WhiskyCast

Today marks International Women's Day, and it's just a happy coincidence that we have two women who make great whiskies on this week's show. Dr. Emma Walker is the master blender for Johnnie Walker, while Angela D'Orazio is the Creative Director of Whiskymaking for Compass Box. Both have new whiskies out, and we'll hear from both of them on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Sazerac is looking at expanding in Kentucky wi...

Kentucky Artisan Distillery was one of the state's first distilleries to specialize in contract distilling for clients when it opened in 2012. Over the years, it's been laying down whiskies for its own brand as well, and has now released two Bourbons in its Artisan Series: a high-rye Bourbon and a four-grain Bourbon. We'll talk with master distiller Jade Peterson about the new whiskies and his own creation, Trackside Bourbon, which...

Fred Minnick's latest book "Bottom Shelf: How a Forgotten Brand of Bourbon Saved One Man's Life" is part memoir, part Bourbon history all wrapped up in a single narrative. The former Army photographer once tried to take his own life, but ended up becoming obsessed with the history of Old Crow Bourbon — an obsession that lasted nearly 20 years until he found out the truth about his favorite Bourbon of all time. We'll talk with Fred ...

The Scotch Whisky Association released new export data this week showing a second straight year of global sales declines, with a softening economy and tariffs getting much of the blame. We'll go through the numbers with SWA chief executive Mark Kent on WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, another new report this week says one in five Scotch Whisky distilleries is in financial distress. Crown Royal avoids a boycott in Ontario, and ther...

A critical court hearing is set for Monday in the Uncle Nearest receivership case in Tennessee. Founder Fawn Weaver wants to terminate the receivership and take back control of the company, while the receiver says Uncle Nearest is insolvent and putting it back in Weaver's hands will lead to foreclosure on $108 million in loans. We'll get the latest on the case from Janet Patton, who covers the whiskey industry for the Lexington Her...

Starward Whisky founder David Vitale stepped back from the Australian whisky maker's day-to-day operations several years ago, but after Diageo's Distill Ventures incubator unit pulled its support for Starward and other distillers last year, Vitale was faced with a dilemma. With his board wanting to seek a buyer for Starward, Vitale decided he was the best potential buyer for the business. Vitale has now bought out Diageo and his fo...

Drew Mayville has been Buffalo Trace's master blender for the last 21 years, overseeing legendary whiskies like George T. Stagg, Sazerac Rye, and the Van Winkle whiskies. He started his career at Seagram's in his native Canada, where he spent 23 years learning the blending business from the ground up. Drew Mayville joins us on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, another government shutdown is looming, and the whisky indus...

This week, we're on location at the Victoria Whisky Festival in Victoria, British Columbia, where it was unofficially Bill Ashburn Weekend. The retired Forty Creek master blender was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Canadian Whisky Awards and guest of honor at a reception on Friday. We'll talk with Bill on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth, and have complete coverage of the Canadian Whisky Awards. In the news, Preside...

Maverick whiskey maker Chip Tate is back after a sabbatical following his acrimonious departure from Balcones Distilling. Now the master distiller for innovation with Foley Family Wines & Spirits, Tate has quietly been working on his first new whiskies in nearly 11 years under the company's Ampersand Spirits label. Dubbed Malus, Vinea, and Opimus, each one is a unique blend that challenges whiskey lovers with new flavors, and they ...

Leaking barrels have been a problem for whisky makers going back generations, and just finding the bad barrels is the biggest part of the problem. Now, a test project involving Royal Barkla, a Boston Robotics robot dog equipped with an ethanol sensor, is underway at the John Dewar & Sons Poniel maturation campus near Glasgow. The robotic dog alerts its human operators when it discovers a leaking barrel, and so far, the test has bee...

Single Estate whiskies are made from grain grown at or close to a distillery, and there's a new coalition of distillers joined by the University of Kentucky to promote so-called "estate whiskies." The Estate Whiskey Alliance is made up of farm distilleries all the way up to Maker's Mark, which is growing all of the grain for its Star Hill Farm whiskies on-site. We'll talk with leaders of the Alliance on this week's WhiskyCast In-De...

This week, we'll mark the passing of longtime Glenlivet master distiller Jim Cryle, who ran the Speyside distillery from 1991 until his retirement in 2006. We'll listen to an interview with Jim recorded shortly after his retirement, in which he talks about his history in the business, what makes a good single malt whisky, and his choice for that "last dram." In the news, more Scottish distilleries are pausing production because of ...

The latest collection of American Single Malts from Lost Lantern Whiskey is dubbed the "Scotch Lover's Collection," not because there are any inferred links to Scotland, but because Lost Lantern founders Nora Ganley-Roper and Adam Polonski crafted them to appeal to a Scotch lover's palate. We'll talk with Nora and Adam on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Brown-Forman reports a 14% decline in quarterly profits, while Bo...

Mitch Bechard is a longtime Scotch Whisky brand ambassador, with years of service at Diageo and Glenfiddich. Now, he's written a rollicking memoir of his tales from the road, along with more serious takes on the improving role of women in whisky and the growth of world whiskies. Mitch joins us on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, we'll have the latest on the Uncle Nearest receivership saga and Bruichladdich's Black Art ...

With no signs of an end to the U.S.-Canadian trade war in sight, the widespread boycott of American whiskies in Canada had an impact on this week's New Brunswick Spirits Festival. No American whiskies on the stands, and no Bourbon master classes. We'll talk with festival organizers and attendees about the impact of the boycott on this week's episode. In the news, Diageo has paused production at its massive Roseisle Maltings in Scot...

This week, we're celebrating the 20th anniversary of the very first WhiskyCast episode in 2005. We'll hear from some longtime listeners, and chat with Tamdhu distillery manager Sandy McIntyre on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. Tamdhu recently released a 21-year-old single malt as part of its core range, and we'll taste it with Sandy and share tasting notes in the What I'm Tasting This Week Department. In the news, Diageo has a new...

13 Danish distillers have laid the groundwork for what they hope will eventually be geographical indicator status for Danish whisky. They started with a manifesto defining Danish whisky — including a requirement that Danish grains be used and mandatory disclosure if imported grain is used. We'll talk with one of the Manifesto's architects, Mosgaard Distillery master distiller Kim Moller-Elshøj, on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. I...