Decades Distilled // A History of Whisky
Bourbon, Scotch, Rye, Japanese, Irish. The history of whisky runs deep. On Decades Distilled, join authors and educators Sarah Jeltema, aka the WhiskyNomad, and Kurt Maitland as they explore the years and cultural moments that helped shape its path. This journey will take us around the world and back again as we roam from Scotland to the United States, Japan and beyond. New episodes each Wednesday!
Episodes
Single malts rise. Bourbon rebounds. Rye disappears, and then roars back. Japan prepares its quiet takeover. Ireland and Canada fight uphill battles. Bartenders rediscover technique. Writers give whiskey a new language.
In our season finale, Sarah and Kurt unpack how the chaos of the 1990s laid the groundwork for everything we drink today. The decade didn’t just change what was in the bottle....it changed who told the st...
Cocktails in the 1990's were messy. Neon cocktails. Sour mix. Vodka everything. Appletinis in up glasses pretending to be martinis. But then, that chaos gave birth to the modern craft cocktail movement.
This week, join Kurt and Sarah as they dive into the quiet moment when bartenders quietly started caring again. Fresh citrus came back. Forgotten recipes resurfaced. Rye whiskey clawed its way into relevance. And was ...
In the 1990s, Canadian whisky had everything. Global dominance, legendary brands, and decades of loyalty. And then… it stalled.
This week, Sarah and Kurt explore the Canadian paradox, of how brands like Seagrams, which had been an iconic brand in the industry lost the momentum in the 1990's.
Pour a dram and join us as we unpack one of whisky history’s most fascinating “what if” moments.
Continuing our deep dive into the 1990s, Kurt and Sarah return to Japan, where the economy collapsed, nightlife slowed, and whiskey sales fell… hard.
Instead of cutting corners, Japanese distilleries doubled down on quality. They refined techniques, experimented with casks, and quietly defined what Japanese whiskey should taste like. From Yamazaki and Hibiki to Nikka’s survival story, this episode explores how a decade of...
As part of our deep dive into the ’90s, this week, Sarah and Kurt explores how Irish whiskey went from a one-flavor, one-company category to something far more interesting. We talk smooth blends, smoky curveballs, revived distilleries, and the unlikely balance between a global powerhouse (hello, Jameson) and a rebellious challenger that changed everything.
If the ’90s were about breaking rules and finding your identity, I...
Once the backbone of American whiskey, rye all but disappeared from bars and back shelves for decades. Then, quietly—and then suddenly—it came roaring back.
On this episode of Decades Distilled, Kurt and Sarah dive into the surprising rise of rye whiskey in America, tracing its journey from pre-Prohibition staple to near extinction, and back again as a favorite of bartenders, collectors, and modern whiskey drinkers.
They u...
This week on Decades Distilled, Kurt and Sarah welcome Chris Perugini, a longtime bourbon writer and contributor to Forbes, for a spirited look back at the decade that changed bourbon forever — the 1990s.
Together, they revisit a time when bourbon was nearly written off, only to make a surprising comeback fueled by shifting tastes, smart brand moves, and a renewed love for American whiskey. From dusty bottles and early co...
In the 1990s, Scotch whisky didn’t just change flavors—it changed hands.
For this week's episode, Kurt and Sarah dive into the business side of Scotch’s comeback, from the rise of Diageo to the releases that shaped modern whisky culture. We unpack how the Classic Malts taught a generation how to drink Scotch, how the Rare Malts turned forgotten distilleries into legends, and why closures like Rosebank still stir stro...
This week, Sarah and Kurt explore the 1990s—the decade when whiskey quietly shifted from something you drank into something you collected. As independent bottlers like Gordon & MacPhail, Signatory, and Douglas Laing released transparent, single-cask malts from obscure and closed distilleries, scarcity and storytelling took center stage. From dusty bar finds to bottles now worth thousands, this episode reveals how the...
Before Michael Jackson (yes, that Michael Jackson—but a different one), whiskey was described with words like smooth, strong, or fine. Then he came along and changed everything. Thanks to him, we now talk about whiskey the way we do wine, using terms like honeyed, leathery, coastal, peaty, and Sherry-rich, and debating whether something leans more Islay than Speyside.
This week, Sarah and Kurt dive into how Jackson create...
In this week's episode, Sarah and Kurt crack open the decade when whiskey stopped being just a drink...and became a culture. The 1990s introduced tasting magazines, global whiskey festivals, independent bottlers, rare malts, and the rise of an entirely new species: the whiskey nerd.
From the groundbreaking launch of Malt Advocate in 1990 to the glossy international flair of Whisky Magazine, we trace how whiskey final...
Sarah and Kurt keep the ’90s momentum rolling in this second episode of the season. After opening the decade’s story last week, they turn their attention to the moment single malts truly hit their stride. This time, they dig into how Scotch stepped beyond blends, with Glenfiddich, Glenlivet, Macallan, and Glenmorangie leading the charge. From smarter storytelling to bottles that finally demanded space on the shelf, Sarah...
Tune in as Kurt and Sarah kick off season four of Decades Distilled and dive into what’s happening in the world outside of whiskey. From the end of the Cold War and the rise of globalization to pop-culture shifts and new consumer habits, they’ll walk you through how it all made the 1990s such a pivotal decade for whiskey.
We are wrapping up season three of Decades Distilled! Tune in as Kurt and Sarah raise one last glass to the 1970s, a decade that quietly but powerfully transformed the whiskey world. From distillery closures and market crashes to the rise of single malts and the seeds of today’s global whiskey boom, the ‘70s proved that change isn’t optional, it’s inevitable.
The duo reflect on the stories, trends, and turning points tha...
As we close out Season Three of Decades Distilled, Kurt and Sarah step behind the scenes of the whiskey world in the 1970s—a decade defined not by taste trends but by seismic shifts in business and technology. Corporate shakeups, industry consolidations, and major advances in production reshaped the landscape of whiskey, setting the stage for the modern era. Tune in as we explore how the machinery of big business and bol...
Irish whiskey entered the 1970s as a spirit with a proud legacy, once the global standard for quality. Yet this decade marked one of its darkest chapters—distilleries closed, the home market shrank, and the industry teetered on the brink of collapse. And still, Irish whiskey endured. In this episode, Kurt and Sarah explore how the pivotal decisions of the 1970s not only kept the tradition alive but also set the stage for...
The 1970’s were a time when bourbon faced one of its most uncertain chapters. Once the backbone of American spirits, bourbon found itself losing favor as vodka and clear spirits dominated the cultural moment. Tune in as Kurt and Sarah explore how economic shifts, changing consumer tastes, and a decline in domestic demand nearly brought the industry to its knees. But even in the downturn, seeds of revival were planted.
In this episode of Decades Distilled, Kurt and Sarh rewind to 1976 and the legendary Judgment of Paris, a moment that forever changed the wine world. But what about whiskey? While California wines stole the spotlight, the ripple effects of this event traveled far beyond the vineyards. We explore how the Judgment of Paris sparked a global rethinking of taste, terroir, and tradition—fueling a renaissance in whiskey making,...
This week we journey North to our neighbor, Canada, and learn about the history of their version of rye whiskey. Kurt and Sarah take you on the journey of how the smoothness of Canadian whiskey, including Crown Royal, took hold in the United States.
The 1970s were a decade of high highs and sobering lows for Scotch whisky. In this episode Kurt and Sarah unpack the boom of scotch in Italy, specifically the rise of Glen Grant thanks to the importer Armando Giovinetti. They also return to the story of DCL, Distillers Company Limited, as they begin to lose their large footprint across Europe.
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