WhiskyCast
Episodes
Distilling Irish Whiskey History
11 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Irish Whiskey makers once dominated the world with their single pot still whiskies, but the collapse of Ireland's whiskey industry a century ago cl...
New Year, More WhiskyCast!
04 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to a new year, fans of the Water of Life! That's exactly what we'll be talking about on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. "The Water of Life" i...
Ending 2020 On a High Note
28 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
2020 will not be remembered well by many people, but there have been a few bright spots for whisky lovers. One is the arrival of the first official di...
Walking Through 200 Years of Johnnie Walker's History
21 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We have breaking news heading into the holiday week, as it appears the U.S. Congress will make a federal excise tax break for distillers permanent. Th...
Heaven Hill Celebrates 85 Years of Whiskey
14 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
85 years ago today, the five Shapira brothers and their partners opened Heaven Hill Distillery in Bardstown, Kentucky. The Shapira family is still in ...
Auction Houses Bid for Whisky Collectors' Business
07 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
With more people looking at rare whiskies as investments, more of the world's top auction houses are adding spirits experts to their in-house wine tea...
Buying Whisky by the Barrel...or the Bottle
30 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It's never been easier to buy an entire cask of whisky...at least in theory. While more distilleries are offering the opportunity to pick a special ca...
A First for Craft Distilling
23 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Craft distillers dream of not only having their whiskies alongside those of the major global brands, but outselling them. For the Quint family of Iowa...
Ending the Whisky Trade War
16 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
There's a lot of political turmoil these days, and European Union leaders threw gasoline on the fire with this week's decision to impose new import ta...
Blind Faith Leads to Blind Bourbon Tastings
09 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Marianne Eaves had a bright career path in her future as the first female master distiller at a Kentucky Bourbon distiller when she suddenly decided t...
Washington & Whisky
02 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
OK, we're not going talking about politics this week, but whisky has been made in and around Washington, DC for 400 years, including a distillery owne...
Old Forester Bourbon Celebrates 150 Years
26 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Very few Bourbon brands can claim much of a pre-Prohibition heritage, but Brown-Forman's Old Forester can. George Garvin Brown created Old Forester in...
20 Years As a Whisky Maverick
19 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
John Glaser and his team at Compass Box Whisky Company are celebrating their 20th anniversary this year. While Glaser has had his disagreements with t...
The English Whisky Scene
12 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
England's modern whisky scene only goes back to 2006, when the English Whisky Company started distilling at St. George's Distillery in Norfolk. Since ...
Whisky's Need for Diversity and Inclusion
05 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Whisky is a universal drink, a pleasure that can be shared by all regardless of gender, color, national origin, disability, age (as long as one is leg...
Uncovering Whisky's Past with the "Bourbon Archaeologist"
28 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
There are literally hundreds of old distillery sites around the eastern half of the United States dating back to the early colonial days. While their ...
Unique Whisky…From An Even More Unique Distillery
21 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Every distillery is unique, but there's one in Australia that could redefine your concept of "unique." Belgrove Distillery is on Peter Bignell's farm ...
Yeast's Impact on Whisky
14 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Yeast is one of the three main ingredients in whisky, along with grain and water. While we understand what grain and water contribute to the taste of ...
Laws That Might Make You Want a Drink
07 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Whisky and other alcoholic beverages are some of the most regulated consumer products in the world, and let's be honest...not all of those laws and re...
Whisky and White Oak: A Match Made in Heaven
31 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
There are hundreds, if not thousands of species of trees around the world. Why is White Oak - whether from America or Europe, the preferred wood to us...
Ireland's Slane Distillery Coming of Age
24 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It's been almost three years since Brown-Forman and the Conyngham family fired up the stills at Slane Distillery on the family's Slane Castle estate n...
200 Years, 6 Master Blenders
16 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Johnnie Walker is celebrating its 200th anniversary in 2020, and in all that time, there have been only six master blenders. Jim Beveridge is the late...
