Whisky Stories Podcast

This week on Whisky Stories, it's a complete change of scenery! Graeme journeyed to India and got the incredible chance to catch up with Hemanth Rao and Harsha Thimmaiah   from the Single Malt Amateur Club (SMAC) in Bangalore. Join us as we dive into the fascinating story of how Hemanth, the visionary behind the SMAC, built India's largest whisky club from humble beginnings in 2011 to a massive co...

This week on the pod, we were back in the Diggers Vaults and joined by the brilliant Ali Reynolds —a man with a seriously impressive whisky journey. From award-winning bartender to global brand ambassador , and now running his own creative spirits marketing business, Ali’s got stories for days. After winning World Class Bartender of the Year in 2015, Ali landed a dream role as Brand Ambassador for...

In this week’s episode, we were joined by Christopher Coates , Editor at Large for Whisky Magazine , along with returning guest and co-host Hazel MacLeod (aka Hazy Drams ) from Woven Whisky . Christopher took us through his incredible journey into the world of whisky—from an impromptu student tasting led by a German roommate , to working in the shop at the Scotch Whisky Experience , and eventually...

This week, it was back to just the four of us in the cosy confines of The Diggers Whisky Vaults —mics on, drams poured, and loads of listener questions to get through. After the great feedback from our last group episode, we were buzzing to sit down again for another proper whisky chat. We kicked things off catching up on life— Ross’s new role , Angus’s holiday stories , and then got stuck into th...

This week on the pod, there was no Angus and no Ross , so it was just Chuck and me left to figure things out … luckily, we weren’t alone for long. We were joined by friend of the pod Sian Buchan , owner of Uno Mas , and her pal Jane Ross , who brought the energy, the stories, and the drams. Jane wears many whisky hats—she runs The Powder Room , False Widow , and the legendary Mother Superior Whisk...

This week, we were joined by BIG friend of the pod Mike Brown , Global Brand Ambassador for Ian Macleod Distillers —the team behind Tamdhu, Glengoyne, Rosebank , and Smokehead . This marks Mike’s third appearance on the pod … technically. The first one got deleted (my fault), and this time, I forgot to press record for the first five minutes . That’s what happens when you go for a couple of pre-po...

This week on the podcast, we hosted our first-ever LIVE Distillery Spotlight tasting and what a night it was! We were joined by Scott Sneddon (aka the Engineer of Flavour ) and Daniel Cunningham from InchDairnie Distillery , as part of our ongoing collaboration with one of the most innovative whisky producers in Scotland. We had a packed room of whisky fans at The Diggers Vaults, all eager to tast...

This week on the pod, it was just the lads back in The Diggers Cellar —surrounded by drams, plenty of laughs, and a chance to reflect on what’s been a wild few months for the Whisky Stories podcast . We cracked open a brilliant selection of Scotch whiskies , shared some stories, and—believe it or not—finally opened our fan mail ! Over the last few months, we’ve been sent some amazing packages from...

This week on the podcast, we were invited to record at one of the most iconic whisky destinations in the world —the Scotch Whisky Experience , right at the top of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile. Ever since Episode 5 , we’ve been talking about how many of our guests started their journeys here, and this week we finally got the chance to sit down with the people at the heart of it: 🥃 Susan Morrison , Chief...

This week’s episode is a huge milestone for us—it marks our first official distillery collaboration : Whisky Stories x InchDairnie Distillery ! We were invited to the InchDairnie Distillery in Glenrothes, Fife , for a full behind-the-scenes tour and a fascinating chat with Managing Director Scott Sneddon , who we’ve officially nicknamed the "Engineer of Flavour" . This distillery is closed to the...

This week on the podcast, we were joined by Nicole Leslie from Halewood Artisanal Spirits for a cracking conversation recorded in The Diggers . Nicole gave us a proper insight into her career in whisky , her work with Halewood , and most importantly, the mysterious Bonnington Distillery —one of Edinburgh’s least talked-about distilleries , largely because it’s closed to the public . We’ve spoken o...

This week’s episode is another LIVE Indy Bottler Spotlight , and for our 7th edition , we were down in Leith with a brilliant crowd and an even better lineup of whisky . We were joined by friend of the pod Simon Smith , representing the Independent Bottler Pintail . Not only did Simon guide us through a delicious lineup of drams, but he also welcomed us into his brand-new pub, The Finch , to recor...

