WhiskyCast

Latest Episodes:

Happy Hour Live with Dave Worthington and Sam Simmons Jan 26, 2022

Show notes

That Boutique-y Whisky Company releases some of the most unique single cask whiskies on the market, and we're joined this week by Sam "Dr. Whisky" Simmons and Dave Worthington for whisky talk, games, and much more! Join us each Friday night at 5:00pm New York time (22:00 GMT/UTC) for our live shows on the WhiskyCast YouTube channel, our Facebook page, Twitter, and Twitch.

Frey Ranch: Part of a New Crop of Farm Distillers Jan 24, 2022

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There was a time when farm distillers dominated whisky production until the advent of large-scale commercial distilling more than 150 years ago. Now, the boom in craft distilling has created a whole new crop of "grain to glass" farm-based distillers like Frey Ranch in Fallon, Nevada. Colby and Ashley Frey founded the distillery in 2013 on the farm east of Reno where Colby's family has lived for generations, and they see whiskey as a way to not only showcase their grains, but provide a future for their kids. We'll take an audio tour of the distillery and farm with Colby Frey on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, the U.S. and Great Britain have agreed to re-start trade talks that could lead to the end of the UK's tariff on American whiskey imports, while a new report shows Kentucky's distilleries have a $9 billion annual impact on the state's economy. We'll also have details on expansion plans at Glenmorangie and details on new whiskies, along with tasting notes and much more!

Happy Hour Live with Billy Abbott and Davin de Kergommeaux Jan 19, 2022

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Our Friday night #HappyHourLive webcasts are back! This week's show features Billy Abbott, author of the new book "The Philosophy of Whisky," and Canadian Whisky Awards founder Davin de Kergommeaux. Davin handed out the 2022 Canadian Whisky Awards the night before our webcast, and we'll discuss the winners along with the state of Canadian Whisky. Join us each Friday night at 5:00pm New York time (22:00 GMT/UTC) for our live shows on the WhiskyCast YouTube channel, our Facebook page, Twitter, and Twitch.

Whisky Lessons from a Century Ago Jan 16, 2022

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A century ago, Masataka Taketsuru was using the lessons he learned during his time in Scotland to build Japan's emerging whisky industry armed with a notebook full of information. While that notebook remains in Nikka Whisky's archives, it's now been translated into English for the first time. Ruth Anne Herd and Professor Alan Wolstenholme teamed up for the translation, and there's a family connection behind the project. Wolstenholme's grandfather was the manager at Hazelburn Distillery in Campbeltown when Taketsuru was doing his "internship" there, and that's one of the stories Alan Wolstenholme shares with us in this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. We'll also have the week's whisky news, including the winners of this year's Canadian Whisky Awards, tasting notes, and much more!

Uncovering Evidence of Scotland's Whisky History Jan 10, 2022

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The excisemen of Scotland's past never found all of the illegal whisky stills being used around the country, and traces of those illicit distilleries can be found to this day...if one knows where to look. Derek Alexander knows, and he's on a mission to uncover as much of that history as possible in his role as an archaeologist with the National Trust for Scotland. His search started two decades ago with a project to uncover remains of The Glenlivet's original distillery, and that project continues to this day as well, as he tells us on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, the wood was flying at the Kentucky Cooperage on New Year's Day, but it wasn't from the coopers...a tornado hit the cooperage with 100mph winds. We'll have the details on that and the rest of the whisky news for the first week of 2022, along with tasting notes and a debate over whether liquor stores should be jacking up the price of Pappy Van Winkle and other rare whiskies.