Pandemic Leaves Whisky Festivals in Critical Condition
09 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week saw upcoming whisky events in the U.S., England, Ireland, Canada, and Australia either postponed or cancelled outright as the number of Covi...
A Whiskey Passion Project & A Story for the Ages
03 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
There's something about whisky that brings out the passion in many people. For David Jennings, his passion for Wild Turkey led him to start a blog and...
Betting on Horses and Bourbon Pinhook-Style
27 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Among horse racing enthusiasts, "pinhooking" is the name for investing in a young horse based solely on its pedigree and potential for success, then c...
Scotch Whisky Puts Out the Welcome Mat...Slowly
20 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Tourism has become a major part of the Scotch Whisky industry, with two million people visiting distilleries in both 2018 and 2019. 2020, the "Year of...
A Bonny Wee Distillery in Edinburgh
13 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Edinburgh's newest malt whisky distillery opened with a bang - or perhaps, a cough. That's because the Bonnington Distillery had barely filled its fir...
Opening Pubs in a Pandemic...or Not
06 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Bars and pubs have reopened in some areas after lockdowns to prevent the spread of Covid-19, only to be closed again when the number of cases spikes a...
Jim Beam's Fred Noe: Stuck at Home and Planning a Farewell Tour
29 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Fred Noe became Jim Beam's seventh master distiller in 2007 when his father, the legendary Booker Noe, retired. 13 years later, he's getting closer to...
Rising From the Ashes: Du Nord & Minneapolis
22 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It would have been easy for Chris and Shanelle Montana to close Du Nord Craft Spirits after arsonists set fire to the distillery's warehouse during ri...
Calls for Change & Diversity in the Whisky Community
15 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Recent protests over racism and police brutality against African-Americans have led to greater calls for diversity throughout American society, and th...
Malting Barley for Future Generations of Whisky Lovers
08 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we'll wrap up our two-part tour of Gladfield Malt in New Zealand, where Gabi and Doug Mitchell have turned the family's barley farm into on...
Making the Malt that Makes the Whisky
01 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Malted barley is critical to the making of many whiskies around the world, and this week, we'll take you inside the malting process with a visit to Ne...
Opening the Distillery Doors Slowly
25 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As governments start to relax lockdown restrictions in the fight against the Covid-19 virus, some distilleries are slowly starting to welcome the publ...
Whisky Bars in a Post-Pandemic World
18 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As parts of the world begin to reopen following lockdowns to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus, bars are likely to be among the last busi...
Creating a Sustainable Future for Whisky
11 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
While world leaders have rightly been focused on the Covid-19 pandemic, the issue of climate change has its own long-term impact on the whisky communi...
WhistlePig's Great Beer Rescue of 2020
04 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Whisky is what beer dreams of being when it grows up, but the Covid-19 pandemic has left craft brewers with tens of thousands of gallons of beer and n...
The Whisky World Copes With Covid-19's Impact
27 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
With tens of thousands of bar and restaurant workers around the world laid off because of mandatory bar and restaurant closings due to the Covid-19 pa...
Japanese Whisky's Legal Loophole
20 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The demand for Japanese whiskies has far outpaced the supply over the last five years, and entrepreneurs are taking advantage of a loophole in Japanes...
Tasting Bourbons with the "Off Track" Team of Hinchcliffe, Rossi, & Durham
18 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This is another in our series of special episodes during the coronavirus pandemic to help bring whisky lovers together while staying home, and comes f...
95 Proof Whiskey...N95 Masks...Uncle Nearest Has Them Both!
13 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
While we're all raising our glasses to honor the health care workers, first responders, and other essential workers risking their lives during the COV...
A Spanish Cooper Answers the Demand for Sherry Casks
06 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Spain's tonelerias supply the Sherry-seasoned casks that help give some whiskies their unique character, but those casks are increasingly in demand by...
Exploring Whisky Through Science
30 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
There's still a lot left to discover about whisky, even though the "water of life" has been around for centuries. Scientists are still unlocking the m...
