Whisky Stories Podcast

James and Jamie have been old pals for years and having worked and lived together throughout their friendship, they are now co-owners of Blind Summit Whisky. Both James and Jamie have shard a passion for whisky and worked within the industry in many different roles and positions. Like a well balanced blend, the pair compliment each other brilliantly with their knowledge, expertise and experiences....

New kid on the block Hamish Rankine was our last minute call up for this week's episode. With the holidays and so much going on, we thought we might have struggled to get an episode out this week. But we mucked in and somehow managed to clobber something together. A look back at some of our highlights from the What3Drams since we started recording as well as hearing about Hamish's journey into the...

Another Balmoral Scotch Whisky Bar connection joined us this week in the Dugoot in Diggers. Dario claims he should have been Scottish instead of Italian. And his Italian passion shines through whenever he talks about anything to do with whisky. Having owned his own bar in Rome, packing it up and heading out to see the world, he ended up in Edinburgh and it didn't take long before he was mesmerisin...

This was our first outdoor recording event as well as our first attempt at behaving ourselves in the very nice and fancy Rooftop Garden at the Glasshouse Hotel in Edinburgh. A big thank you to Nacho for inviting us along to this very nice and different whisky tasting with a twist. Liana Moran was the artist on hand to explain how we should sketch out what was in front of us and the whisky was prov...

We're over in Germany for the Euros enjoying the amazing German Hospitality. We made sure to tie our trip in with a podcast recording and found the amazing Scotia Spirits in Cologne. Peter Klas was hosting a tasting with Kenny Macdonald of Dram Mor and we enjoyed their company along with the resident musician Ciaran Whyte. We enjoyed some great drams and great chat. And even had our largest record...

Edoardo has only been in Edinburgh for a week and we managed to get him on for a podcast to hear about his exciting new adventure with Scotch at the Balmoral in Edinburgh. We've nearly interviewed everyone who's either worked or still working behind the bar at Scotch. But Edoardo is the first person we've had on who hasn't even started yet. Growing up in Italy, it took Edoardo some time before he...

Mark has been mentioned on the podcast plenty of times since we began recording. Having previously worked as Glenfiddich, Mark is now Private Client Manager for Duncan Taylor Scotch Whisky. But most importantly, Mark knows how to tell a good story over a dram or 2. In this episode we look back over his career which has seen him working in women's fashion to managing some of the top bars and restau...

It's not a well trodden path but Charlie Hume and others from The Malt Room will be venturing over to the Western Caribbean from Inverness to open up a whisky bar in Cayman. Charle had some incredible stories and drams to share with us when he came in a few weeks ago. We talked about his journey into whisky and the amazing adventure he's about to embark on. There was also some BIG news from Angus...

What makes whisky and cigars work so well together? Well thankfully Hector Maclean was on hand to explain it all to us. Having co-owned the Jeffery St Whisky and Tobacco shop in Edinburgh since he was just 22, Hector was able to explain to us some of the best ways to enjoy a cigar with the right whisky. Hector has some fantastic whisky stories (some which include his cousin Charles Maclean..) as w...

Blair Sterrick has worked in selling booze and whisky for most of his professional life. Having worked for the likes of Diagio and Morrison Scotch Whisky Distillers, he now works for the Isle of Harris Distillery selling their new whisky The Hearach and their extremely popular and iconic gin. In this episode we talk about the success of the distillery which has created a huge amount of local emplo...

Mark Davidson has spent over 20 years working in whisky. When teaching maths and engineering didn't cut it, he began working behind the bar to help out at the original Scotch Malt Whisky Society bar in Leith. From there he ended up spending the next 20+ years working in retail and delivering his own unique tastings. It was great having Mark on and he had some great knowledge and stories to tell. H...

Thomas wanted to get into working in whisky to be around his pals and to learn more about the industry. Having spent some time working with our own Ross Barr at Scotch in the Balmoral in Edinburgh, it didn't take long for Tam to gain a real insight into the wonderful world of whisky. Since then he's started his own lockdown business and now works as Brand Ambassador for Morrison Scotch Whisky Dist...

