WhiskyCast

There's a lot of data behind the whiskies we enjoy, and analyzing that data can give us some insights into the health of the whisky industry. Martin Purvis and Duncan McFadzean examine whisky data for their Commercial Spirits Intelligence newsletter, and concluded that last week's Scotch Whisky export numbers aren't as bad as they might appear on face value. We'll talk with Martin Purvis about the...

Valuations for rare whiskies have started to slow down after being one of the best performing alternative investments over the last ten years. The latest Knight Frank Luxury Investment Index shows a four percent decline year-over-year in the value of the rare whiskies that make up the index. Is this the start of a trend? We'll ask rare whisky consultant Andy Simpson, who helps compile the index fo...

Whisky and music go perfectly together, but Felipe Schrieberg and Paul Archibald are taking the volume up to 11 with Rhythm & Booze Records. They're combining an independent record label with an independent bottler and making whiskies to match their music, which can be streamed using a QR code on each bottle. We'll talk with Felipe Schrieberg on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth and share tasting no...

Thousands of illicit distilling sites exist around Scotland. Derek Alexander and his team of archaeologists at the National Trust for Scotland have barely scratched the surface of the country's bothys, but their recent digs have uncovered some rare artifacts of illicit distilling's past. We'll catch up with Derek on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, The Balvenie's longtime Malt Master,...

The 128-year-old family-owned independent bottler stunned the whisky world this week with news that it will stop sourcing new make spirit from other distillers starting next year. Instead, Gordon & MacPhail will focus on single malts from its two distilleries, Benromach and The Cairn in the future. With decades of maturing whisky on hand, the change won't be felt for at least 12 to 15 years and Go...

When Rosebank Distillery's stills went silent in 1993, many whisky lovers assumed the Falkirk distillery was gone forever - especially after thieves stole the copper stills for scrap a couple of years later. Now, after 5 and a half years of work, Rosebank has come back to life, and the team at Ian Macleod Distillers filled the first casks of Rosebank since 1993 this week. We'll talk with Ian Macle...

The Scotch Whisky Experience on Edinburgh's Royal Mile celebrates its 35th anniversary this year, and this week launches an all-new multimedia tour highlighting the production of Scotch Whisky. We'll talk with CEO Susan Morrison on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, unique one of a kind whiskies are going on the auction block for charity this October, Bruichladdich cuts its carbon footp...

Back in 1888, Paul Jones Jr. started selling Bourbon under the Four Roses brand. 135 years later, the brand is stronger than ever, and to mark the anniversary, Four Roses is releasing a first-ever tasting kit with all 10 of the distillery's unique recipes. We'll talk with Master Distiller Brent Elliott about the anniversary, and what makes each of those 10 recipes different, on this week's WhiskyC...

The collapse of Washington's Skagit Valley Malting last month left distillers and brewers alike searching for new suppliers of malted barley. The craft maltster had more than 270 customers when it closed unexpectedly, including Seattle's Westland and Copperworks distilleries. We'll talk with Copperworks co-founders Jason Parker and Jeff Kanof this week on WhiskyCast In-Depth, along with Kate Berno...

The Scotch Whisky industry is roaring along, setting new records for sales every year as the global demand for whisky continues to grow. The last "golden age" for Scotch Whisky is generally considered to be the late 1800's, when distilleries flourished all over Scotland. That begs the question: are we in a new golden age for Scotch Whisky? Veteran whisky writers, historians, and consultants Charle...

Westland Distillery co-founder Matt Hofmann is leaving the Seattle distillery at the end of the month to pursue new adventures. With no specific plans for the future, Matt and his successor as production manager, Tyler Pederson, join us on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth to discuss Matt's move and how the distillery will ensure continuity going forward. We'll also have tasting notes for Westland's...

Wyoming Whiskey marked its 10th anniversary last December, and this April, Edrington took majority ownership of the Cowboy State's first distillery. That ended the run of David DeFazio as Wyoming Whiskey's president, but he remains the brand's global ambassador and a part-owner of the distillery. We'll talk with him about the changes since then, along with what the future holds, both for him and t...

With some parts of Scotland facing another long, dry summer, distilleries are making plans to cope with expected water shortages from the lochs and rivers that provide essential water for distilling. Wick's Old Pulteney Distillery has already announced plans to shut down production for eight weeks this summer after losing much of the last two summers to drought. We'll talk with distillery manager...

