WhiskyCast

A Green Fuel Source for Distillers?

22 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Beam Suntory has successfully tested the use of green hydrogen as a fuel source for directly-firing stills, and is part of a pilot project to create a...

A Sleeping Giant Awakens at Port Ellen

14 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For 41 years, the Port Ellen Distillery on Scotland's Isle of Islay sat silent. Last month, a multi-million dollar restoration of the distillery was c...

15 Years of Texas Whiskey

07 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Texas is booming as a whiskey region, with distilleries all over the Lone Star State. That history only goes back about 15 years, when pioneers like B...

Making the "World's Most Admired" Whiskies

01 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Louisville's Michter's Distillery took top honors in the 2023 Drinks International survey to find the "world's most admired" whiskey brand. Andrea Wil...

Ask the Whisky Maker: Compass Box's James Saxon

25 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

James Saxon took on the role as chief whisky maker for Compass Box following founder John Glaser's sudden departure several weeks ago. It's a journey ...

A Whisky Dream Come True

18 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Carin Luna-Ostaseski wanted an approachable Scotch whisky for newcomers, so she decided to blend her own. 11 years ago, the first bottles of SIA Scotc...

A Long-Term Commitment to Longmorn

11 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Chivas Brothers recently introduced two new Longmorn single malts. The 18 and 22-year-old malts represent a long-term commitment to the brand, with al...

Mark Reynier: Whisky's Enfant Terrible

04 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Waterford Distillery founder Mark Reynier has no shortage of opinions about how he feels whisky should be made, and he's putting those opinions into t...

A Commitment to Sustainable Whisky

26 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Scotland's Nc'Nean Distillery is one of a handful of whisky distilleries certified as "B Corp" for their sustainability efforts. At Nc'Nean, that goes...

Bulleit Enters the American Single Malt Race

19 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Diageo is staking a claim in the growing American Single Malt category with the new Bulleit American Single Malt. This whiskey's release earlier this ...

In Search of Dusty Whiskies

11 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There's a unique subset of whisky collectors who spend their spare time scouring obscure liquor stores for vintage bottles. In some cases, the distill...

Another New Distillery for Kentucky

05 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Garrard County Distilling Company is the latest distillery to come on line in Kentucky, and it's starting out with big ambitions. The producer of All ...

Tennessee Whiskey's Lost History

29 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

History changes all the time as we uncover new facts about the past, and historian Drew Hannush's new book shakes up some of the history of Tennessee ...

And the Winner Is...

22 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This year's Canadian Whisky Awards produced another surprise winner for the second year in a row. Ontario's Paradigm Spirits won Canadian Whisky of th...

Changing of the Guard at Ireland's Midleton Distillery

14 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Master Blender Billy Leighton's recent decision to step aside from day to day work at Irish Distillers gave his longtime apprentice the dream job of a...

A New Future for Single Cask Nation

08 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The week's top story was the sale of the independent bottler Single Cask Nation to the Artisanal Spirits Company, which also owns the Scotch Malt Whis...

2023: The Year in Whisky

31 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A lot happened in the world of whisky during 2023, and with the help of WhiskyCast Community app members, we've identified the top ten whisky stories ...

A Whiskey Maker's Holiday Treat

24 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Alex Chasko is an Oregon transplant turned Dublin whiskey maker. He's the master distiller and whiskey maker for Teeling Whiskey Company, and his late...

Never Say Die Bourbon: A Whiskey with a Back Story

18 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The stories behind the whiskies we drink are almost as enjoyable as the whiskies, and the story behind Never Say Die Bourbon is an intriguing one. The...

Bespoke Whisky, Bespoke Tweed

11 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Collaborations between whisky makers and design houses are becoming more common, and this week, we'll look at a partnership where each side brought th...

Is the Luxury Whisky Investment Market Softening?

04 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Whisky has become more attractive as an investment asset in recent years, but a new report indicates the value of luxury whiskies has declined over th...

Northern Ireland's Distilling Resurgence

27 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

There was a time when Belfast and the surrounding counties led the world in whisky production. Several factors led to that tradition all but disappear...