Coronavirus Hits the Whisky Industry
23 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The global COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic took full hold on the whisky industry this week, as governments not only shut down bars and limited restauran...
The Past & Future of Whisky
19 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Since so many people are working from home, "self-isolating" or more because of the coronavirus crisis, we've decided to produce some extra content to...
Irish Whiskey's Modern-Day Maverick
16 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Louise McGuane wants to revive a key part of Irish Whiskey's past, but she keeps wrestling with its present-day form in a bid to change the future of ...
On the Road at DramFest 2020 in Christchurch, New Zealand
08 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we're on location at Whisky Galore's DramFest 2020 in Christchurch, New Zealand! They've been making whisky in New Zealand since the first ...
Ice(land) and Whisky Go Together
29 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
If you just needed a whisky-related reason to visit Iceland, we have one for you on this week's episode. Eimverk Distillery grew out of the dreams of ...
A New Career, But Carrying On the Family Legacy
24 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
There's an old saying that "sometimes, you choose the whisky business...and sometimes, it chooses you." That could be said for Victoria Eady-Butler, w...
Una's Story
17 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week on WhiskyCast, we're sharing a special story of strength. Not the kind of strength one can build in the gym, but the inner strength that com...
Scotch Whisky's Future in the Climate Crisis
10 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
World leaders will be in Glasgow later this year for the United Nations COP26 Climate Change Conference, and Scotch Whisky industry leaders plan to be...
Whisky Tariffs Cause Problems on Both Sides of the Atlantic
03 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The whisky industry has become collateral damage in the ongoing trade dispute between the U.S. and the European Union, with tit-for-tat trade tariffs ...
"The Amber Light" Brings Scotch Whisky to the Big Screen
27 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Is making whisky an art or a science? In "The Amber Light," filmmaker Adam Park makes the argument that Scotch Whisky is an art as important to Scotti...
On the Road at the 2020 Victoria Whisky Festival
20 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we're in Victoria, British Columbia for one of the world's best whisky festivals, the 15th annual Victoria Whisky Festival! This year's eve...
Climate Change's Impact on Whisky & Farmers
12 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Over the course of this year, we'll be looking at the many ways climate change could affect whisky makers - and whisky lovers. Since whisky always sta...
A Whisky Still Knows No Gender
06 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The last decade was one of progress for women in the whisky industry, with more women than ever working as distillers and blenders. The real change is...
The Godfather of Australian Whisky
29 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
There was no Australian Whisky industry to speak of in 1992 when Bill Lark persuaded the government to give him a license to distill whisky in Hobart,...
Finding a Home in the World of Whisky
23 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Dhavall Gandhi could have been a highly sought after mergers and acquisitions expert, but he set that potentially lucrative career aside to pursue his...
An Edinburgh Distillery's Canadian Connection
16 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Holyrood Distillery became Edinburgh's first malt whisky distillery in nearly a century when it fired up the stills for the first time last September,...
Winner, Winner...Whiskey Dinner!
09 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Nicole Austin can be excused for walking on Cloud 9 the other night at Whisky Advocate's WhiskyFest in New York City. The George Dickel master distill...
Designing Distilleries for Scotch Whisky's Next Century
02 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
There's an old saying that "form follows function." It's the idea that a building's design should fit its intended purpose, and over the years, that's...
The Queen of Canadian Whisky
24 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we're in Fredericton, New Brunswick for the 24th annual New Brunswick Spirits Festival! We'll talk with one of the leading lights in Canadi...
A Throwback to the Early Days of Scotch Whisky
18 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Scotch whisky history was built on the backs of farmers who worked their fields three seasons of the year and spent the winters turning their grain in...
India's Single Malt Whisky Pioneers...15 Years Later!
11 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
15 years ago, two Indian entrepreneurs took a few bottles of their single malt whisky to Glasgow, just to see if it would stand up to blind tasting...
Terroir in Whisky: Terrific Concept or Terrible Myth?
