Whisky Buzz

Mark Reynier, of Bruichladdich fame, is on the precipice of releasing the first set of whiskies that are entirely terroir focused. Waterford Distillery is entirely purpose built for the production of vintage whiskies that can be traced down right down to the field the barley was grown. We talk about some of Mark Reynier’s history in Bruichladdich, the emotional attachment to farming, terroir, and...

“The Irish have a particular connection to the land and I felt a duty to secure the future of the family farm.” Luise McGuane planned to setup a grain to glass distillery on her farm, but instead was fortunate enough to be given access to old stock of Irish Whiskey. She now produces the J.J. Corry brand of Irish Whiskey blending and selling awarding winning styles of Irish Whiskey.

In Mark’s annual pilgrimage to Hiram-Walker Distillery, we hear from Dr. Don Livermore, the Master Blender for the distillery. This will be a preview of the Northern Border Collection Rare Releases, and the NHL Alumni series! As usual, we geek out about flavour molecules and what goes into blending whisky.

Glenford Jameson and Mark Bylok sit down to drink old whisky dusties from the 60s. What to look for when you're acquiring old whiskies? What can you expect? Two of the three whiskies will be a complete surprise!

Distillery Manager Gordon Bruce and Brand Ambassador Gordon Stevenson. We talk about anCnoc, Balblair and Old Pulteney, whisky making culture, and there are some swears!

Between Legent and Suntory Ao, Beam Suntory is releasing products not seen before from the company. Ray Daniel, brand ambassador, joins us to talk about the whisky coming out, and the life of a brand ambassador! We also talk about the Wonderful World of Whisky Show.

Mark & Jamie taste through The Balvenie DCS Compendium Chapter Four for the first time. This collection typically retails for $30k US, and this year’s theme is “Expecting the Unexpected.” While enjoying a few drinks, Mark and Jamie review 2018, Jamie’s work as Brand Ambassador, and we look back over the years of the podcast.

Master Blender, Andres Faustinelli, tells us how he uses a wine-like finishing process to blend Bearface whisky. That process includes short finishing using French oak ex-wine barrels, and new Hungarian oak barrels. Andres deconstructs Bearface from start to finish, and tells us how he succeeds by asking the wrong people the right question.

Bry Simpson, the Brand Ambassador for Ardbeg and Glenmorangie, joins Jame and Mark on the podcast. We talk about Bry’s origin story, we debate which distillery released double cask maturation first, and drink plenty of delicious whiskies!

Mark Bylok interviews Dr. Don Livermore, Master Blender of Hiram-Walker Distillery. We introduce the Northern Border Collection Rare Release of 2018, including Lot No. 40 Cask Strength, Gooderham & Worts Eleven Souls, J.P. Wiser’s 35, and Pikes Creek 21 Year Old! We geek out over the Canadian flavour wheel, and how Dr. Don is using the flavour wheel to tailor blends of whisky.

FEW Spirits is a grain to grass distillery founded by Paul Hletko located in Evanston Illinois, the birthplace of prohibition. Located just outside of Chicago, FEW produces ryes, bourbons, and gin! Paul Hletko takes us through the history of the distillery, the town, and the range of the whisky. Recorded in New Orleans, during Tales of the Cocktail!

Brett Ferencz combined his passion around whisky, Star Wars and photography to take a hobby into a full-time job. His account took a hiatus when a complaint was filed against Brett and the brands he worked with, in around using Star Wars figurines to promote whisky products (the complaint is unrelated to the Star Wars franchise). Brett tells us about his tribulations, and his return to whisky phot...

Fred Minnick joins the podcast to talk about the history of trade wars, including the most recent bourbon tariffs enacted against Bourbon. We also talk about Fred Minnick’s latest book on mead, writing, and a special bottling of Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel.

Matt Jones and Ray Daniel of Beam Suntory join the podcast to talk about Kentucky, Scotland, and Japanese whisky! Matt Jones recently took on the global whisky brand ambassador role for Beam Suntory in Canada, and Ran Daniel joins the bourbon portfolio that Matt Jones used to represent. We talk whisky: Note: Apologies for some of the audio issues. I (Mark) didn’t notice a mic wasn’t working.

Mark Bylok is joined by Crown Royal's North American Brand Ambassador, Stephen Wilson, and Crown Royal's Master Blender, Mark Balkenende. Crown Royal Bourbon Mash has taken on controversial note when using the term "bourbon" in a Canadian whisky. We cover the reasons why. Plus, Mark gets surprised by pour of a special whisky!

Igor Kossov (@whiskyvip) and Jason Hambrey (@jasonhambrey) join Mark in the town of Cornwall, to drink a lot of rare whisky that's nicely stirred with great whisky storytelling.

Mark Gillepsie (WhiskyCast Podcast) and Davin de Kergommeaux (Author of Canadian Whisky: The NEW Portable Expert) have been in the industry longer than most. Davin is a Malt Maniac, and Mark started his podcast far before whisky (and podcasting) has rose in popularity to today's level. We talk about Bourbon made outside of Kentucky, Blended Scotch, Single Malt Scotch Finishes, the "other world" wh...

Frankie Solarik of BarChef takes us through the cocktail program at BarChef, his roots, his inspirations, his creative process, and we talk about his new product—The BarChef Project.

The recipe a bourbon starts with during fermentation is the DNA of the whisky, but it’s not everything that goes into the whisky. We discuss the most famous bourbon, Pappy Van Winkle, and the other whiskies that share its recipe and have likewise enjoyed fame and inflated prices! In this episode, we drink Old Rip Van Winkle, William Larue Weller, and Weller Antique 107.

Ray Daniel is the head bartender of Char No.5 Whisky Bar at the Delta. We talk about the perks of a hotel bar, the history of the cocktail movement, and some of our favourite drinks!

John Quinn is the Global Brand Ambassador for Tullamore Dew. We speak about the Irish Whiskey industry, through it's recent history (70s to today), and taste a deconstruction of Tullamore Dew as well as something new!

Mark and Jamie answer listener questions. Shout-out to the Barrie Scotch Whisky Society for providing the questions! You can watch this podcast on [YouTube]

Beer meets whisky in this episode of The Whisky Topic. Ger Buckley is responsible for the barrel program for Jameson. Steve Beauchesne is president of Beau’s Brewery. The brewery and the distillery partnered up to make beer finished in whisky barrels, and whisky finished in beer barrels! We also learn about baseball.

Mark and Jamie celebrate their 100th episode, a few episodes late, in this 107th episode of the podcast. Topics include whisky amusement parks, of which Mark and Jamie design their own, and the top 5 whiskies for 2017!

Mike Brisebois was once ran a whisky club, but his passion soon turned into a career. He is now the brand ambassador for Bunnahabhain, Tobermory, and Deanston. He comes on the podcast to correct Mark on how to pronounce Bunnahabhain (Mark calls it that Bunny whisky), tasting orders, and the importance of water!