WhiskyCast

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Silent Scotch Whisky Stills Coming Back to Life (WhiskyCast Episode 663: October 15, 2017) Oct 17, 2017

Show notes

Christmas came a couple of months early for some Scotch Whisky lovers with word that the iconic Port Ellen, Brora, and Rosebank distilleries will be reopened over the next couple of years. Diageo will invest $46 million to bring Port Ellen and Brora back to life, while Ian Macleod Distillers has acquired not only the old Rosebank site, but the rights to the Rosebank name and its remaining whisky inventory. We'll talk with Diageo's Dr. Nick Morgan and Gordon Doctor of Ian Macleod about the work that's ahead before the spirit starts flowing from the stills. Scott Watson of The Lost Distillery Company has been reviving historic distillery legacies in Scotland for the last decade, with extensive research to recreate the whiskies those long-lost distilleries might be making today, and he'll share some of that process with us as well. In the news, Heaven Hill completes a massive $25 million expansion at its Bernheim Distillery, while a Sonoma County craft distiller has managed to dodge the Northern California wildfires so far. We'll also have the week's tasting notes and some of your ideas on which heritage distillery should be revived next.

Whisky, Whiskey...We've Got It All This Week! (WhiskyCast Episode 662: October 8, 2017) Oct 07, 2017

Show notes

This week, we're in Ireland for the annual release of Midleton Very Rare from Irish Distillers. There's something different about the 2017 edition, though...it's made with some of the oldest casks ever used in Midleton Very Rare. We'll talk with Midleton Master Distiller Brian Nation about this year's release and the new Midleton Cask Circle club, which will give collectors and investors the opportunity to buy their own casks straight from the distillery. Midleton's maturation guru, Kevin O'Gorman, will also tell us about the newly-released Green Spot Chateau Montelena edition, which is finished in Zinfandel wine casks from California's Napa Valley. In the news, Gordon & MacPhail has unveiled yet another cask of 70-year-old single malt Scotch Whisky, this one distilled at Glenlivet in 1943 during the peak of World War II. A much younger cask of Macallan has set an apparent world record at a Hong Kong auction, and we'll talk about the impact of Brexit on the whisky business from two sides - one who sees it as a plus, and another who says it's already cost him a lot of money.

Live at The Whisky Show in London (WhiskyCast Episode 661: October 1, 2017 Oct 01, 2017

Show notes

This week, we're in London for the annual Whisky Show at Old Billingsgate on the banks of the River Thames! We'll catch up with a lot of friends from around the world, including Whyte & Mackay's Richard Paterson as he winds up his 50th anniversary tour of worldwide whisky tastings. We'll also look at plenty of new whiskies introduced over the last few days here in London and other shows in Europe. In the news, plans are being drawn up for what could be a $150 million dollar distillery project in Bardstown, Kentucky, and Scotland's Kilchoman Distillery is starting the first major expansion project for the Islay distillery.

There's No Whisky Without the Barrels (WhiskyCast Episode 660: September 24, 2017) Sep 25, 2017

Show notes

It's often said that wood is responsible for most of a whisky's flavor, and if that's the case, then the people who make the barrels for maturing whisky have a major impact on the whiskies we drink. Independent Stave Company's cooperages dominate the market for new Bourbon barrels, and those barrels then get used for decades to mature other whiskies around the world. Brad Boswell's great-grandfather founded the company in 1912, and he took over for his father as Independent Stave's CEO earlier this year. We'll talk with him about the cooperage side of the whisky business, along with the potential impacts from climate change and government regulation, on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, the ringleader of the "Pappygate" Bourbon thieves in Kentucky has pleaded guilty and faces 15 years in prison, while there's still no word on whether the stolen whiskey now sitting in a secured evidence locker will face the death penalty. We'll also have details on this year's Buffalo Trace Antique Collection series and the new Northern Border Collection series of Canadian whiskies from Corby's Hiram Walker Distillery. In this week's tasting notes, we'll have details on a whisky fit for ringing in the New Year...Israeli style.

On the Road in Bourbon Country (WhiskyCast Episode 659: September 17, 2017) Sep 18, 2017

Show notes

This week, we're on the road at the annual Kentucky Bourbon Festival in Bardstown, Kentucky! We'll have highlights from the festival throughout this week's show, including the presentation of the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame's Parker Beam Lifetime Achievement Award to Bill Samuels Jr. of Maker's Mark and the induction of the Hall's Class of 2017. In the news, Brown-Forman will invest $45 million to upgrade its Louisville cooperage over the next two years, while planning to cut around 70 jobs once the project is completed. Local leaders in Bardstown are working on a new project to cement the town's place as the "Bourbon Capital of the World." We'll also catch up with old friends from Bourbon Country and look at the week's new whiskies from around the world.