03 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Want to start an argument among whisky lovers? Just ask whether there's "terroir" in whisky. Terroir is the French term for a "sense of place" where t...
Irish Whiskey...With an Oregon Accent!
27 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Alex Chasko isn't your typical Irish Whiskey master distiller and blender. For one, he isn't Irish. He grew up in Portland, Oregon and found his way t...
Tariffs Leading to U.S. Whisky Price Increases
21 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
There's a lot of uncertainty for U.S. whisky lovers after the Trump Administration's new 25% tariff on imports of single malt whiskies from Scotland a...
A Nest Full of New Redbreasts
14 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The United States is the largest market for Irish Whiskey worldwide, but until now, one of Ireland's legendary whiskeys had never released a special e...
Tariffs, Tide Pods, and a Bootlegger's Troubled Life
07 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
George Remus could never have conceived of the idea of edible "whisky capsules," but if he had, the "King of the Bootleggers" would have figured out a...
Whisky As a Political Football
29 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Whisky has been a part of politics since the monks were working their stills in medieval times, helping opposing sides bridge their differences over a...
Whisky As a Political Football
29 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Whisky has been a part of politics since the monks were working their stills in medieval times, helping opposing sides bridge their differences over a...
A New Job...and a New Way to Spell "Whiskey"
23 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Graham Coull grew up in Speyside spelling "whisky" without the "e" - as any proper Scot would. It didn't help him get his first job in the Scotch Whis...
From Hockey's Hall of Fame to a Whiskey Rookie
16 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Ed Belfour has every honor a hockey player could dream of, including a Stanley Cup, an Olympic gold medal, and the ultimate: being named to the Hockey...
Changes Coming to the Kentucky Bourbon Festival
09 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The Kentucky Bourbon Festival gets underway next week in Bardstown, and while the annual event still draws whiskey lovers from all over the U.S. and t...
Australian Whiskies and the "Roo Flu" (WhiskyCast Episode 782: September 1, 2019
02 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We're back after spending eight days in Australia and a week in bed fighting the "Roo Flu" virus, and there's a lot to talk about! One of the biggest ...
Whiskies From a Land Down Under (WhiskyCast Episode 781: August 19, 2019)
21 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
This time around, we're in Australia as Tasmania's distillers wrap up the third annual Tasmanian Whisky Week. It's been 27 years since the first legal...
The Back Stories Behind Picking Private Barrels (WhiskyCast Episode 780: August 11, 2019)
12 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
"Private Selection" bottlings are the rage today, and it almost seems like an arms race as bars and retailers try to outdo each other with their exclu...
The Uncle Nearest Story: A Timeless Lesson for Modern Times (WhiskyCast Episode 779: August 4, 2019)
04 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
If the story of Nathan "Nearest" Green and Jack Daniel was made into a movie, critics might describe it as "a feel-good story for the ages" or "a stor...
Distillers on the Hill (WhiskyCast Episode 778: July 28, 2019)
29 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
It takes a lot to drag distillers away from their stills, but when the stakes are as high as the current debate over extending a federal excise tax cu...
Whisky's Man in the Middle (WhiskyCast Episode 777: July 21, 2019)
22 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Raj Sabharwal doesn't make whiskies, but his role is critical in making sure you get to drink them. He's one of the band of independent importers - th...
Maker's Mark: Bucking Trends for 60 Years (WhiskyCast Episode 776: July 14, 2019)
15 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
60 years ago, Bill and Marge Samuels dipped the first bottles of Maker's Mark Bourbon in Loretto, Kentucky. They left the "e" out of "whisky" and ship...
Whiskey's High Wire Act (WhiskyCast Episode 775: July 7, 2019)
08 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The husband and wife team of Scott Blackwell and Ann Marshall opened High Wire Distilling six years ago in Charleston, South Carolina to make whiskey,...
Ten Years with Wyoming Whiskey (WhiskyCast Episode 774: June 30, 2019)
01 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Wyoming Whiskey is celebrating an anniversary this week. Ten years ago on July 4, 2009, they ran the still for the first time at the Mead family's ran...