The Spirited Chef Takes on Whisky & Food

21 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

One of the highlights of this week's New Brunswick Spirits Festival was the food and whisky pairings created by The Spirited Chef, Taylore Darnell. Sh...

Through the Years with Dewar's Master Blender Stephanie Macleod

13 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

WhiskyCast celebrates our 18th anniversary this week, and Stephanie Macleod has been the Master Blender for Dewar's almost as long. She was named Mast...

Balcones Distilling Celebrates 15 Years of Texas Whiskey

06 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Balcones Distilling in Waco helped put Texas whiskey on the map when it opened in 2008, and this past weekend, the distillery marked it's 15th anniver...

Making Whiskey in the Music City

30 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Nelson's Green Brier Distillery was once Tennessee's largest distillery in pre-Prohibition times. The great-great-great grandsons of Charles Nelson re...

Signed, Sealed, & Delivered: A Look at Contract Distilling

23 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What do you call a distillery with no brands of its own? A contract (or custom) distiller creates whiskies for its clients, and many of Kentucky's lar...

An Exercise in Whisky Blending

16 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Anyone can blend one whisky, but to blend a whisky with long-term consistency between batches takes a true talent. This week, we'll share an informal ...

The Outlander and the Distiller

09 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Actor Sam Heughan is best known for his starring role on TV's "Outlander," but he's a whisky lover, too. Sam started his own whisky brand, The Sassena...

Eight Special Single Malts...and a Cowboy Bourbon

02 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We'll have a double feature on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth, as Diageo's Dr. Stuart Morrison joins us to detail this year's Special Releases series...

Catching Up with Ardbeg's Colin Gordon

26 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It's been three years since Colin Gordon left Islay's Lagavulin Distillery to move down the road and take over for the retiring Mickey Heads at Ardbeg...

10 Years In…And a Lot More Left to Learn

18 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Ann Marshall and Scott Blackwell founded High Wire Distilling in Charleston, South Carolina 10 years ago this week. They started out with no distillin...

Whisky Number One...of One

11 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

"Do You Even Like Whisky"

04 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Women still face huge barriers to equality within the whisky industry, according to a new survey from the Our Whisky Foundation. The survey found high...

A Deep Dive Into Scotch Whisky Data

28 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 P...

The Risks of Whisky Investing

21 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Valuations for rare whiskies have started to slow down after being one of the best performing alternative investments over the last ten years. The lat...

Whisky and Music Come Together in Rhythm & Booze Records

14 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 c...

Digging Into Scotland's Whisky History

07 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Thousands of illicit distilling sites exist around Scotland. Derek Alexander and his team of archaeologists at the National Trust for Scotland have ba...

A New Era for Gordon & MacPhail

31 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 d...

Reviving Rosebank Distillery After 30 Silent Years

24 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When Rosebank Distillery's stills went silent in 1993, many whisky lovers assumed the Falkirk distillery was gone forever - especially after thieves s...

A New Experience at The Scotch Whisky Experience

17 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Scotch Whisky Experience on Edinburgh's Royal Mile celebrates its 35th anniversary this year, and this week launches an all-new multimedia tour hi...

Four Roses Bourbon Celebrates 135 Years

10 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 ann...

A Craft Maltster's Closing Leaves Distillers in the Lurch

03 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The collapse of Washington's Skagit Valley Malting last month left distillers and brewers alike searching for new suppliers of malted barley. The craf...

A New Golden Age for Scotch Whisky?

26 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 "gol...

Changing of the Guard at Seattle's Westland Distillery

19 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Big Changes for Wyoming Whiskey

12 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Wyoming Whiskey marked its 10th anniversary last December, and this April, Edrington took majority ownership of the Cowboy State's first distillery. T...

Old Pulteney Shutting Down for 8 Weeks to Protect Water Supply

05 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

With some parts of Scotland facing another long, dry summer, distilleries are making plans to cope with expected water shortages from the lochs and ri...

Another New Distillery for Campbeltown

29 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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, pla...

Celebrating World Whisky Day

22 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Whisky lovers around the world celebrated World Whisky Day Saturday. The holiday was created a dozen years ago by whisky writer and consultant Blair B...

