WhiskyCast
Food
Each week's episode features the latest whisky news, a calendar of upcoming events, and interviews with whisky experts. For more information, links, and a complete archive of past episodes, visit www.whiskycast.com.
Location:
Haddonfield, NJ
Description:
Each week's episode features the latest whisky news, a calendar of upcoming events, and interviews with whisky experts. For more information, links, and a complete archive of past episodes, visit www.whiskycast.com.
Twitter:
@whiskycast
Language:
English
Website:
http://www.whiskycast.com
Email:
mark@whiskycast.com
Episodes
True Story: Wes Henderson's Next Chapter
10/6/2024
Wes Henderson retired recently from Angel’s Envy, the whiskey brand he and his father, the late Lincoln Henderson created. Retirement didn’t suit Wes well, though, and he’s back in the Bourbon business with True Story’s finished Bourbon and Rye whiskies. He’s also building a $92 million distillery in Versailles, Kentucky and upgrading the nearby Kentucky Castle boutique hotel and event space to make it more Bourbon-focused. We’ll talk with the busy Wes Henderson on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, a port strike on the U.S. East Coast is over, clearing the way for shipments of whisky from Europe. We’ll also have the trophy winners from this year’s International Wine & Spirits Competition.
Duration:00:33:01
The World's Most Remote Distillery?
9/29/2024
Few places are as remote as the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic, and that makes the Faer Isles Distillery the world’s most remote distillery. A group of friends founded the distillery several years ago, and have persuaded more than a thousand shareholders to join them via two crowdfunding campaigns. The first Faer Isles whisky is set for release in late 2026, and co-founder Danial Hoydal gives us a preview on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, a coming port strike on the U.S. East Coast could play havoc with whisky shipments for the holidays, and in our Behind the Label segment, we’ll go behind the creation of The Storyman whisky with actor James Cosmo.
Duration:00:35:44
Caitlin Bartlemay: Craft Distilling's Future
9/23/2024
Caitlin Bartlemay of Oregon’s Hood River Distillers is one of the up-and-coming craft distillers on the American whiskey scene. She makes the whiskey widely regarded as America’s first single malt whiskey, McCarthy’s, and joins us this week on WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Edrington offloads The Famous Grouse, Campari takes a minority stake in three Scottish distilleries, and a new report highlights the problems craft distillers face in the current economic climate.
Duration:00:38:57
Sukhinder Singh's World View
9/16/2024
Few people know the whisky industry as well as Sukhinder Singh. He’s a renowned collector of rare whiskies, founded The Whisky Exchange with his brother Rajbir, and is now building a distillery on Islay. We’ll talk with Sukhinder about the coming whisky loch, progress on his new Portintruan distillery, and much more on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Scotch whisky exports fell significantly during the first half of 2024. William Grant & Sons plans a major expansion at its Girvan complex in Ayrshire, and Pernod Ricard’s new North American Distillers unit plans to build a hub around its Rabbit Hole distillery in Louisville.
Duration:00:37:13
On the Road at The Whisky Show in London
9/9/2024
This week, we’re on the road at The Whisky Exchange’s Whisky Show in London. We’ll have highlights from the weekend, including an interview with Dave Broom on his latest book, the third edition of the World Atlas of Whisky.
Duration:00:36:13
Crunch Time for Craft Distillers
9/1/2024
U.S. craft distillers are facing a crisis, with an average of one distillery shutting down each week over the past year. Inflation and cutbacks in consumer spending get part of the blame, but there’s also a distribution crisis. Just three companies control the route to market for many craft distillers, and their focus is on high-volume brands as opposed to the low-volume craft distillers. Margie Lehrman of the American Craft Spirits Association is one of the leading advocates for “direct to consumer shipping,” which would allow distilleries to ship their whiskies directly to consumers. The option is only available in 10 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, and wholesalers have vehemently opposed any attempts to expand that number. We’ll talk with Margie Lehrman on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, economic headwinds cut into sales for both Pernod Ricard and Brown-Forman, while Angel’s Envy co-founder Wes Henderson plans to build a $93 million dollar distillery in Kentucky.
Duration:00:40:52
The 30 Days of Bourbon Challenge
8/25/2024
September is National Bourbon Heritage Month, and the folks at Bourbon & Banter have a unique challenge every September. They want Bourbon lovers to taste a different Bourbon each day during the month. If that sounds daunting, Bourbon & Banter founder Pops Garrett says it can be fun, too. We’ll talk with Pops Garrett about the Challenge on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Sweden’s Mackmyra Distillery has filed for bankruptcy, and we’ll get your views on whether this is a sign of things to come for the whisky industry.
Duration:00:34:52
Woodinville Whiskey Marks 15 Years
8/18/2024
Washington’s Woodinville Whiskey is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, and hundreds of people lined up this weekend to get first crack at the distillery’s latest release, an 8-year-old Bourbon that’s the oldest Woodinville release yet. We’ll talk with co-founder Orlin Sorenson on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, a proposed alcohol tax increase in Nebraska has been voted down, while the Justice Department is appealing a Texas judge’s ruling that a ban on home distilling is unconstitutional.
