, three different cultures, and one sub-culture that unites them...a whisky culture! Belgian whisky writer Fernand Dacquin explains in this week's episode, which also includes highlights from Whisky Live New York. In the news, Scottish distillers team up to help Japan, Tomatin's Douglas Campbell celebrates 50 years of d...

This week's episode features one of the most mysterious single malt whiskies in the world. Taiwan's Kavalan whisky has received awards in worldwide competitions, even though the King Car Distillery has only been distilling whisky for six years and Kavalan is sold in only four Asian countries. We'll travel to Taiwan for an in-depth look at what makes this whisky unique. In the news, Decanter #1 of...

Five generations of the William Grant family have been making Grant's Scotch whiskies, and we'll look at the entire Grant's range with Ludo DuCroq in this episode. In the news, Decanter #1 of Gordon & MacPhail's Glenlivet 70 goes on the auction block for Japanese earthquake relief, the UK government sticks whisky lovers with the annual tax increase, and much more!

More from Edinburgh on this edition, with a look at some of the key places whisky lovers seek out on a visit to Scotland's capital. We'll check out Royal Mile Whiskies, The Scotch Whisky Experience, and one of Edinburgh's best whisky bars. In the news, Whyte & MacKay is about to release a replica of Shackleton's whisky from Antarctica, Australian whisky comes to the US, an update on Japan's distil...

1940 was a crucial moment in world history, as World War II was breaking out in Europe. That February, Gordon & MacPhail arranged to have 15 casks filled with new make spirit at The Glenlivet in Speyside. 70 years later, the one remaining cask has been bottled as the second release in G&M's "Generations Series". The Glenlivet 70 was unveiled this past Tuesday in Edinburgh, along with 5 other singl...

David Perkins has been getting a lot of attention for his High West whiskies. Malt Advocate just named him its Industry Pioneer of the Year, and two weeks ago, Matt Colglaizer sang the praises of High West in his WhiskyCast interview. This time around, David explains how he moved from biochemistry to making whisky in Utah. In the news, the winners of Whisky Magazine's World Whiskies Awards, a new...

Brown-Forman's cooperage in Louisville, Kentucky has an impact on whiskies all over the world. The cooperage makes all of the barrels for Jack Daniel's, Woodford Reserve, and Brown-Forman's other whiskies...and of course, those barrels are later sent to distilleries in Scotland and around the world for aging whiskies. It's also one of the few cooperages open for tours, and general manager Greg Ros...

Still in Indiana, but that's giving me a chance to catch up with old friends. Matt Colglazier writes the American Craft Spirits blog, and also happens to be the marketing manager for Big Red Liquors in Bloomington, Indiana. That's where I spent four years getting my degree (in Bloomington, not at Big Red), and Big Red now boasts a selection of more than 200 whiskies. We'll hear from Matt about the...

This week's episode comes from Edinburgh...no, not THAT Edinburgh. I'm actually in Edinburgh, Indiana on family business, but talked with Alistair Longwell of Ardmore and Ryan Maloney of Julio's Liquors in Westborough, Massachusetts before I headed west. They've been working on the first official single cask Ardmore bottling that will make its debut at Julio's later this month. In the news, Diageo...

Jim Murray isn't one to hold his tongue when he doesn't like something, and the man behind the Whisky Bible shares some of the things that are bothering him these days in this episode, along with some of the whiskies that surprised him this year. We'll also hear from Andrew Ferguson of Calgary's Kensington Wine Market about his hotbed of whisky in the middle of the cold Canadian prairie, along wit...

Canadian whiskies seldom gets their fair share of credit, since many whisky drinkers perceive them as something best mixed into a cocktail. While that's certainly an acceptable way to drink them, there are many Canadian whiskies that can hold their own when compared to any whisky from around the world. Davin de Kergommeaux of Canadian Whisky.org shares some of the history behind these unique whisk...

Plenty of highlights at this year's Victoria Whisky Festival, and we'll have all of the details in this episode recorded on location in Victoria, British Columbia. In the news, Scotch whisky exports are on the rise, Glenfarclas marks an anniversary, Arran goes peaty, Compass Box goes Orangerie again...and we mourn the loss of longtime Buffalo Trace legend Jimmy Johnson.  