A New Era for Blended American Whisky

15 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Blended American Whisky has been ignored by connoisseurs for many years, largely because the category has been dominated by cheap blends using grain n...

"Bourbon Capital of the World" Hits the Brakes on New Whiskey-Related Projects

08 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Bourbon's construction boom in Central Kentucky is raising concerns in Nelson County, home to Bardstown, the "Bourbon Capital of the World." County of...

A Scottish Rye? Rye Not!

01 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Rye hasn't been widely used by Scotch whisky distillers for decades, but Inchdairnie Distillery is doing something different for its first release: A ...

Experiments in Whisky

24 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. Bill Lumsden has been experimenting at both Ardbeg and Glenmorangie distilleries. His latest Ardbeg release, Heavy Vapours, involved taking part o...

Thanks a Thousand

18 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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...

The Ultimate Whisky Glass

10 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Many have tried, but the Glencairn whisky glass remains the preferred choice of whisky blenders and savvy whisky lovers. There's more to Glencairn Cry...

The World's Largest Whisky Club

03 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Ask the Distiller

27 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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'...

Whisky Lost and Found

20 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 in...

The State of Scotch

13 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Choosing Passion

06 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Melissa Rift's career path is anything but traditional for a whisky maker. She started out as a family therapist before discovering her passion for Bo...

Club Whisky

28 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

There are literally hundreds of whisky clubs around the world, with more being formed all the time. This week on WhiskyCast, we'll hear from some club...

The Barrel Problem

20 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Bourbon and many other whiskies must be matured in new barrels by law, but distillers are finding a shortage of available barrels. Cooperages are keep...

Raiding Whisky

13 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Last month's raid on the Justins' House of Bourbon stores in Kentucky brought a multi-state and federal investigation into the spotlight. Now, authori...

A Milestone for The Dead Rabbit

06 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It's hard to believe, but the iconic New York City pub The Dead Rabbit is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month. In that time, it's built a repu...

What's Authentic?

30 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Distillers like to claim the "authentic" label for their whiskies, but how does one define "authenticity" in whisky? Is a "grain to glass" whisky more...

A Big Victory for Small Distillers

23 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week's episode comes from the Victoria Whisky Festival in Victoria, British Columbia...where a small Vancouver distillery shocked the Canadian wh...

Sarah Burgess Joins The Lakes Distillery

16 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Sarah Burgess has held a lot of different positions during her 25-plus years in the whisky industry, from serving as a seasonal tour guide to running ...

Exploring the Luxury Whisky Market

09 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Whiskies are being released at staggering prices with an eye to investors as well as collectors, but what is the market for these rare whiskies? Dunca...

A Collaborative Spirit in Bardstown

02 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Distillers are known for helping each other out, but the team at the Bardstown Bourbon Company is taking that collaborative spirit to new levels. The ...

Irish Whiskey in 2022

26 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We'll wrap up the year with a look at the Irish whiskey industry from both the macro and micro views this week with Denis O'Flynn. He's the former man...

What Goes Around, Comes Around

19 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Eddie Russell has been making whiskey for 42 years, and is a Bourbon Hall of Fame member. Still, to many people, he'll always be known as "Jimmy Russe...

Another Par for Sweetens Cove

12 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Is Sweetens Cove a whiskey company with a golf course, or a golf course with its own whiskey brand? That's something the Sweetens Cove team is trying ...

Promises Made, Promises Kept

05 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Six years ago, the wildfire known as "The Beast" devastated Northern Alberta, forcing the evacuations of 88,000 people in the area around Fort McMurra...

Dunville's: Preserving a Historic Irish Whiskey Brand

28 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

During the golden age of Irish Whiskey, Belfast-based Dunville's was one of the biggest brands on the market. While the brand was almost lost to histo...

Small Province, Big Hearts

21 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Bigger isn't necessarily better, and we have proof of that this week with our podcast recorded on location at the New Brunswick Spirits Festival in Fr...

The WhiskyCast Book Club

14 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

With the holidays coming up, whisky books may be on your gift list. We'll talk with two noted whisky writers who have new books out this holiday seaso...

Nick Offerman: Lagavulin's #1 Fan

07 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Nick Offerman has entertained millions of people with his film and television career, but it's his whisky career that he's sharing with us this week. ...

