Whiskey Chats

Join me for My Chat with Stephen Murphy from Old Carrick Mill Distillery in Co. Monaghan. Stephen has undertaken to restore and convert an old woolen mill into a distillery, but is operating his self-designed stills from a warehouse a feet away, on the site. I had the opportunity to visit him and was hudely impressed with Stephen and the entire project. He is currently selling sourced whiskey unde...

Join me for My Chat in Fore Distillery with Oliver Guirke and his buddy Kevin. A boutique distillery, nestled away in the gorgeous hills of Westmeath, Fore Distillery is quietly distilling their own Poitíns and Rums. Through Oliver's experience distilling in the US, he has built a craft distillery operation with the best of equipment. No wonder he is producing the quality spirit that he is. I real...

Join me for My Chat with Drew Hannush from the Whiskey Lore podcast series. Drew has a real passion and knowledge of Irish whiskey and recently undertook a trip around the island of Ireland, visiting most of our whiskey distilleries. Off the back of this, he wrote a fantastic book - Whiskey Lore's Guide to Experiencing Irish Whiskey. Available now on Amazon - https://bit.ly/3CLw6J3 Drew also has t...

Join me for My 2nd Chat with Carol Quinn, Midleton Distillery's resident archivist.  Carol is the person that the IDL people come to, whenever they want to develop a new label or advertising campaign. She holds the keys to the extensive archives that have been passed down from all of the companys that now make up Irish Distillers  Powers, Jameson, Redbreast, Cork Distillers Company etc. Her depth...

Join me for My Live Chat at Poitín Now, which took place in Dublin on 20 Nov 2022. What a craic I had, speaking to everyone there: Michael O'Boyle from Baoilleach Distillery, Dave Mulligan from Bar 1661, Peter Mulryan from Blackwater Distillery, Brendan Carty From Killowen Distillery, Jarrod Cuffe from Off The Cuffe Bitters, Jennifer Nickerson from Tipperary Distillery, Shane McCarthy from Two Sta...

Join me My Garden Chat in the Whiskey Bunker with Dan Pennington, Aidan McGovern and Paul Costello. The lads joined me in my back garden workshop, where we proceded to taste rare liquids and have a bit of craic. Don't forget to sign up to my Patreon for early access episodes, discounts and a 20% discount on all tickets to Cork Whiskey Fest 2023. https://www.patreon.com/whiskeychatspodcast https://...

Join me for My 2nd Chat with Michael Cowman from Last Drop Distillers, the premium independant bottlers who curate unicorn casks of the rarest vintage. I met up with Mick in Serghios Florides, owner of Irish Whiskey Magazine, in his apartment in the old Jones Road Distillery building that used to produce DWD whiskey, before we headed off to the Irish Whiskey Awards 2022. Thanks to Serg for helping...

Join me for My Tiny Tipple Blind Tasting Garden Chat with Dan Pennington, Aidan McGovern & Paul Costello. When Ivor O'Loughlin launched his Tiny Tipple sample service over lockdown, it was instantly lauded for the quality of service, labelling and personal touch that Ivor gave to each customer. He has decided to wind up his involvment in the business and to give him Tiny Tipple the send off it des...

Join me for My 2nd Chat with Bridger Kelleher from Western Herd Brewery. I joined Bridger at the brewery in Co Clare, where I spent 3 days getting hands on work experience brewing. It was a proper education for me. Thanks to Bridger for his time and knowledge.  Don't forget to sign up to my Patreon for early access episodes, discounts and a 20% discount on tickets to Cork Whiskey Fest 2023. https:...

Join me for My Whiskey & Wine Chat with Dave Marra. I joined Dave at his  home in Co Clare, where we delved into the wines that influence so many of the whiskeys we love. It was a proper education for me. I hope you get as much from the chat as I did. Drops of the night: 2001 Chateau Coutet Sauternes Bunnahabhain 18yr Single Malt 2019 Feis Ile Sauternes finish Fontodi Vin Sato del Chianti Classico...

Join me for My Chat with Kate and Denis Dempsey from Kinsale Mead Co.  They have revived the ancient tradition of Mead making in Ireland. Mead is a fermented honey drink that can trace its roots back to 6000 bc in China.  Kate and Denis set up a meadery in Kinsale, Co. Cork a number of years back and have been winning awards ever since for this quality and tasty beverage.  Have a listen in on our...

My Chat with David Walsh Kemiss from Ballykilcavan farm and brewery. David is a 13th generation owner of Ballykilcavan, which is a working farm and brewey amongst other things. He grows barley for Waterford Distillery and also owns Kylebeg Wood, from where Irish Distillers felled the Irish Oak for their Dair Ghaelach release a couple of years ago. I had a great time having a look around his histor...