10 Years of Brooklyn-Style Rye Jan 03, 2022

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We'll start the New Year off with an anniversary...the 1oth anniversary for the New York Distilling Co. in Brooklyn's North Williamsburg neighborhood. Allen Katz and his partners opened their distillery in what was at the time a fairly run-down neighborhood, only to see gentrification take shape around them. As Allen discloses on WhiskyCast In-Depth for the first time, that's forcing them to make plans to move to a new location in the very near future both to expand production and comply with the city's pending changes to fire safety codes for distilleries. He'll also explain why they decided to focus almost exclusively on making rye whiskies, including a special 10th anniversary single barrel edition of Ragtime Rye selected by legendary bartender Dale DeGroff. In the news, Europe's tariffs on American whiskies are now officially suspended with the arrival of 2022, and U.S. distillers are jumping back into the European market. We'll get an update on construction plans for Penderyn's third distillery in Wales, and noted chef David Burke tells us about next week's Beef and Bourbon Dinners at nine of his restaurants to raise money for Western Kentucky tornado victims.

Nick Savage: Action Hero or Whisky Maker? Dec 27, 2021

Show notes

OK, the headline is a tease...of course Dr. Nick Savage is a whisky maker. In fact, he's been the master distiller and blender at Scotland's Bladnoch Distillery for the last couple of years. He's just created the latest three Bladnoch single malts, and joins us on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. Speaking of heroes, though...there are a lot of them in the whisky world, and many of them helped raise $3.4 million to help Kentucky tornado victims in the Kentucky Bourbon Benefit auction. We'll have the details in this week's news, along with a look at one of the groups behind the auction in our Behind the Label segment. It's our final episode for 2021, so pour a dram, relax, and enjoy this week's WhiskyCast!

Texas Whisky, Texas Music: Balcones and ZZ Top Join Forces Dec 19, 2021

Show notes

There are plenty of collaborations between whisky makers and the entertainment world, from singers and bands to actors who want to make their own whiskies. What's the key to making one of these collaborations work? We'll find out from Balcones Distilling's Jared Himstedt, who just released the Tres Hombres Texas Whisky collaboration with the members of ZZ Top. We'll also taste several other "celebrity" whiskies in the What I'm Tasting This Week Department, too. In the news, bidding has already reached $1.6 million in the Kentucky Bourbon Benefit auction to raise money for Western Kentucky tornado victims! We'll have that story, along with the latest update on a new round of COVID-related lockdowns and whisky event changes, and on Behind the Label, the story of one man who found a way to turn his passion for whisky into a profit...without opening a single bottle.

Ian Buxton: "Craft Whisky is Like P*rnography" Dec 14, 2021

Show notes

Ian Buxton is back with another edition in his popular "101 Whiskies" series, "101 Craft and World Whiskies to Try Before You Die." This time, he's defining craft whiskies using a similar standard to the classic one for obscenity: "I know it when I see it." Of course, that's tongue-in-cheek, and as Ian points out on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth, the line gets blurrier all the time. In the news, Kentucky's whiskey community is coming together to help the victims of this weekend's deadly tornadoes, and we'll have the details on how you can join the relief effort, too. A Canadian cannabis company is entering the Bourbon business with high hopes for the future, and U.S. craft distillers are celebrating real growth in their business. In our Behind the Label segment, we'll look at the classic worm tub and why it's making a comeback at some of Scotland's distilleries.

A Million Miles From Laphroaig to Lochlea Dec 07, 2021

Show notes

John Campbell shocked the Scotch Whisky world a couple of months ago when he disclosed his plans to leave Islay's Laphroaig Distillery after 27 years, with the last 16 as distillery manager. At the time, he wouldn't say what his future plans were...but now, he's joined the young Lochlea Distillery as its production director and master blender. John's very first interview after confirming the move was with WhiskyCast, and you'll hear it on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth! In the news, Scotch Whisky distillers raised more than £2.5 million for organizations helping troubled Scottish youth with The Distillers: One of One auction Friday. We'll have the details, along with news on supply chain shortages affecting the whisky industry, plans for a new visitors centre at Ireland's Midleton Distillery, and a delay in expansion plans for another Irish distillery because of something a critic compared to "Rapunzel's Castle."

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