The New "Old Bushmills Distillery"

31 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Colum Egan had a unique challenge when presented with the opportunity to build a new Bushmills distillery that would complement the venerable existing...

Has Irish Whiskey's Renaissance Started Yet?

24 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Much has been made of the boom in Irish whiskey over the last decade, but one industry veteran says that boom is only the foundation for greater growt...

Single Malts Need Blenders, Too

17 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Unless you're drinking a single cask bottling, every whisky you drink has been prepared by a team of blenders. That goes for single malts, too, and St...

774 Malt Whisky Distilleries...and Counting!

10 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

There are at least 774 malt whisky distilleries around the world, according to the 2023 edition of the Malt Whisky Yearbook. We'll hear from some of t...

Live From The Whisky Show

03 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week, we're on location in London for The Whisky Exchange's annual Whisky Show at Old Billingsgate. We'll have interviews from throughout the wee...

A Whisky History for a New Generation

26 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Until now, Alfred Barnard's classic book "The Whisky Distilleries of the United Kingdom" was the benchmark guide for whisky historians. Now, a collect...

Reviving the Cabrach with a Distillery

18 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Cabrach region of Scotland's Highlands has a distilling history that goes back centuries, but The Cabrach has been left behind as other parts of S...

An American Single Malt Outlier

11 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Phil Steger distills his single malt in the Scottish tradition at Minnesota's Brother Justus Distilling, but he's an outlier in the American Single Ma...

The State of Bourbon

04 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

September is Bourbon Heritage Month, and while Bourbon can be made anywhere in the U.S., Kentucky is known as "the state of Bourbon." Bourbon makers g...

One Family, One Farm, One Distillery

28 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Scullys of County Cork have been farming the same land for nine generations over 350 years, but only in the last few years have they started disti...

Brother's Bond: A Bourbon "Bromance"

21 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Actors Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder discovered their friendship and a mutual love of Bourbon on the set of "The Vampire Diaries" television series....

Truffle Hunting for Whisky History

14 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Andrew Welford is described as a "truffle hunter" for whisky history, but his best find to date didn't sell for a penny. In fact, he donated an origin...

Islay Boys, Islay whisky

07 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Scotland's Isle of Islay is known for its distilleries, and construction will begin soon on the island's 12th distillery near the shores of Laggan Bay...

35 Years on Forty Creek

31 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Forty Creek master blender Bill Ashburn celebrated his 35th anniversary in the whisky business this week, and he's one of those blenders content to st...

To Your Health!

24 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Alcohol has been used for medicinal purposes for centuries, even when the healers of history didn't always know they were distilling alcohol when they...

Jackie Zykan's New Challenge

17 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Jackie Zykan could have kept the security of her corporate job as the master taster for Brown-Forman's Old Forester whiskies, but she decided the time...

Make It a Double with Author Shelley Sackier

10 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We all have our own whisky stories to tell, and author Shelley Sackier is sharing hers in the new book "Make It a Double." She's gone from hating that...

Preserving the American White Oak's Future

04 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The whisky industry depends on quercus alba, the American White Oak, for hundreds of thousands of whisky barrels each year, and that makes preserving ...

The Secret to Enjoying a Whisky: Follow Your Nose

26 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

How do our noses help us enjoy whisky? Turns out the nose has a major role to play in our enjoyment of whisky, food, and life in general. The average ...

Celebrating Sazerac Cocktail Week

19 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Sazerac is one of whisky's oldest cocktails, and it's also the official cocktail of New Orleans. They're celebrating the history of the Sazerac al...

Winner, Winner, Whisky Dinner!

14 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Catoctin Creek's Scott and Becky Harris were honored with the Dave Pickerell Memorial Craft Member of the Year Award during last Thursday's Distilled ...

A Day on the Barley Farm

05 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

More than 100 Irish farmers grow barley exclusively for Waterford Distillery, but Trevor Harris is one of a handful using biodynamic techniques on his...

Happy Hour Live with Greg Swartz and Ian Logan

01 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week's webcast features guests Greg Swartz and Ian Logan. Greg's Scotch Whisky film "The Water of Life" is headed for PBS stations around the U.S...