WhiskyCast

On the American Highway with Brad Paisley

29 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Brad Paisley has entertained millions of people with his music over the years. Deep down, though...he's a whiskey geek just like the rest of us. From ...

Back to the Island

23 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Whisky lovers are making the pilgrimage to Islay for the first time in two years as the Islay Festival of Malt and Music gets underway later this week...

Happy Hour Live with Angus MacRaild

18 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The "Whisky Sponge," Angus MacRaild, joined us on the latest Happy Hour Live webcast. Not only is he known for his outspoken blog on the Scotch Whisky...

Lexie Phillips Leads by Example at Jack Daniel's

15 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Lexie Phillips grew up around Lynchburg, Tennessee watching generations of her relatives go to work at the Jack Daniel Distillery. Now, she's leading ...

Happy Hour Live with Ernie Button, Kyle Swartz, and Nino Kilgore-Marchetti

12 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Photographer Ernie Button's new book, "The Art of Whisky," was published this week, and he joined us on last Friday night's #HappyHourLive webcast alo...

Reflections On a Fast Start

09 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Blue Run Spirits has only been around for a couple of years, but its whiskies have already found their way into the hearts of whiskey lovers. Of cours...

Happy Hour Live with Tasmania's Fannys Bay Distillery

04 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Mathew and Julie Cooper built Fannys Bay Distillery next to their home in Tasmania, and their small-scale whiskies are just now becoming available in ...

A True Crime...and Whisky Story

01 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Two years ago, we brought you the story of Jonathan and Cindy Bray. The Canadian whisky importers were arrested by Idaho State Police on charges of il...

On the Road in Las Vegas

25 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Back out on the road again for our first whisky festival since the pandemic started! While we were in Las Vegas for The Nth, Richard Paterson and Crai...

Happy Hour Live with Starward Whisky's David Vitale

20 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Coors Enters the Whiskey Business

18 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Colorado's Coors family has been making beer for five generations, but it's also been supplying many of the state's craft distillers with malted barle...

Happy Hour Live with Rachel McCormack

14 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Chocolate may well be on your mind heading into Easter weekend, and we'll look at how well whiskies pair with artisan chocolates with Scotland-based w...

An Old Elk Learns New Tricks

11 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In all of his years as Master Distiller at MGP, Greg Metze never had to worry about the blending side of making whiskey. Now, at Old Elk, he's added b...

Happy Hour Live with Tara Nurin

07 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Women have had a long - and under-appreciated role in brewing and distilling for generations. Beer and spirits writer Tara Nurin explored that history...

Mastering a New Role

03 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Midleton's Kevin O'Gorman was tapped two years ago to take over for Brian Nation as Master Distiller, and the results of Whisky Magazine's 2022 Icons ...

A New Home for Vintage Whiskies

27 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The market for vintage whiskies is hotter than ever, but there are few retailers that can carry things like pre-Prohibition whiskies. One of the excep...

Happy Hour Live with Becky Paskin, Scott Brunow, & Camper English

23 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our latest Happy Hour Live webcast features OurWhisky.com co-founder Becky Paskin just after she unveiled the Our Whisky Foundation to increase divers...

On the Road at Kentucky's Castle & Key Distillery

21 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This weekend, Kentucky's historic Castle & Key Distillery will release its first Bourbon since the revived distillery opened several years ago. It'll ...

Happy Hour Live with Fred Minnick

16 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Longtime whiskey writer and podcaster Fred Minnick joined us the other night on the Happy Hour Live webcast to talk about everything from Kentucky Bou...

From Midleton to Minnesota

13 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This Thursday will be Brian Nation's first St. Patrick's Day outside of Ireland. The veteran distiller joined O'Shaughnessy Distilling in Minneapolis ...

Happy Hour Live with Shanna Farrell & Susannah Skiver Barton

08 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week, our Happy Hour Live webcast focused on sustainability in the whisky industry. After all, we want to be able to enjoy a dram with our grandc...

An Irish Whiskey Dream...Fulfilled

06 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Daithi O'Connell thought he wanted to own his own distillery, and almost pulled the trigger on building one. He thought better of it at the last minut...

Happy Hour Live with Dr. Don Livermore

02 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. Don Livermore is the master blender at Hiram Walker Distillery in Windsor, Ontario, and the winner of numerous awards for his Canadian whiskies ov...

The Whisky World Returns to Speyside

27 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Tickets for this year's Spirit of Speyside Festival go on sale next Monday (March 7), and festival organizers are hoping for a return to normal after ...

