Cask to Glass

What are the 3 whiskies you MUST try before you die? John speaks to Ardnamurchan Distillery ’s Connal Mackenzie to uncover his ultimate bucket-list drams & explore Scotland’s wild west coast of whisky. Perched on the rugged Ardnamurchan Peninsula - Scotland’s westernmost mainland point - this distillery is crafting some of the most exciting, sustainable and character-rich Scotch whisky in the...

How do you take over an iconic whisky brand like Highland Park from a “Hall of Famer”, who’s shaped and directed its flavour and style of nearly 30 years? And how do you keep its signature taste and feel consistent, so consumers know exactly what they’re getting, yet make it exciting and refreshing? It’s a problem Marc Watson has been grappling with daily for the last 19 months since he took over...

“Whiskies are made to be opened; to be enjoyed; and to be shared about,” insists Hamish Malcolm , aka The Dram Caddy , who provides whisky and golfing tours across the east and north-east of Scotland. "They’re not meant to be stored on a shelf.” We first spoke to Hamish back in July 2025 about how he pairs whisky tastings with rounds of golf. But what value for money whiskies does he recommen...

Up to 70% of a whisky’s flavour comes from the wood. But what actually happens inside the barrel to create world-class whisky? Legendary Master Distiller Billy Walker unpacks the exact science of oak maturation, cask chemistry, and why age still matters. In this episode of Cask to Glass, John sits down with legendary master distiller and blender Billy Walker from The GlenAllachie Distillery to exp...

Is Scotch Whisky "unfairly" taxed in the UK compared to other drinks? Yes, says Mark Kent , CEO of the Scotch Whisky Association . "72% of the cost of an average bottle of Scotch goes on tax of one form or another," he says. And it's sometimes cheaper to buy whisky shipped to other countries than to buy it in Scotland because the UK has the fourth highest level of excise du...

"If you take away the cooper, you take away the cooperage, you take away the barrels, then you don't get whisky," says Ray Prosser , Sales & Operations Manager at Oakwood Cooperage , the largest independent cooperage in the UK. Not just because Scotch Whisky must by law be matured in oak casks for a minimum of three years, but because, Ray says, 70% of whisky's flavour comes...

How do you take your whisky? On a Brazilian beach, with coconut water obviously. Or better still coconut water ice. In 2025 Brazil was the joint-fifth largest market for Scotch whisky by volume - 54 million bottles. But with a population of some 200 million people, Brazil's still an untapped market. So how do you crack it? In this episode of Cask to Glass, we sit down with industry veteran Andre d...

Legendary master blender Richard Paterson OBE began his career in whisky on 5 September 1966. Sixty years on, he's still passionate about Scotland's national drink and the world's favourite spirit. In this episode he reflects on a life in whisky and demonstrates the best way to drink whisky. He reveals how his earliest childhood memory of whisky was when his father, who ran the family bottling &am...

Can a community-owned distillery survive the current whisky market? GlenWyvis Distillery , founded in 2015 with 4,000 community investors, began production in 2018. Now it needs £300,000 by October & £6 million in the long-run to keep going. In a candid interview two of its directors explain why. If you want to help contact them at info@glenwyvis.com . We first spoke to GlenWyvis Distillery in...

“I really enjoy my whisky,” Jamie Muir says. He ought to. Raised on Jura, schooled on Islay and now Distillery Manager at Tomatin Distillery near Inverness, you’d say something had gone horribly wrong if he didn’t enjoy his whisky. Drill deeper and he admits: “I think a lot of what I enjoy about whisky is situational. Drinking it in a warehouse, yep, there’s something incredibly special about that...

Go behind the scenes of Douglas Laing & Co. with Fred and Cara Laing as they share 75 years of whisky history, blending secrets, and a few drams along the way. As third and second-generation leads of one of Scotland's most respected independent bottlers and blenders, they bring a wealth of history, humour, and heart to the table. “Fred’s practically kicking me under the table,” complains Cara...

Whisky should be fun, declares Dawn Davies , outgoing commercial buying director for global whisky retailer The Whisky Exchange . She wants to shatter many of the myths around whisky. Like you can't mix Lagavulin with Coca-Cola . She calls it the "smoky cokey". And "it's absolutely delicious," she says. Then there's the "geeky" stuff. "I'm a fermentation geek through and through," she admits, beca...

Ever wondered what it actually takes to break into the whisky industry? John sits down with recruitment specialist Nicola McRedmond , founder of DrinkAbility , to discover the hidden roadmap for your career. From mastering the art of networking to the specific roles in high demand right now, this is your blueprint for landing your dream job in spirits. In this conversation with Nicola, we dive dee...

