Whiskey Chats

Join me for My Irish Sea Boat Chat with Darryl McNally, Master Distiller. I was invited for a trip to the legendary Scottish Dsitilling town of Campbeltown, as part of a group from the Harbourview Hotel, on their hotel RHIB boat. As Ireland's first whiskey hotel, this is just one of their experiences that they offer. As well as being Master Distiller at Bushmills Distillery for years, being integr...

Join me for My Pub Chat with Benny McCabe. Benny is a legendary Publican in Cork city who owns and operates the Cork Heritage Pub group of pubs, plus The Rising Sons Brewery and is also involved with the new puublicn driven Changing Times Brewery. Benny's passion for Cork heritage, pub culture, people and his staff have created some of the most iconic pubs in Cork city - The Mutton Lane, Crane Lan...

Join me for My Ahascragh Distillery Chat with Gareth McAllister. I visited Garreth's Distillery in Ahascragh village, just east of Galway. What a little gem in this hidden heartland of canals, rivers and rolling hills. Garreth and Michelle McAllister started production in their meticulously renovated mill buildings, that are again the beating heart of Ahascragh village. They take immense pride in...

Join me for My illicit Poitín Chat with Al Poitíno. I visited Al (pseudonym) deep in the high bogs of the mountains of the North West of Ireland..... to discover his amazing hidden still. We chatted about his homebrew supply business - Hooley Homebrew - and we went through his still set-up and practices in making Ireland's native spirit - Poitín.... pronounced Potcheen... Al Poitíno has garnered a...

Join me for My Irish Whiskey Technical File Chat with Dr Fionnán O'Connor. The legislation governing how Irish whiskey can be made is going through a review process at the moment. The consensus amongst every producer on the island is that it needs to change and is not historically accurate. This will allow distilleries to produce and market Pot Still Irish Whiskey and Grain Irish Whiskey to alter...

Join me for My Ballina Distillery Chat with Blending Manager Stacey Longworth. I visited Stacey in what used to be called Connacht Distillery in Co Mayo. Terroir Distillers, a French drinks company, bought Connacht Distillery in 2024 and it is now rebranded as Ballina Distillery. They have double and triple Distilled Single Malt releases as their first releases. All of this liquid was distilled at...

Join me for My Irish Distillers History Chat with Archivist Carol Quinn. This is my third Chat with Carol and they always seem to be better than the last. Carol is so knowledgeable on the history of Cork Distilleries Company, the precursor to Irish Distillers. I joined Carol in her archive, at The Distillers Cottage in Midleton Distillery and we had a great chat about how Irish Distillers evolved...

Join me for My State of the Industry Chat with John Teeling.. John Teeling is the current owner of Great Northern Distillery, founder of Cooley Distillery in 1988 and has also been involved in precious minerals and metal exploration and mining for most of his life. He was a lecturer in economics back in the day and his insight into world markts, especially as they pertain to whiskey, is nearly unr...

Join me for My Belfast Whiskey Week Chat 2026 with Paul Kane. Paul Kane founded Belfast Whiskey Week in 2019. This will be it's 9th year running over 9 days from 24th July - 01st August 2026. This year's festival have an amazing array of events, including 3 sub-festivals, all running in the amazing bars and areas of Belfast city centre. Tickets are now Live for most events and, again, it's a crazy...

Join me for My Dingle Distillery Chat with Elliot Hughes. Elliot is carrying on the family legacy at the head of Dingle Distillery and The Porterhouse Group. I sat with Elliot ...... and his 2 doggies..... in his kitchen and had a fantastic chat about his journey with 'The Family Business'. Dingle Distillery and it's whiskey, gin and vodka is known worldwide and it was great to get a behind the br...

Join me for My Irish Whiskey Association Chat with Director Eoin O'Catháin. Eoin has been Director of the IWA for over 2.5 years. We sat for a chat in a busy Doheny & Nesbitt pub on Dublin's Baggot St, a real charming boozer in the heart of Dublin city.  Eoin and I chatted about how the IWA advocates for and protects the Irish Whiskey category internationally and went down many other rabbit-holes....

Join me for My Harbourview Whiskey Hotel Chat with Adrian McLaughlin. Adrian, along with a few other lads, has created Ireland's first whiskey hotel, above in Co Antrim. The hotel has an amazing Wee Bar, to chill out in. A hugely diverse selection of whiskeys to choose from, a cask room where you can bottle your own whiskey straight from the cask, a rhib boat that can bring you the short trip acro...

Join me for My Bushmills Chat with Master Distiller Colum Egan. Colum has worked at Bushmills Distillery since the 90's, before becoming Master Distiller in 2002. He grew up in Portarlington, Co Laois, but a local Antrim girl drew him North, where he has enjoyed an illustrious career in Bushmills Distillery. This episode of the podcast is sponsored by: www.boanndistillery.ie www.killowendistillery...

