Whisky Buzz

Marvin Allen is the bar manager at the Carousel Bar & Lounge, the world’s only carousal where you need to be 21 to ride. Marvin talks about how the cocktail scene has changed in the last 15 years, Tales of the Cocktail, and his book: Magic in a Shaker.

Fearful of the whisky shortage? Mark and Jamie go through the best whiskies in their cabinet that are easily available at liquor stores! We break it down into ryes, bourbons, and malt whiskies. Let the debate begin.

Mark and Jamie discuss the “Beast” whisky coming out of Fort McMurry, the importance of the way a whisky bottle looks, and Jamie’s travels!

Mark and Jamie are joined by Fred Minnick (author of Bourbon: The Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of an American Whiskey) and Davin de Kergommeaux (Canadian Whisky: The Portable Expert). We drink Canadian whisky, talk about new oak versus reused oak, the importance of fermentation, and reveal secrets behind scoring whisky.

Mike Di Caro joins Jamie and Mark to discuss how music is influenced by whisky. We taste Drake’s Virginia Black Whiskey, Sinatra Select, and Mike gives us a quick dive into country music.

This week’s feature is an interview with Han Shan from Hudson Whiskey. Hudson Whiskey has an odd start, with a plot of land being purchased for use as a climber’s ranch, that eventually became the home of Tuthilltown Distillery. This became the first distillery in New York State post-prohibition. News items covered include Knob Creek going NAS, and Toronto Distillery Co stirring controversy over t...

The Kentucky Bourbon Festival happens each September in Bardstown Kentucky. Eric from bourbonguy.com joins Mark and Jamie on the podcast to share his experiences at the 2016 Bourbon Festival. We talk fan clubs, prices of whisky, Kentucky whisky purchases, and places to eat. Eric recently celebrated a big milestone with Robin, his wife, over her four-and-a-half year check-up of being cancer free. O...

While Dr. Nick Morgan sometimes earns the ire of whisky enthusiasts, his passion for whisky is unmistakable. Nick is the head of whisky outrage for Diageo, and shares his thoughts on age-statements on whisky bottles, blind-bottle tastings, blended scotch vs single malt scotch, and shares the story behind Lagavulin 8 Year Old.

High West Distillery has won over the hearts of many whisky enthusiasts for their delicious unique whiskies and the policy of being open about their products. We interview David Perkins of High West. In contrast, Jeff Quint is the owner and operator of Cedar Ridge Distillery. Cedar Ridge is expanding throughout the US and growing in demand with their premium whisky, and they make every drop they s...

This week, Mark and Jamie talk about Tales of the Cocktail, Diageo’s decision to remove the Masters of Whisky program, and Matthew McConaughey taking Jamie’s spotlight.

Curious about the math behind whisky reviews? This week on the podcast, Mark and Jamie interview Eric from WhiskyAnalsysis.com. Eric uses the “meta reviewer” concept on his website, where he collects whisky scores from various reviewers and provides an overall ranking. Other topics covered include whisky changing in the bottle, Jim Murray’s reviews, and various challenges for whisky reviewers.

Dr Don Livermore joins Mark and Jamie to quiz them on their whisky knowledge! Dr Don Livermore is the master blender for J.P. Wiser’s (includes J.P. Wiser’s, Lot 40, Gooderham & Worts 4 Grain). Topics include the role of the master blender, wood extraction, and the history of Canadian whisky.

This week on The Whisky Topic, Mark and Jamie discuss Canadian whisky, whisky ratings, and share Mark’s plans for July 12th (Shhh, he’s eloping with Nicole)!

Gary Gillman joins Jamie and Mark to discuss the history of making bourbon, particularly with a focus on the sour mash. When researching the roots of hand-made sour mash, Gary found documents from the 1800s and 1900s that revealed the changes in the process overall.

Maggie Kimberl joins Mark and Jamie to take us back to Louisville. Topics touched on include the history of bourbon in Kentucky, cigar and whisky pairings, tourism in Kentucky, and best places to visit while in Kentucky.

This week on The Whisky Topic, Jennifer Chan joins Jamie and Mark to discuss the enthusiasts whisky tasting Mark hosted. Listen to hear whisky fans analyze whisky as they tasted them blindly. Jamie gets to be the teacher looking through everyone’s answers!

Deconstructing whisky is the process by which we take the blends of barrels that go into the final product, and taste each individually. Each barrel adds its own character to the final product. This week, Mark and Jamie have Beth Havers of Glenfiddich on the podcast to deconstruct Glenfiddich 15 Solera Edition.

Glenford Jameson joins Jamie and Mark to review their recent experiences at Spirit of Toronto. Dusties were tasted, Glenford did not like some of the old scotches, and Jamie made Mint Juleps!

This week on the podcast we explore Jim Rutledge’s new distillery, crowd sourcing, Jim Beam’s 14th millionth barrel, and can you tell rye apart from bourbon?

This week on the podcast, Chuck Cowdery joins Mark and Jamie. The discussion ranges from marketing gimmicks from decades ago to today, the change in the whisky industry, and trends coming out in the future.

Eric of bourbonguy.com joins Mark and Jamie to discuss his whisky themed March Madness bracket. In addition, we cover non-whisky spirits and bad YouTube videos.

Mark and Jamie talk about Mark's trip to Kentucky. It was a bachelor party. There are stories. We also review the differences between small, medium, and large distilleries! Mark interviews the owner of Heartfield & Co distillery and Jay Erisman from New Riff Distillers. Plus, trolling Jamie!

Mark and Jamie discuss Mark’s trip to Kentucky, visiting distilleries, buying bourbon in Kentucky, snapchat, and is vodka cool again? Plus, we feature bottled-in-bond and straight bourbon.

This week, Suresh Doss guest-hosts the show to get deeper under the covers of the podcast by interviewing Mark and Jamie. We share travel stories, drinking stories, answer difficult questions, and debate craft beer drinkers vs whisky drinkers.

Mark and Jamie discuss the Whisky Magazine Whisky awards and compare the results to San Francisco’s World Spirit Awards. Joining them on the program, Doctor Tom Stockwell pours some cold water over thoughts that drinking is good for us, and we have Ian Millar on the show! Ian is the global brand ambassador for Glenfiddich, and we talk about the new role he’s moving into, and whisky pranks.