WhiskyCast

Marc Watson took over for the retiring Gordon Motion this month after six months of serving as his understudy. The former master blender for The Famous Grouse has 11 years of industry experience, and he'll join us for one of his first interviews since his promotion on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, the U-S and the European Union have hammered out a trade agreement that limits tariff...

Award-winning author Noah Rothbaum spent five years researching his new book "The Whiskey Bible." It's a comprehensive in-depth look at the spirit we love - its history and some myth-busting, too. Noah joins us on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Diageo parts ways with CEO Debra Crew after just two years on the job, while the Trump Administration and European Union negotiators try to...

It's hard to capture the entire world of whisky in one book, but that's the task Felipe Schrieberg took on with his new book "The World of Whisky." Schrieberg covers everything from the origins of whisky to today's modern distilleries located all over the world, and he'll join us on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, the U.S. announces new import tariffs on Irish Whiskey and other Europ...

Jimmy Russell will soon begin his 71st year at Wild Turkey Distillery, and this fall, he'll celebrate his 91st birthday. This week, we're honoring the Legend of Lawrenceburg with an in-depth interview recorded in 2009, in which Jimmy discusses his friendships with Booker Noe, Parker Beam, and Elmer T. Lee…his way of making Bourbon and how it changed with the advent of distilling technology…and an...

Filmland Spirits founders Troy Bolotnick and Charlie Flint created their brand as an homage to the classic "B Movies" of the 1950's and 60's. With eye-catching labels based on movie posters and names like "Moonlight Mayhem" and "Ryes of the Robots," their whiskies stand out on store shelves and in the eyes of the critics, who have given Filmland Spirits' whiskies several medals in recent competiti...

At one time, Campbeltown, Scotland was the heart of the Scotch Whisky industry with around 30 working distilleries. Over the years, all but two disappeared, and the futures of Springbank and Glen Scotia were very much in doubt at various times over the last century. Author David Stirk researched the history of Campbeltown and its distilleries for his new book "Whiskyopolis," and he'll join us on t...

Whisky collector Mark Wade specializes in vintage bottlings, specifically Prohibition-era "medicinal" bottles. Part of his collection went on the auction block this month at Sotheby's, and he'll join us on his week's WhiskyCast In-Depth to discuss the search for dusties, authenticating his finds, and that one whisky he's still searching for. In the news, this year's class of Kentucky Bourbon Hall...

Dr. Bill Lumsden is best known as the head of whisky creation for The Glenmorangie Company, but he's also the master blender for Beyonce's Sir Davis American whiskey. Much of the day to day work of blending Sir Davis falls to master blender Cameron George, who took on the role when Sir Davis was launched last year. We'll talk with both of them on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth, and we'll also be...

Mary Dowling was a pioneer among women in distilling. She ran distilleries and cooperages with her husband John before and after his death in 1903, and is the subject of a new historical novel, "Mother of Bourbon" by Eric Goodman and Kaveh Zamanian. Zamanian is the founder of Rabbit Hole Distillery in Louisville, and recently released a series of whiskies bearing Mary Dowling's name. He'll join us...

This week, we're going to geek out with the results of two studies comparing whiskies matured in Texas with the same whiskey matured elsewhere. Milam and Greene's Heather Greene joins us to explain her team's decision to age otherwise identical whiskey in Texas and Kentucky, while Jared Himstedt and Gabe Richarde of Balcones Distilling share the findings of their experiment maturing the same singl...

Ireland's largest distillery is celebrating 200 years since the original Midleton Distillery opened in 1825, along with the 50th anniversary of the "new" Midleton, which replaced the original distillery in 1975. Master Distiller Kevin O'Gorman joins us on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth with details on two new whiskies commemorating the anniversaries. In the news, Old Elk is getting new ownership...

Scotland's GlenDronach Distillery has released a new collection of three no-age-statement single malts created by master blender Dr. Rachel Barrie, including a rare peated GlenDronach. We'll talk with Rachel about the collection, along with her comparison of a whisky blender to a symphony conductor, on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, India and the UK have finally reached an agreement...