Making Sense(s) of Whisky (WhiskyCast Episode 658: September 10, 2017) Sep 11, 2017

Show notes

Flavor, aroma, and taste. We all know what they mean...or do we? Gerry Nichols isn't so sure. He's a veteran judge in beer and coffee competitions, and has been studying the research of neuroscientists into the way our brains process flavor, aroma and taste. His conclusion: science knows how we process sensory information, but scientists do a lousy job of explaining it - and what's worse...they don't always take one key factor into account. He'll tell us what that is on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, tourism is booming at whisky distilleries worldwide, Jack Daniel's expands its foray into Rye, we'll resolve the question of how Quebec's liquor regulators label Kavalan's Taiwanese single malts, and we'll take another trip to the ice cream store!

Whisky With a Place (WhiskyCast Episode 657: September 3, 2017) Sep 03, 2017

Show notes

The concept of terroir is frequently discussed among wine lovers, but the whisky world has been more reluctant to discuss whether the place where a whisky is made or matured contributes to its final flavor. That's largely because many distillers get their grain from farms that can be hundreds of miles away, and also because there's much less variety among the grains used in distilling whisky than there can be among wine grapes. Some distillers are experimenting with "heirloom" grains that offer a different flavor profile than those commonly used in distilling, and we'll hear from two of them on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. Meredith and Alex Grelli of Pittsburgh's Wigle Distillery will explain their experiments with rye grain grown in different regions of North America, while Scott Blackwell and Ann Marshall of High Wire Distilling in Charleston tell us about their work with one of South Carolina's native corns.

In the news, we'll have the details on this year's Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch, along with more new whiskies from The Macallan, Spey, Loch Lomond, and Johnnie Walker. We'll also have a preview of this year's Kentucky Bourbon Festival and Louisville's new Bourbon & Beyond festival coming up later this month, along with some of your suggestions on what a "second-fill Virgin Oak" cask should be called.

A Cask-Strength Celestial Spectacle (WhiskyCast Episode 656: August 27, 2017) Aug 28, 2017

Show notes

Around 6,000 people combined last Monday's total solar eclipse with whiskey - watching the celestial spectacle from the fields around MB Roland Distillery in Pembroke, Kentucky. WhiskyCast's Aria Gillespie-Smith was on hand, and we'll have her report on WhiskyCast In-Depth. We'll also details on the celebration at Scotland's Teaninich Distillery as it marks its 200th anniversary this month. In the news, Tasmanian police have opened a fraud investigation into Nant Distillery's controversial barrel sales, and we'll compare the economics of craft distilling and craft brewing. We'll also have the story of MMA champion Conor McGregor's entry into the Irish Whiskey business, along with tasting notes for Ardbeg's newest single malt, too!

The World's Hottest Whisky? (WhiskyCast Episode 655: August 20, 2017) Aug 20, 2017

Show notes

Since our first visit to Taiwan's King Car Distillery in 2011, its Kavalan single malts have arguably become some of the most-acclaimed whiskies in the world, winning top awards in multiple whisky competitions. As the distillery enters its second decade, there have been many changes, including the addition of a complete second stillhouse. We'll discuss those changes on WhiskyCast In-Depth with Kavalan master blender Ian Chang, along with a future without his mentor, the late Dr. Jim Swan. In the news, union workers at a key Chivas Brothers facility in Scotland have agreed to a new contract and Scotch Whisky exports are up in 2017. We'll also have a special story of patience paying off for an Ohio family.

Distilling Returns to the Birthplace of Scotch Whisky (WhiskyCast Episode 654: August 13, 2017) Aug 12, 2017

Show notes

Lindores Abbey has a unique place in Scottish history. In 1494, the abbey's Friar John Cor was responsible for the oldest known written reference to whisky distilling in Scotland when the Exchequer Roll listed him as receiving "8 bolls of malt" to make aqua vitae for the King. 523 years later, whisky distilling is returning to Lindores Abbey, and we'll take a look at the past, present, and future of Lindores Abbey's place in whisky history with Drew McKenzie Smith. His family has owned the farm in Fife where the abbey's ruins survive to this day, and he's the founder of the new Lindores Abbey Distillery. In the news, contract talks will resume this week between Chivas Brothers and its workers in Dumbarton, Scotland, and the union's plans for strikes this week have been called off. Blended Scotch sales may be poised for a comeback, and Bruichladdich is turning the peat volume up to 11 with one of its new Octomore single malts. We'll also have tasting notes for four cask-strength whoppers and a first - a web site that puts you on hold.

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