This is the first live webcast of WhiskyCast, on location at the Victoria Whisky Festival in British Columbia. Our tasting panel and nosers from the audience went through five blind samples selected by Malt Maniac and Victoria Whisky Festival president Lawrence Graham, and you'll hear just how hard it is to guess just what a whisky could be without any clues. In the news, Shackleton's whisky gets...

Your boss wants you to take on a massive project...restoring a distillery that was abandoned for more than 20 years. Dave Scheurich of Brown-Forman took on that challenge with the old Labrot & Graham Distillery in Versailles, Kentucky. Today, it's the historic Woodford Reserve Distillery, and Dave has just retired as distillery manager. He'll share some of his stories with us in this episode. In t...

Whisky lovers take their passion into all sorts of areas. Shai Gilboa decided to look into the history of a fairly obscure blended Scotch whisky after coming across an old bottle of Stewart's Cream of the Barley during a tasting in Israel. He not only studied the history, but tracked down a current bottle of Stewart's and sent samples of the old and new bottlings to friends around the world to com...

We'll start off the New Year with a rare interview with Tim Morrison, managing director of A. Dewar Rattray and the son of Morrison Bowmore founder Stanley Morrison. Tim's career in the whisky business spans the acquisition of Bowmore by his family to today's independent bottlings he selects for A. Dewar Rattray. In the news, an update on Ralph Erenzo's condition and Whisky Magazine's U.S. Icons o...

In the final episode of 2010, we'll take a look back at some of the year's more memorable moments. In the news, Tuthilltown Spirits founder Ralph Erenzo is hospitalized in critical condition after a car accident, Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey has been sold, new whiskies from BenRiach and Glengoyne, and the real person in charge at Bruichladdich is retiring.

Dominic Roskow took on a tough challenge for his latest book - identifying the world's 750 best whiskies. We'll hear from the author of "The World's Best Whiskies: 750 Essential Drams from Tennessee to Tokyo" in this episode. In the news, Ken Storrie, the owner of Glasgow's legendary pub "The Pot Still" has died...and his Scrooge-like landlord evicted Ken's widow and family from the premises days...

Canadian whisky has been celebrating a renaissance of sorts, with shows like "Mad Men" and "Boardwalk Empire" renewing interest in these often-overlooked whiskies. Davin de Kergommeaux is the publisher of CanadianWhisky.org, and this past week handed out the first Canadian Whisky Awards. Davin and I discuss the winners and other Canadian whiskies to watch for. In the news, Fortune Brands plans to...

Each year, a dedicated group of maniacal whisky lovers takes on the challenge of tasting and judging the world's best whiskies. The Malt Maniacs Awards is one of the world's toughest whisky competitions, and the 2010 edition is no exception with just 12 gold medals...and 262 entries! Master Maniac Johannes van den Heuvel joins me from Amsterdam to discuss this year's winners on this week's episode...

The last time we heard from Jim McEwan, he was leading a toast at the end of his master class at Bruichladdich during Feis Ile in May. Jim's been a busy man since then, but he agreed to sit down for a few minutes and discuss his dalliance with distilling gin, the future of Bruichladdich as the 10th anniversay of its reopening nears, and his own approaching retirement to spend time with his grandch...

Whisky truly is the "water of life", and as many as 60,000 people will benefit from the sale of one very special bottle of whisky this past week. The Macallan in Lalique Cire Perdue Decanter is the largest and heaviest Lalique decanter ever made, and holds the oldest Macallan whisky ever bottled. It sold Monday night at Sotheby's in New York for the highest price ever paid for a single bottle of w...

Malt Advocate held its annual WhiskyFest New York this past week, and the microdistilling community was out in force. Some of the most creative experiments in distilling are being done at American microdistilleries, and you'll hear from some of the distillers in this episode. In the news, a boiler explosion shuts down Springbank, a $160,000 bottle of whisky is still on the market, and the Friends...