Happy Hour Live with Lance Winters and Dave Smith of St. George Spirits

23 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

St. George Spirits in Alameda, California is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, and is one of the pioneers of the U.S. craft distilling movem...

Scotland's Benromach Distillery Not Standing Still After 124 Years

20 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It's been 24 years since Gordon & MacPhail reopened the historic Benromach Distillery in Forres, Scotland to make a "traditional" style of Speyside si...

Happy Hour Live with Bill Samuels Jr. of Maker's Mark

15 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It's been more than a decade since Bill Samuels, Jr. "retired" as chairman of Maker's Mark and turned the reins over to his son Rob, but the 82-year-o...

The Verdict Is In

14 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It takes guts to put your whisky up against those from around the world in blind tastings and agree to publish the results no matter what, but the ver...

Happy Hour Live with the "Off Track with Hinch & Rossi" Gang

11 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Time for our annual visit with the guys from "Off Track with Hinch & Rossi" podcast for a virtual whiskey tasting session. IndyCar veterans Alexander ...

Happy Hour Live with Company Distilling's Jeff Arnett

09 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Jeff Arnett left Jack Daniel's nearly 18 months ago with a desire to create his own whiskey brand, and that's just what he and his partners have done ...

Lifting Spirits...and Lifting Up a Spirits Business

06 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It's been nearly two years since Uncle Nearest and Jack Daniel's joined forces to create the Nearest and Jack Advancement Initiative with a goal of cr...

Happy Hour Live with Clay Risen & Maggie Kimberl

02 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our live webcast with Clay Risen of the New York Times and Maggie Kimberl of American Whiskey Magazine went all over the place, with everything from w...

Battling Bogus Bourbons & Confronting Counterfeiters

31 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Fakes have been plaguing Scotch Whisky collectors for years, but the rising boom in Bourbon's popularity means more demand than supply -- and that's w...

Happy Hour Live with Dave Worthington and Sam Simmons

26 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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" Sim...

Frey Ranch: Part of a New Crop of Farm Distillers

24 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

There was a time when farm distillers dominated whisky production until the advent of large-scale commercial distilling more than 150 years ago. Now, ...

Happy Hour Live with Billy Abbott and Davin de Kergommeaux

19 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our Friday night #HappyHourLive webcasts are back! This week's show features Billy Abbott, author of the new book "The Philosophy of Whisky," and Cana...

Whisky Lessons from a Century Ago

16 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Uncovering Evidence of Scotland's Whisky History

10 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

10 Years of Brooklyn-Style Rye

03 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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....

Nick Savage: Action Hero or Whisky Maker?

27 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Texas Whisky, Texas Music: Balcones and ZZ Top Join Forces

19 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

There are plenty of collaborations between whisky makers and the entertainment world, from singers and bands to actors who want to make their own whis...

Ian Buxton: "Craft Whisky is Like P*rnography"

14 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 de...

A Million Miles From Laphroaig to Lochlea

07 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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,...

Putting the Bardstown in Bourbon

29 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Bourbon is booming, and perhaps no distiller is riding the waves of the Bourbon boom more aggressively than Bardstown Bourbon Company. Over its first ...

Distilling Heirloom Grains at a Heritage Distillery

19 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The grain used to make many of today's whiskies isn't always picked for its flavor, but that's not the distiller's fault. Blame the commodity grain sy...

Teamwork...In the Pits and the Distillery

11 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Stock car racing got its start when illicit whiskey makers took their souped-up cars to the track after outrunning the police at night, but Tom and Ki...

Climate Change's Impact ON Scotch Whisky

02 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Much has been written, and done, about the impact of Scotch Whisky production on climate change over the last decade. Much less has been written about...

Whiskey from California's Wine Country

27 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Northern California is known for its wines, but distillers have been quietly making excellent whiskies there for many years. Now, Sonoma County's Redw...

An Independent Voice for American Whisky

20 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Independent bottlers buy casks of whisky and sell them under their own labels, and while they're common in Scotland and other parts of the world, inde...

Buffalo, Barrels, & Bourbon: The History of Buffalo Trace

15 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Today's Buffalo Trace Distillery started out 164 years ago when Daniel Swigert started making whiskey on the banks of the Kentucky River. His distille...

Happy Hour Live with Springbank's Findlay Ross and Ranald Watson

08 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Springbank's Findlay Ross and Ranald Watson joined us from Campbeltown, Scotland on the latest Happy Hour Live webcast to answer your whisky questions...

Designing a Bespoke Whisky...for a Bespoke Design

04 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Master Blender Sandy Hyslop usually creates his whiskies and lets someone else worry about the packaging, but for the debut of the Royal Salute Coutur...