This week, we were joined by the brilliant Stuart Baxter —aka Barley Baxter — Global Spirits Ambassador for International Beverage , covering iconic Scotch whisky brands like Old Pulteney, Speyburn, Balblair, and anCnoc . Stuart’s whisky journey began with the Chivas Ambassador Programme , and since then, he’s travelled the globe sharing drams and stories. One highlight? His wild time working in I...

This week, we bring you the final episode from our epic Whisky Stories road trip up north —and we’re wrapping it up in style with a private tour of Tomatin Distillery . Located in the heart of the Highlands, Tomatin is a Highland Distillery with a rich history and a reputation for producing some truly exceptional Scotch whisky . We were lucky enough to get access-all-areas , diving deep into the p...

We’re back in Dornoch for Episode 2 of our Highland whisky adventure , and this time, Phil and Simon Thompson gave us the full behind-the-scenes tour of everything they’ve built—and everything that’s still to come. We started at the heart of it all: the Dornoch Distillery , tucked away in the back garden of Dornoch Castle . This tiny distillery—built in an old storage building—is one of the smalle...

We hit the road for a true Highland whisky adventure as the Whisky Stories Grand Tour to Dornoch begins! Leaving Edinburgh bright and early at 7am, we jumped in the Whisky Wagon and headed north. After a quick stop at Tomatin Distillery (more on that in a future episode!), we made our way to Dornoch to meet the brilliant Phill and Simon Thompson —aka the Thompson Bros . Phill and Simon welcomed us...

This week, we welcomed back Justine Hazlehurst , co-founder and organiser of the Fife Whisky Festival , to talk about the success of this year’s festival, which took place over three whisky-filled days in March . Our conversation sparked an interesting debate— should Fife become its own independent whisky region in Scotland? With the growing number of Fife whisky distilleries and the success of th...

Hazel MacLeod was the third episode that we recorded back when we were just getting started. At that time, she was working for William Grant & Sons in Business Development. Now she works for Woven Whisky as their Whisky Specialist. Hazel is so much fun and a great laugh. We recorded this episode in the Whisky Bunker underneath the Athletic Arms and heard all about the cool and exciting things...

What a night we had recording this episode! Iain Forteath and Cameron McPherson had been delivering a training tasting night at the Athletic Arms for the staff so we were able to get a great chat with them after. And what a chat it was. Iain and Cameron both talked us through their careers and journey's in whisky. From becoming the youngest Master Blender in whisky at the time, Iain has always had...

This was an episode of firsts for us on the Whisky Stories Pod.  We had never done an episode in a bonded warehouse, Angus and I had never sampled whisky straight from a cask in a warehouse, and we'd never visited an Indy Bottler before.  But in this episode we ticked off all those boxes and lots more.  Gregor kindly invited us along to his warehouse and bottling plant in Dalgety Ba...

This is a very random episode with just the 3 of us, some drams and back in the tiny room sandwiched nicely between the gents toilets and the bar. Unfortunately, for the first time ever, we had a guest call off last minute for this episode, so we were left to amuse ourselves for this one. Thankfully Ross has made a full recovery from his death bed and Angus was back from Japan bearing bottle shape...

This was a wild and very funny episode to record. With Angus out in Japan and Ross on his sick bed, we drafted in the help of friends of the podcast Fraser Souness and Chuck Kerr as co-hosts with our guest Curtis Moran from Scotch Bar in the Balmoral Hotel. Curtis has nearly had as many jobs as Ross, but it was Ross who told Curtis that he HAD to take the job at Scotch when Ross left. I was extrem...

We always have a great time when George and Rachel Keeble are involved and when there's 6 amazing whiskies to enjoy as well it's even better! This was the first Indy Bottler Spotlight of the year and our 5th ever. It was also the first time we've done one on a Friday night. It was the last night of January which always calls for a celebration in my mind. George and Rachel took us through an incred...

This was a first for the podcast! Our very own private distillery tour at Port of Leith Distillery with the one of the co-founders Ian Stirling. Not many people decide to start distilling in their back garden. And fewer people decide to take it from there to opening their very own distillery. But Ian Stirling and Paddy Fletcher did just that. This was a fantastic experience getting to walk around...

This was our first episode back in Diggers recording for 2025 and it was great to be back in our spiritual home.  We were joined by 2 guests this week - Stephen Woodcock who is Head of Whisky Creation and Stocks for Glen Turner and we had a last minute call up for Les Mason who is founder of the Arctic Whisky Club, and is about to head out to the Arctic on some exciting adventures.  Step...