We're fast becoming a 'whisky couples' podcast now and it was great to welcome Sian Buchan on to the podcast with her husband and previous guest Jody and Paddy the dog. Sian owns Uno Mas in Edinburgh which is a very relaxed and easy going bar open till late and the perfect location for 'one more' before heading home. Having previously worked for Old Pulteney, Sian is very familiar with her whiskie...

As the new Global Brand Ambassador it was great to get Stewart Dick down to Edinburgh and into the pub while he was on his travels spreading the word and dishing out drams of whisky from Torabhaig Distillery on the Isle of Skye. Skye has become a massive tourist destination for Scotland and when it comes to whisky on Skye, Talisker is the one that most people will think of. Mainly because it's the...

Danny's job is basically to travel around the world telling incredible stories and getting people to drink Grant's Whisky. And he's extremely good at both of those things. For the third week in a row we have yet another Scotch Whisky Experience alumni on the podcast and what a recording it was. Danny has worked in the industry since he was 18. While he was working behind a whisky bar in Edinburgh,...

Once again we were joined by another alumni of the Scotch Whisky Experience who has gone on to forge his own path in the wonderful world of whisky. Whisky and tourism goes hand in hand in Scotland and Alex has worked in creating experiences for tourists and visitors throughout his career. As Visitor Attraction Manager at the Glenturret Distillery in Creif, Alex oversees the different tours and exp...

We think Alistair is the first person we have had on the podcast who is a born and bred Speysider. Growing up a stones throw away from Glen Moray in Elgin, Alistair was destined to work in whisky. In this episode we were back in our new home from home - The Kilderkin Pub in Edinburgh and back in our usual booth. Alistair is now Head of Visitor Experience at the famous Scotch Whisky Experience whic...

Ross said on the first episode of this podcast that 'Big Cam' is his "Whisky Dad". We've all got to know Cameron from either working with him or enjoying his hospitality skills as the man behind Scotch in the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh. As you will hear in this episode, Cameron has been part of creating a whisky experience in Scotch for hotel guests and whisky lovers to experience an incredible r...

Duggie is pretty much responsible for making sure the large majority of pubs, bars and hotels around Scotland are well stocked with whisky. The Royal Mile Whiskies shop on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh has become one of Scotland's most established whisky shops. With shelves stocked from the ground to the ceiling with thousands of different whiskies to chose from and staff who have been there so long...

It was a birthday treat for Ross as we were invited to sample the atmosphere and whisky at the Whisky Stories Landlord Kev's latest pub - The Kilderkin at the bottom of the Royal Mile. Kev was our second ever episode and first official guest (Ross was meant to be a guest but he just kept coming back every week..). It was great to catch up with Kev again and hear about his exciting plans for the pu...

When Conor came to Scotland for a holiday it didn't take him long to realise that he had to stay. With plenty of experience in working in the bar trade, Conor began to learn more and more about whisky. But it was during lockdown when he really began to study the whisky making process and it wasn't long before an opportunity of a lifetime landed on his lap and he began working at the new Holyrood D...

This is a Whisky Stories epic episode with over 2 hours of whisky chat, story telling, tasting drams and lots of laughs. Mike Brown is a brand ambassador for Ian Macleod Distillers who own Glengoyne Distillery, Tamdhu Distillery, Rosebank Distillery and the brand Smokehead. Mike's job is to talk about all of these distilleries and brands and he's very, very good at his job. Like a lot of brand amb...

George and Rachel are the second 'whisky couple' to join us on the podcast. Having met through whisky at the Soho Whisky Club in London, they've had a journey through whisky that has taken them to Australia and then back to Scotland. George worked as General Manager at the Soho Whisky Club and it was there that Rachel first clocked eyes on the handsome chap working behind the bar. It wasn't long b...

Angus and Graeme took a trip to St Andrews to meet Chris and Euan from Eden Mill. Although the new distillery is currently under construction and not expected to be fully completed until spring/summer 2025, we were able to enjoy recording this episode in the cosy cabin they have on site called The Bothy. Eden Mill already has single malt whisky and a blend on the market. The distillery has been pr...

Woody and Megan are our first 'whisky couple' to have joined us on the podcast. Woody travelled from Hong Kong to Edinburgh to study Medical Science, but after realising he was no good in the lab, he decided to swap that and begin his journey into brewing and distilling. Megan and Woody began by exporting Scottish beer and spirits to the eastern Asian markets and decided to invest in a cask of whi...