Happy Hour Live with Ashley & Colby Frey, Beth Behrs, and Gareth Howells

22 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Colby and Ashley Frey own and operate Frey Ranch Farmers + Distillers, a true "grain to glass" farm distillery in Fallon, Nevada. Not only do they gro...

Is Now the Golden Age for Bourbon?

20 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Bourbon fermenters are bubbling all over the United States because of unprecedented global demand for "America's Native Spirit." September is Bourbon ...

Happy Hour Live at the American Whiskey Convention

15 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Live broadcasting is sort of like walking a tightrope...most of the time, it works. Then, there are those times when one's walking the tightrope while...

Kentucky Bourbon's Next Generation Comes of Age

13 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Distillers like to say they're laying down whiskies for the next generation, but in many cases, it's their next generation who will be bottling those ...

Happy Hour Live with Brent Elliott, Darryl McNally, and Christopher Coates

08 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Four Roses is releasing its 2021 Limited Edition Small Batch Bourbon this month, and Master Distiller Brent Elliott joined us on the latest #HappyHour...

80 Years of Patience Pays Off for Gordon & MacPhail

06 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

On a cold, wintry Scottish day in February of 1940, one of Gordon & MacPhail's Sherry casks was filled with new make spirit at Glenlivet Distillery. T...

Happy Hour Live with Steve Beal, David Blackmore, Ewan Morgan, and Owen Martin

01 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Make sure your battery's charged for this one, since we spent nearly two hours talking the other night with longtime Scotch Whisky and Bourbon ambassd...

10 Years of Whiskies with FEW Regrets

30 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Paul Hletko opened FEW Spirits in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois in 2011 as part of the explosion of small-scale distilleries around the Uni...

Happy Hour Live with the Bourbon Women: Peggy Noe Stevens, Heather Wibbels, and Maggie Kimberl

25 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A New Challenger in Australian Single Malts

23 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

If there's one thing that whisky teaches us, it's patience. Australians Vanessa Wilton and David Whittaker have learned that lesson over the last four...

Happy Hour Live with Brian Nation & Ryan Maybee

18 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Brian Nation is best known for his work as Master Distiller at Ireland's Midleton Distillery, and he shocked Irish whiskey lovers when he stepped down...

Whisky: So Many, Many Questions

16 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Everyone has questions about whisky. Dr. Nick Morgan knows more about whisky than most people, and his second pandemic-era book has just been publishe...

Happy Hour Live with Scott Neil and Nick Ravenhall

11 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Earlier this month, Nick Ravenhall and his brother Alex did something most of us would never dream of trying. They led a small team of swimmers throug...

Giving Bourbon's Official Tree Stately Recognition

09 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

When you drink a glass of whisky, spare a thought for the lonely Quercus Alba. Without the thousands of American White Oak trees harvested every year...

Happy Hour Live with Scotch Whisky Legend Jim McEwan

04 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We're going into the #HappyHourLive webcast archives for this episode! Legendary distiller Jim McEwan joined us last February on the webcast, shortly ...

The Myths and Mysteries of Jack Daniel's

02 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Jack Daniel's is arguably America's most well-known whiskey brand, but there's a lot we don't know about the history of Jack Daniel himself. The truth...

Happy Hour Live with Distillers Bob Baxter & Todd Leopold

28 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Bob Baxter distills the award-winning Two Brewers Canadian single malts with co-founder Alan Hansen at their Yukon Spirits distillery in Whitehorse, Y...

PappyGate Hits the Screen in Netflix's "Heist"

26 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Nearly four years after Toby Curtsinger was released from prison after serving just 30 days of a 15-year sentence, he's telling his side of the "Pappy...

Happy Hour Live with Wes Henderson of Angel's Envy

21 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The reaction to last week's bonus episode with Stephanie Macleod of Dewar's was so positive that we're doing it again this week! Wes Henderson of Ange...

Building a New Whisky Legacy in Dornoch

19 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Scottish town of Dornoch has a lot of history, and the Thompson brothers are adding a new chapter to the town's legacy. Their family owns the hist...

Happy Hour Live with Dewar's Master Blender Stephanie Macleod

13 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

With many people starting to return to the office, we know you may not have as much time to watch our #HappyHourLive webcasts on Fridays. That's why w...

American History...With the Whiskey Stuff Included!

12 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

There are lots of things about American history that never make into the history textbooks. For instance, the Mayflower left for America with three ti...

Ayrshire's Lochlea Distillery Starts to Bloom

05 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Ayrshire farm where Scotland's legendary bard, Robert Burns, once worked the fields has now become intertwined with another Burns legacy: his love...