Join me for My Oak Chat with Paddy Purser in Knockrath Forest, in the foothills of Glendalough. Paddy is a forestry manager and consultant and an expert on Irish Oak. He is the consultant to Irish Distillers and Glendalough Distillery for their Irish Oak projects, like the Dair Ghaelach series from Midleton and Single Pot Still Virgin Irish Oak from Glendalough. We walked around the forest, visiti...

Join me for part 1 of My 100th Episode Online Warehouse Tasting, that I did on YouTube. The video is up on my Youtube channel, but this is it in bitesize audio. Thanks to all the contributors so far: Barry from Killahora Orchard Louise from JJ Corry Whiskey Bonders Michael from Baoilleach Distillery Richard from Curraghmore Estate Whiskey Rob from Teeling Whiskey Ger from Midleton IDL Paul Costell...

Join me for part 2 of My 100th Episode Online Warehouse Tasting, that I did on YouTube. The video is up on my Youtube channel, but this is it in bitesize audio. https://youtu.be/7BevJJsDY2k Thanks to all the contributors: Jarlath from Echlinville Distillery David from Shortcross Whiskey Peter from Blackwater Distillery Brendan from Killowen James from Sliabh Liag Daithi from WD O'Connell Paul Cost...

Join me for My Tasmanian Whisky Chat with John Halton. John Holtan and I hosted a Tasmanian Whiskey tasting up on Belfast Whiskey Week in July 2022. The quality of the whiskys blew me away, so I grabbed John for a chat in The Europa Hotel at 10am the next morning before I left Belfast. The affinity that alot of Tasmanians feel towards their Irish heritage was an real eye opener, given the history...

Join me for My 2nd Chat with Ralfy. Ralfy kindly joined me again for a fantastic, meandering chat about silent Scottish distilleries, the looming cask crisis and so much more.  Ralfy Mitchell has been entertaining and educating whisky fans throughout the world, from the comfort of his wee bothy for 12 years. I'd encourage you to check out his YouTube and Patreon channels. You won't be dissappointe...

Join me for My Tiny Tipple Garden Blind Tasting Chat part 1.  JP O'Riordan, Dan Pennington & Kevin Murphy were gifted a blind sample box from Ivor O'Loughlin  from www.tinytipple.com . We had great craic trying to figure out the 5 spirits, with limited success! This is part 1. Part 2 will be released exclusively on my Patreon channel, where I give subscribers more content & exclusive offers for a...

Join me for My Poitin Now Chat with Fran Leavey. Francis is organising Ireland's first Poitin Festival called Poitin Now in Dublin on 18th & 19th November 2022. Poitin is one of Ireland's native spirits and is a source of growing national pride as a fantastic link to Ireland's rich distilling history and I had a fantastic chat with Fran.  Drops of the night: Teeling Spirit of Dublin Poitin Bulcan...

Join me for My Whiskey Live Dublin 2022 Chat. Ally Alpine and Katie Gibson from Celtic Whiskey Shop, who organised this event, kindly allowed me to record a podcast on the saturday afternoon session.  I had a ball chatting to everyone - 33 people in all. Thanks to everyone who gave me a few minutes to have a chat. Have a listen in on our chat, Slainte!

Join me for my Chat with John Quinn, Global Brand Ambassador for Tullamore DEW and current Chairman of the Irish Whiskey Association. John has been a Titan of Irish Whiskey for many decades promoting the sector on the international stage, which he has done with huge passion.  He has represented Tullamore DEW since it was an Irish Distillers brand and has spent most of his career building Tully to...

Join me for my fabulous day out with Dave O'Connell on his new venture, Whiskey on the Tracks, where he brings his love of steam trains and whiskey together for an unforgettable afternoon of whiskey tasting whilst breezing through the Irish countryside on steam train. Have a listen in on our chat, Slainte!

Join me for My Chat with Rob Caldwell from Teeling Whiskey. Rob is an adopted Irishman who hails from Oz. He's an authority on all things whiskey and I was really looking forward to this chat. Drops of the night: Teeling Renaissance 1 Teeling Renaissance 2 Killahora Pom'o Roe&Co finish Teeling Spirit of Dublin Potcheen Glendronach 21yr 90's Have a listen in on our chat, Slainte!

Join me for My 2nd Chat with Nick Ryan from Thomond Gate Whiskey and the Irish Whiskey & Spirit Institute. Nick is someone who always is up to something fun in the Irish Whiskey world and I love going down rabbit holes about whiskey with Nick. https://spiritstraining.com/ https://thomondgatewhiskey.com/ Drops of the night: Thomond Gate Ruby Port Finish McConnells 5yr Sherry Finish Drumshambo Singl...

Join me for My Garden Chat tasting Lough Ree Whiskey. Michael Clancy, one of the owners of Lough Ree Distillery, and I had a chat about sending me down a blind tasting pack to try. I invited 3 of my good buddies to my back garden, where we had a great craic blind tasting the samples. Dan Pennington, JP O'Riordan and Paul Costello and I were very impressed. We started off with a glass of Killahora...