Step into "Scotland's greatest story" and discover one of the 7 Wonders of the Scotch Whisky World - the Diageo Claive Vidiz Scotch Whisky Collection - curtesy of Susan Morrison , CEO of the Scotch Whisky Experience in Edinburgh. Let Susan "dram you" into discovering whisky for the first time or into expanding your whisky journey no matter how experienced you are. Over nearly 40 years the Scotch W...

How do you market whisky in the 21st century? Or as ex- Diageo marketing guru, Nick Morgan , puts it: How do you get "liquid on lips"? A Keeper of the Quaich and the 48th inductee in the Whisky Hall of Fame , Nick's written the definitive history of Johnnie Walker , the best-selling Scotch whisky in the world: Johnnie Walkder: A Long Stride - The Story of the World's No 1 Scotch Whisky . Red label...

Is whisky ownership the ultimate tangible asset? In this episode of Cask to Glass, we go behind the scenes of the whisky industry with Russell Spratley and Ross Archer from Spiritfilled . From their roots in finance to launching an award-winning independent bottling brand and an HMRC-approved bond, they share what it really takes to navigate the world of casks. We dive deep into: •The reality of w...

What does a 6,000-mile journey from Africa to a Scottish distillery have to do with a rare 30-year-old whisky? John Johnstone shares "The Swallows' Tale", a story of family legacy, natural cycles, and the spirit of Glenkinchie Distillery. From his roots in the mining community of Tranent to his transition from engineering into the heart of the whisky industry, John shares a deeply personal look at...

There are a lot of supposed "rules" when it comes to whisky. But for Ann Miller "rules are meant to be broken". AKA The Dram Queen , Ann's been demystifying the flavour and vocabulary of whisky for years, from explaining how a drop of water unlocks the taste of a dram to explaining the science of what goes on in the cask. In this episode of Cask to Glass, John Beattie chats to one of Scotland’s mo...

Would you pay £9,000 for a single nip of whisky? Today, we’re inside the legendary Fife Arms Hotel in Braemar, home to one of the world's most exclusive whisky libraries as John Beattie chats to Tom Add y about a whisky distilled in 1833 that was hidden behind a cellar wall for decades. What was his sales pitch to Jimmy Fallon ? And did it work? Slàinte! ------- Socials: @C2GWhisky | @JohnRossBeat...

“If you’re looking to get a quick return on your investment, you don’t do whisky,” chuckles Angus MacMillan founder of Benbecula Distillery . "You don’t do salmon farming either, because that I took from egg through to plate,” he says of a previous business venture. “So I'm a bit of glutton for punishment on these things.” Angus joins John in the first week of May from Benbecula, a small island in...

"Whisky is for stories. Tequila is for jail,” jokes Chris Greta a Texan story hunter and advertising copywriter, who travels the world helping distilleries look past the stills and mash tuns to find the magic, whether it’s in people, the place, the birds, the trees, and the rivers. Chris doesn't just look for tasting notes; he looks for the “Capo d’ Astro bat", that hidden, unique detail that make...

Founding US President George Washington once said alcohol was a business for "scoundrels." So how'd he end up owning the largest whiskey distillery in the United States? Cue James Anderson, a Scottish farmer and 18th century expat. Join Scottish artist Ian Gray as he takes the whisk(e)y trail from Mount Vernon to Louisville; Lynchburg to Islay; Speyside to Shimamoto. Slàinte! ------- Socials: @C2G...

If you love whisky, there are hundreds of distilleries across the world pursuing flavour based on passion, provenance and a “taste of place”. Just look "beyond the glens" and the global "big five", says award-winning indy bottler Georgie Bell from The Half Cut. “I know I’m on a Scotch whisky podcast,” Georgie Bell co-founder of indy bottlers The Half Cut chuckles, before pressing home her point. “...

Most Scottish whisky distilleries produce millions of litres every year. But Stirling Distillery ? They produce what their owner, Cameron McCann , calls a "puddle." Yet in 2025 this tiny family operation won Best Scottish New Make Spirit at the World Whiskies Awards. Join John as he dives into how Scotland’s smallest distillery is beating the global giants, the 172-year history of their building,...

By day, Sarah Russell is “Miss Sarah”, an Australian primary school teacher in Adelaide. The rest of the time, she’s “ That Whisky Girl ”, an Instagram influencer and whisky podcaster breaking down barriers in a male-dominated industry. “I just wanted to get the girls going,” she tells John from Kyoto, Japan’s “cultural capital”, where she’s just back from visiting the Miyagikyo Distillery founded...