SingleMalt TV – The Whisky Conversation

Annabel Thomas left a corporate career in London and moved to her family farm on Scotland’s rugged west coast with an ambitious idea — to build a Scotch whisky distillery differently. The result was Nc’nean Distillery, founded around organic barley, renewable energy, sustainability and a willingness to question some of the conventions of Scotch whisky. In this episode of The Whisky Dialogues , Ann...

Black Gate Distillery has never been interested in doing things the conventional way. From a small distillery in Mendooran, rural New South Wales, Brian and Genise Hollingworth built a cult following for big, bold Australian whisky — heavily peated malts, handcrafted stills, single casks and releases that could be dramatically different from one cask to the next. In this conversation with Rob Drap...

What happens when you build a whisky distillery around the farm rather than simply source the ingredients? David Thompson, co-founder of Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery, joins SingleMalt TV’s The Whisky Dialogues to tell the story behind Filey Bay and England’s first single malt whisky made from field to bottle. The conversation explores the distillery’s deep connection to farming, its approach to...

Matt Johns, founder of Pōkeno Whisky Company, joins SingleMalt TV’s The Whisky Dialogues to talk about building a whisky with a distinctly New Zealand identity — rather than simply recreating Scotch on the other side of the world. From New Zealand barley and volcanic spring water to long fermentation, slow distillation and maturation in a subtropical climate, Matt explains the thinking behind Pōke...

Isle of Raasay Distillery co-founder Alasdair Day joins Rob Draper for a Whisky Dialogue exploring the ideas, decisions and people behind one of Scotland’s most distinctive modern island distilleries. Alasdair’s journey into whisky began with a family blending book dating back more than a century. That eventually led to an ambitious idea: determine the character of the whisky he wanted to make, th...

From a family farm in Junee to a historic flour mill purchased for just $1, the story of Corowa Distilling is deeply rooted in the Riverina region of New South Wales. In this episode of The Whisky Dialogues , Rob talks with Corowa founder Dean Druce and Master Cooper John Carberry about building a distinctly Australian whisky distillery around local grain, traditional craftsmanship and an extraord...

When Anthony Wills filled Cask #1 at Kilchoman , I was there to interview him as he began what was then an extraordinarily ambitious project — building a new farm distillery on Islay. Twenty years later, we sat down again. In this episode of The Whisky Dialogues , I catch up with Kilchoman founder Anthony Wills to look back at those early days and the journey from a fledgling distillery to one of...

Welcome to SingleMalt TV — the whisky conversation. In this episode, Rob Draper sits down with Fiona Coutts, Head Distiller at Hellyers Road Distillery in Tasmania, for a thoughtful conversation about distillation, maturation, and the evolution of Australian whisky. Fiona shares the story of Hellyers Road — from its beginnings as a dairy farmers’ co-operative to becoming one of Australia’s best-kn...

At the foot of Stirling Castle, one of Scotland’s smallest distilleries is taking shape. Cameron & June McCann and threir son Hugo—head distiller—are building Stirling Distillery with a clear focus: small scale, long timelines, and a commitment to doing things properly from the ground up. From their beginnings in gin to the slow transition into whisky, this is a conversation about patience, fa...

Maltstock redefined the whisky festival by removing hierarchy, formality, and expectation. Maltstock Down Under brings that same philosophy to Australia. David Ligoff joins us to talk about what makes it different—why a more relaxed, open approach to whisky resonates, and what happens when the focus shifts from structure to shared experience. This is a conversation about community, accessibility,...

Franz Scheurer approaches whisky from outside its traditional framework. Drawing on experience in food, wine, photography, and fermentation, he challenges how flavor is understood and how whisky is typically experienced—from pairing to perception. This is a conversation about stepping beyond convention—and what whisky becomes when you do.

Maltstock began as a quiet departure from the traditional whisky festival. Created by Teun van Wel and Bob Wenting, it removed hierarchy, formality, and expectation—replacing them with something simpler: people sharing whisky on equal terms. In this conversation, we explore how that idea took hold, why it resonated, and what it reveals about whisky culture when the barriers are stripped away. This...

For decades, Douglas Laing built its reputation selecting and bottling whisky created elsewhere. Now, with the move into distilling at Strathearn, the company is entering a new phase. Dougal Barr, Global Brand Ambassador, brings a perspective shaped by years of working with casks—now applied to creating spirit from the beginning. A conversation about transition, experience, and what changes when y...

Heartwood sits firmly outside the whisky establishment. Tim Duckett doesn’t distill—he selects and shapes whisky through cask, guided by instinct and a clear sense of outcome. Joined by Franz Scheurer, this conversation explores whisky as intent rather than process. This is about independence, flavor, and what happens when you stop trying to follow the rules.

If terroir matters in whisky, Belgrove is what it looks like in practice. At Belgrove, nothing follows convention. Peter Bignell grows his own rye, builds his own equipment, and rethinks every part of the process—from fuel to fermentation. The result is whisky shaped as much by environment and ingenuity as by tradition. This is a conversation about self-sufficiency, experimentation, and redefining...

Mark Reynier has never been comfortable following the accepted narrative. As the driving force behind Bruichladdich and now Waterford, he has consistently challenged one of whisky’s most deeply held assumptions: that the cask defines the spirit. In this conversation, Mark takes that argument further—questioning why the industry resists talking about barley, terroir, and origin, and what that reluc...

Andrew Derbidge brings a broad perspective shaped by years working across brand, production, and global positioning with Starward—and deep involvement with the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. In this conversation, the discussion moves well beyond Australian whisky. We look at the relationship between Australian and Scotch whisky, the current state of global markets, and how changing attitudes—particul...