Drinking: Is It In Our DNA?

28 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Why do we drink, even though we know drinking too much isn't good for us? Is it human nature...perhaps in our DNA? Since there are people with a genet...

Dickel Sings a New Tune...the Bourbon Blues

20 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Is Tennessee Whiskey Bourbon? That argument has divided whisky lovers for years, but Nicole Austin says it is. She's the head distiller and general ma...

Bringing Transparency to Japanese Whisky

14 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Earlier this year, Japan's whisky makers agreed on a voluntary definition for "Japanese Whisky" after decades of quietly blending their own whiskies w...

Back to Basics for Brendan McCarron

07 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Brendan McCarron had a safe, secure job as Dr. Bill Lumsden's hand-picked "heir apparent" on the Glenmorangie and Ardbeg whisky creation team, but he ...

The Empire (Rye) Strikes Back

31 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Before Prohibition, New York was known for its Rye whiskies distilled from locally-grown grain. Decades later, a new generation of New York State craf...

Making Whisky Both Traditional and Sustainable

24 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Distillers depend on the environment for every ingredient that goes into making whisky and are under increasing pressure to reduce the environmental i...

From the Stanley Cup to a Double Gold Distiller

17 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Ed Belfour has won all kinds of awards during his Hall of Fame hockey career, from the Stanley Cup to an Olympic Gold Medal. Last month, one of the Be...

Blockchain comes to the Whisky World

10 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Counterfeit whiskies are becoming more of a problem, but technology might just help provide a solution in the future. Whisky makers are starting to ex...

Is This the World's Oldest Known Whisky?

04 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Skinner's Joe Hyman is used to seeing bottles of pre-Prohibition whiskies, and even some going back to before the Civil War. That's what he thought he...

Is This the World's Oldest Known Whisky?

04 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Barley: Not Just a "Commodity" for Distillers

26 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In our last episode, we looked at how different types of Rye produce different flavors in whisky. While that's relatively new understanding for Rye, i...

Rye is Rye, Right? Not So Fast...

20 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Whisky lovers can probably name at least a few varieties of barley commonly used to make single malts, but rye? Rye doesn't get the same respect for i...

An Anniversary Celebration...One Year Late

12 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Bourbons Bistro had everything ready to go for its 15th anniversary dinner in April...of 2020. Of course, the Covid-19 pandemic forced the Louisville ...

A Sustainable Future for Whisky Distilling

05 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Distillers are always looking to the future. After all, many are laying down casks of whisky for future generations to bottle. Now, more distillers ar...

Live Whisky Events Are Returning...Are We Ready?

29 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Virtually every major whisky event worldwide in the past year has been cancelled, postponed, or gone virtual because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, li...

Is Whisky Art or Science? Roe & Co.'s Lora Hemy Says "Yes"

22 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Distilling is one of the oldest chemical processes we know of, and many people have made great whiskies without formal training in chemistry. That doe...

A More Inclusive Whisky World? Not Quite Yet...

15 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Women make up a growing percentage of whisky industry leaders, from distillers and blenders to spirits company executives. However, a new study from O...

New Zealand's Whisky Boom

08 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It's been a year since we took WhiskyCast to New Zealand for the first time to do the show from Whisky Galore's DramFest in Christchurch just before t...

Silicon Valley's Single Malts

01 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Silicon Valley is the technology center of the world, but Virag Saksena has made the switch from mashing together code to mashing barley. He's a forme...

A Solution to Japan's Whisky Conundrum

22 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Japan's whiskies have been getting more attention on the world stage. While some "Japanese Whiskies" are rightly winning awards in major competitions,...

Another New Distillery for Islay

15 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Scotland's legendary whisky island is getting yet another new distillery. Local officials have approved the plans for the new Elixir Distillers projec...

Ardbeg's Pirate Captain Sails Into the Sunset

08 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Mickey Heads retired recently after 13 years as Ardbeg's distillery manager and four decades of work at distilleries on Islay and Jura. Now, Ardbeg ha...

Asia's Whisky Capital

01 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Hong Kong has become a key center for the world's whisky makers, and we had more evidence of that this week. Gordon & MacPhail's new 72-year-old Glen ...

A Fèis-Less Islay Again in 2021

26 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

For the second straight year, Islay's biggest party of the year has been cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Fèis Ile, the Islay Festival of ...

A Bright Future for The GlenAllachie

18 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It's been a little more than three years since Billy Walker and his partners acquired Scotland's Glenallachie Distillery from Chivas Brothers. What ha...