Independent bottlers take sourced casks of whisky, mature them, and then bottle them under their own brand names. It's a practice that's been commonplace in Scotland for generations, and has expanded to the U.S. with independents like Single Cask Nation and Lost Lantern. Greg Swartz is the co-director of Independent Spirits, a new documentary series highlighting independent bottlers, and he'll joi...

Deep below the Johnnie Walker Princes Street experience in Edinburgh lies Dr. Emma Walker's personal playground. The Johnnie Walker master blender curates around 500 of the more than 10 million casks of maturing whisky in Diageo's inventory in the Vault. If you have the means, she'll create a bespoke blend that takes your personal likes and dislikes into account. It's a long way from the council e...

Robert and Walter Pattison were among the most successful whisky brokers of the 1890's, a golden era for Scotch whisky. However, their empire collapsed because of bad loans, fraudulent cask sales, and an accounting scheme that inflated the company's profits. When the Pattisons finally fell, they took other whisky merchants down with them, just as the industry's overproduction ended the golden era....

Oregon's Westward Whiskey filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this week, as the House Spirits-owned distillery tries to reorganize its business and keep the stills running. CEO Tom Mooney joins us this week in his first in-depth interview since the filing, and explains why Chapter 11 doesn't automatically mean going out of business. In the news, the Trump Administration has set a 10% import tariff on...

Europeans have been making rye whisky for generations, but a 20-year-old treaty between the European Union and Canada is affecting their ability to call their whisky what it is…rye whisky. The treaty restricts the use of "rye whisky" to Canadian ryes, even though there's no requirement that Canadian Rye whisky be made with rye. We'll talk with Stauning Whisky's Alex Munch about the bureaucratic ni...

Coopers have used everything from torches to infrared lamps to toast the inside of barrels. Now, a technique pioneered by the wine industry is making its way into whisky: the use of heated Icelandic magma stone formed by volcanic lava. It's said to provide a more consistent toasting than other methods, and Dewar's is the first to use the technique in whisky. We'll talk about it with Dewar's master...

King Car Group's Kavalan Distillery in Yilan, Taiwan marks its 20th anniversary this year. Kavalan has won numerous awards for its single malts, including the "World's Best Single Malt" in the World Whisky Awards. We'll talk with Kavalan's David Chen about the distillery's history and its growing global following on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, the European Union delays a return t...

Joe Magliocco didn't found Michter's Whiskey…but he is the modern-day father of the brand. Magliocco uncovered the lapsed trademark for Michter's nearly 30 years ago that led to the brand's revival. He'll join us on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth to discuss everything from the history of Michter's to today's concerns over tariffs and overproduction. In the news, the European Union has joined the...

Tara Lindley started out in the wine business before joining High West Distillery nine years ago. Now, she's the director of sensory analysis and new product development for High West's owner, Constellation Brands, and her latest project is the 2025 release of High West's Bourye, a blend of Bourbons and Rye whiskies. We'll talk with Tara on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, the North A...

The Ardbeg Committee was one of whisky's first online affinity groups, and celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. We'll talk with Committee chair Jackie Thomson about the early days of the group, as well as the new Ardbeg Eureka release that marks the anniversary. In the news, the threat of U.S. tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports is back this week. Diageo is defending its lackluster earni...

San Francisco's Elixir dates its history back to 1858, when it opened in the city's Mission District along a plank road at the corner of what is now 16th and Guerrero. The bar still has its Gold Rush-era look and feel, thanks to careful restoration work led by owner H. Joseph Ehrmann. We'll talk with head bartender Nick Madden and general manager Shea Shawnson on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. I...

Dan Leese wears two hats: one as CEO of the importer and distiller Hotaling & Co., and the second as the current chairman of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. Mark Gillespie sat down with Dan Leese to discuss the state of the whisky industry and the threats posed by trade tariffs, legal cannabis, and other challenges. In the news, the Trump Administration gets a victory as India...

Bruce Joseph started out as a brewer at what was then Anchor Brewing in San Francisco, and became a distiller when owner Fritz Maytag decided he wanted to add a distillery to make rye whiskey. Old Potrero has become a San Francisco favorite, and after 45 years with what is now Hotaling & Co., he's easing into retirement this week. Bruce Joseph joins us for an exclusive interview on this week's Whi...