New Distillery, Familiar Faces (WhiskyCast Episode 773: June 23, 2019)
24 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
If you're starting a new distillery from scratch, it helps to find some veteran whisky makers to join you on the journey. That's just what Ardgowan Di...
Pernod Ricard Hops Back Into Kentucky Bourbon (WhiskyCast Episode 772: June 16, 2019)
17 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Ten years after Pernod Ricard left Kentucky with the sale of Wild Turkey to Gruppo Campari, the world's #2 spirits company is back in the Bluegrass St...
Blackened Whiskey Begins the Next Chapter (WhiskyCast Episode 771: June 9, 2019)
10 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Rock bands often sound differently after they replace a member, and the members of Metallica considered Master Distiller Dave Pickerell to be part of ...
Reviving One of Islay's Legendary Distilleries (WhiskyCast Episode 770: June 2, 2019)
03 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Construction could begin later this year on Diageo's planned revival of the legendary Port Ellen Distillery on Islay, which was closed in 1983. Only t...
The Future of Whisky? (WhiskyCast Episode 769: May 26, 2019)
27 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
This week's episode is certain to arouse the ire of whisky purists. We're looking at Glyph, a "molecular whiskey" that's engineered in a lab instead o...
Dingle Whiskey: Oliver's Dream Realized (Episode 768: May 19, 2019)
20 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Oliver Hughes and his partners in Ireland's Porterhouse Group opened Dingle Distillery in late 2012, just as the Irish craft distilling boom was begin...
WhistlePig Rye: Moving On Without the Master (Episode 767: May 12, 2019)
12 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Of all the craft distilleries Dave Pickerell worked with before his sudden death last November, none was more identified with him than Vermont's Whist...
Poking the Bourbon Bear (Episode 766: May 5, 2019)
06 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Let's face it. When you think of American Whiskey, Bourbon is probably top of mind. After all, Congress declared it "America's Native Spirit" 55 years...
A New Generation at Michter's (Episode 765: April 28, 2019)
29 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Pam Heilmann's been making Bourbon for her entire career, but it was only in the last three years that she had the title of Master Distiller after she...
Knockin' Around with Knockdhu's Gordon Bruce (Episode 764: April 21, 2019)
22 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The farming village of Knockdhu has 29 residents, 17 dogs, a bunch of sheep and cattle...and one distillery. Gordon Bruce has called Knockdhu home sin...
Good Friends and a Dram of Whisky! (Episode 763: April 14, 2019)
14 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Lew Bryson and Martin Duffy take their whisky seriously...but not much else! When they joined us at the recent American Whiskey Convention in Philadel...
Writing a New Chapter in Whisky History (Episode 762: April 7, 2019)
07 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Lindores Abbey has a unique place in whisky history, thanks to Friar John Cor and the aqua vitae he distilled for the King in 1494. Gary Haggart has ...
A New Tune for Dewar's (Episode 761: March 31, 2019)
31 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Blending whiskies is both an art and a science, and Dewar's could fairly be accused of focusing more on the science side in recent years with solid, i...
The Wonderful World of Whisky (Episode 760: March 24, 2019)
24 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we're on location at the Wonderful World of Whisky Show in Cornwall, Ontario with everything from great whiskies and good friends to a guy ...
Irish Whiskey on the Comeback Trail (Episode 759: March 17, 2019)
18 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Irish Whiskey's resurgence is only now beginning to make up for decades of obscurity over the last century, but with 23 active distilleries in Ireland...
Whisky Knows No Gender...Why Don't Some Men Get That? (Episode 758: March 10, 2019)
10 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Women are making whiskies, running whisky companies, and teaching people how to enjoy whiskies all over the world. So...why do many men still treat wo...
Living the Whiskey Life in Cascade Hollow (Episode 757: March 3, 2019)
04 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Nicole Austin made her mark on the American craft distilling movement at Brooklyn's Kings County Distillery, then spent some time in Ireland working o...