At one time, Campbeltown was Scotland's whisky capital with more than 35 distilleries. That number dwindled to just three over the years, but now, planning approval is being sought for up to three new distilleries. The latest project is the Witchburn Distillery to be built on the former RAF Macrihanish site, and we'll talk with project manager and master distiller Andrew Nairn on this week's Whisk...

Whisky lovers around the world celebrated World Whisky Day Saturday. The holiday was created a dozen years ago by whisky writer and consultant Blair Bowman, and we'll check in with him on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. He's been involved in several major controversies affecting the Scotch Whisky industry, from protesting the planned Deposit Return Scheme now scheduled to take effect next March t...

Blended American Whisky has been ignored by connoisseurs for many years, largely because the category has been dominated by cheap blends using grain neutral spirits. Now, there's a new era for Blended American Whisky as blenders explore the flexibility the category offers, from being able to blend Bourbons and Ryes with other styles of whisky to being able to use whisky matured in used barrels. We...

Bourbon's construction boom in Central Kentucky is raising concerns in Nelson County, home to Bardstown, the "Bourbon Capital of the World." County officials have reached a compromise with whiskey makers for a 90-day moratorium on planning approval for new warehouses in agricultural zones. Nelson County Judge Executive Tim Hutchins wants a review of current ordinances allowing virtually unfettered...

Rye hasn't been widely used by Scotch whisky distillers for decades, but Inchdairnie Distillery is doing something different for its first release: A Scottish single grain distilled from 53% malted rye and 47% malted barley. The distillery contracted local farmers to grow the rye grain, and released its first batch of RyeLaw this week. Inchdairnie managing director Ian Palmer joins us to explain t...

Dr. Bill Lumsden has been experimenting at both Ardbeg and Glenmorangie distilleries. His latest Ardbeg release, Heavy Vapours, involved taking part of the distilling system out of the picture just because he wanted to see what would happen if he did. At Glenmorangie, he has a whole year's worth of projects for his experimental Lighthouse distillery. We'll catch up with whisky's mad scientist on t...

We're celebrating a major milestone this week with the 1000th episode of WhiskyCast! To mark the occasion, Mark went back through the archives to pick some memorable moments and interviews from the past 18 years for this special episode. You'll hear from legends like the late Parker Beam and Michael Jackson, along with Jimmy Russell, Jim McEwan, Maureen Robinson, Fawn Weaver, and Richard Paterson....

Many have tried, but the Glencairn whisky glass remains the preferred choice of whisky blenders and savvy whisky lovers. There's more to Glencairn Crystal than just its iconic glass, though, and we'll talk with Glencairn founder Raymond Davidson on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Campari is investing $160 million to build a second distillery at Wild Turkey in Kentucky. We'll have det...

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society is marking its 40th anniversary in 2023, and we'll talk with founder Pip Hills on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. The 82-year-old Hills started the Society as a cask-share scheme with his friends...and their friends...and so on, until now, the Society's membership stands at 37,000 whisky lovers worldwide. In the news, Diageo CEO Ivan Menezes is retiring, Kentucky st...

There's very little Dennis Malcolm hasn't seen in his 62 years of making whisky, and the longtime Glen Grant distillery manager joins us on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth to answer some of your whisky questions. Dennis was in New York City for the global launch of the new Glen Grant 21 Years Old, and we'll have tasting notes for it as well. In the news, Kentucky lawmakers are running out of time...

1983 was a very bad year to be in the Scotch Whisky business. Sales had dried up in the face of changing consumer tastes and economic woes, and the industry was sitting on a "whisky loch" of millions of gallons of whisky no one wanted to buy. That led to the permanent or temporary closings of 14 distilleries, along with blending and bottling plants throughout Scotland. 40 years later, the industry...

Mark Kent left the UK's diplomatic service 14 months ago to become the new CEO of the Scotch Whisky Association, and admits he didn't know much about Scotch when he started. With the industry in a state of flux over issues ranging from a potential marketing and advertising ban in Scotland to free trade and climate change, it's been a busy 14 months for Kent. He'll join us on this week's WhiskyCast...