Join me for My Bushmills Cooper Chat with Alastair Kane. Alastair has worked in Bushmills Distillery for nearly 50yrs..!! He grew up in Bushmills village, a mere stone's throw from Bushmills Distillery, where he played as a kid. In 2012 he apprenticed his son Chris, who now works alongside his dad in the cooperage, completing a 5th generation coopering legacy in the Kane family. This episode of th...

Join me for My Bushmills Chat with Les Duthie. Les Duthie was the Bushmills Distillery manager from the early 70's until the mid-90's. He is 92 yrs young and has a memory like an elephant. I went and sat with Les at his home in Bushmills village, a mere stone's throw from Bushmills Distillery. He grew up in Glasgow and entered into the drinks industry in the 1950's, where he spent his entire caree...

Join me for My Pub Chat with Stephen Magennis from Echlinville Distillery. I met up with Steve in The Duke of York pub in Belfast city centre, truly one of the best decorated pubs on the island. Just amazing place to sit. We took up residence in the wee snug, down the back, an chatted about Stephen's time working in the whiskey industry for nearly 20yrs. Steve has a really good perspective of wher...

Join me for My Killowen Distillery Chat with Patrick Grey Sloan, Killowen's newest distiller. I called up to Killowen Distillery, a you do, on a typically cold, wintry day, but still got a warm welcome as always. Patrick showed me around the new still room and we chatted about how an Estimator ended up distilling potcheen and whiskey up the side of the Mourne Mountains. I really enjoyed getting to...

Join me for My Garden Chat with JP O'Riordan, Dan Pennington & Paulie Costello. We met up in my back garden at Xmas time 2025 and cracked open a lash of amazing liquids to chat and banter about. We got a few things right, I got a few things wrong......!!.... but the main thing is we had a ball doing it, as usual. Thanks to the lads for calling up and to Dan for cooking some amazing pizza on the pi...

Join me for My Church of Oak Distillery Chat with Greg McEntee, Head Distiller. The Church of Oak distillery in Monasterevin, Co Kildare started operations in 2022 and they have been quietly producing multigrain whiskey and maturing it in the best of cask from the Casknolia Cooperage in Spain. The distillery was built around the old Ballykelly mills, which is alongside the Royal Canal. They predom...

Join me for My Cooperage Chat with Mark Quick. Mark is the Managing Sales Director for Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Cooperage in Newbridge, Co Kildare. KBB is one of two commercial cooperages in the Republic that services the drinks industry with barrels, advice and repair works. Mark and the team of coopers and technicians deliver seriously quality wood into the Irish and international drinks industri...

Join me for My Rum Chat with Mike Gilmore & Jason Kidd. Mike Gilmore is an ex-cop from California, who moved to rural Wyoming and opened a liquor store. But he developed a fascination for flavour and founded an Independent bottling company called Roaming Roads Spirits, where he seeks out amazing spirits, including amazing rums, from all over the world and bottles them. I discovered..... very succe...

Join me for My Live Chat with Ger Buckley, Midleton's Master Cooper. I was asked to host a whiskey event at the Cork on a Fork food festival in Cork city in Aug 2025. I decided to do a Live Podcast episode in the iconic Hi-B bar in the heart of Cork city. The Hi-B notoriously doesn't allow mobile phones and encourages people actually talking to each other. I know, innovative..! So I couldn't think...

Join me for My Snug Chat with Jim Arnoldt. I met up with Jim at Belfast Whiskey Week 2025 in the popular food market, the Common Market, at the Cocktail Takeover event. We sat outside the packed event, on the roadside tables and I had a ball chatting to Jim. Jim is one of the founders of the fabulous Irish bar, The Snug, in Irvington, Indianapolis. At The Snug, the whole team strive to deliver an...

Join me for My Midleton Cooper Chat with Derek Cronin. This is my second Chat with Derek, but the first since he qualified as a Cooper..! Derek is now a Cooper, a barrel maker, in Midleton Distillery. He can now proudly say he apprenticed under the legendary Master Cooper Ger Buckley. I joined Derek in Midleton Cooperage, where I caught up on how he has been going since I spoke to last, at the sta...

Join me for My Garden Chat with Dean Fitzgerald & Cathal O'Brien part 2. Dean Fitzgerald runs the Whiskey Appreciation Society pages on Social Media platforms. He does a great job bringing people along his whiskey journey and helping to promote Irish brands. I urge you to check out his profiles and give him a follow. Cathal O'Brien has been repping West Cork Distillers for a decade now. Cathal ori...