Duration:00:33:50
The Revival of Brora
8/11/2024
Diageo’s Brora Distillery in the Scottish Highlands celebrated the third anniversary of its revival this summer, and is now pouring new Brora single malt whisky on its tours. The venerable distillery underwent four years of restoration work before reopening in 2011, and its whiskies from the days before 1983 when the distillery closed are becoming harder to find. We’ll talk with Brora’s Andrew Flatt on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, taxes on alcohol are going up around the world, while one of the world’s leading online whisky shops is back in the U.S. business again following its sale.
Duration:00:32:24
Dear TTB: What's Taking So Long?
8/4/2024
Two years ago, the Treasury Department’s Tax & Trade Bureau opened the bureaucratic process for issuing an official definition of American Single Malt Whisky. After a brief public comment period, the agency has yet to act on the proposal, and that has distillers of American Single Malts frustrated with the lack of action. We’ll talk with Steve Hawley, executive director of the American Single Malt Whiskey Commission, about a new campaign to put pressure on the TTB to act. In the news, Diageo reports a sales decline for its fiscal year, while Campari beat analyst forecasts despite economic headwinds. We’ll taste three American Single Malts in the What I’m Tasting This Week Department, and in our Behind the Label segment, we’ll explain why “bottled in bond” doesn’t just apply to Bourbons.
Duration:00:33:25
Whisky Passion on Display at The Heart Cut
7/28/2024
The wife and husband team of Georgie Bell and Fabrizio Leoni gave up their day jobs last year to launch The Heart Cut, an independent bottler dedicated to finding great drams from all over the world. They’ve released seven single casks so far from distilleries in Israel, Finland, Denmark, and the U.S., and did it all while Georgie was pregnant with twins. We’ll talk with Georgie Bell about The Heart Cut and work-life balance this week on WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Irish Whiskey tourism is up from a year ago, but still below pre-pandemic levels, while sales are lagging at Möet Hennessy and Rémy Cointreau.
Duration:00:34:30
High Times at High West
7/21/2024
Utah’s High West Distillery moved production operations from its downtown Park City gastropub to a state of the art distillery in nearby Wanship. The mountaintop distillery is producing award-winning whiskies and equally winning awards for its food and bar programs. This week, High West celebrated its annual Protect The West gala to raise money for three regional charities, and raised $100,000. We’ll visit the distillery and talk with Master Distiller Brendan Coyle on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Buffalo Trace has a French flair for the Paris Olympics, and we’ll look at the latest auction results.
Duration:00:28:36
New Life for Dallas Dhu Distillery
7/14/2024
Speyside’s Dallas Dhu has been a historic site since it closed in 1983, left intact the way workers left it on the final day of production. Now, there are plans in place to revive the venerable distillery, which is owned by Historic Environments Scotland. HES has signed a deal with Murray McDavid owner Aceo Limited to resume production at Dallas Dhu while maintaining it as a historic site. We’ll talk with ACEO managing director Edward Odim on this week’s WhiskyCast about the challenges — and the responsibilities — in taking on the revival of Dallas Dhu. In the news, the Black Bourbon Society has launched a boycott of Molson Coors products, while Pernod Ricard is bringing all of its U.S. brands under one umbrella.
Duration:00:45:52
A Whiskey Love Story
7/7/2024
Uncle Nearest Whiskey founder Fawn Weaver spent eight years researching and writing “Love & Whiskey,” the story of Nearest Green and Jack Daniel. During that time, she also launched the Uncle Nearest brand, one of the fastest-growing whiskey brands on the market, and the book also tells that story as well. We’ll talk with Fawn Weaver on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth, and share tasting notes for the Uncle Nearest Rye whiskey in the What I’m Tasting This Week Department. In the news, there’s a deal in place to revive the historic Dallas Dhu Distillery in Speyside, and the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame has announced its Class of 2024.
Duration:00:54:47
Honoring J.P. Wiser with a Vintage Whisky
6/30/2024
Canadian Whisky pioneer J.P. Wiser started making whisky 165 years ago in eastern Ontario, and the brand that bears his name to this day has now released its oldest whisky ever, the J.P. Wiser’s 42 Year Old. We’ll talk with master blender Dr. Don Livermore, who created the new whisky, about Wiser, his legacy, and the new Decades Series that begins with the 42 Year Old. In the news, Ian Macleod Distillers has expanded to India with a new distillery, while Brown-Forman has restored a piece of Bourbon history at Woodford Reserve.
Duration:00:34:47
Touring the New Heaven Hill Springs Distillery
6/23/2024
Heaven Hill’s new $130 million distillery in Bardstown, Kentucky is still about six months away from being finished, but this week on WhiskyCast In-Depth, we’re getting a hard-hat preview tour from Master Distiller Conor O’Driscoll. We’ll also have details and tasting notes for the new Heaven Hill Grain to Glass Collection of whiskies as well. In the news, the Kentucky Bourbon Trail is celebrating 25 years of Bourbon tourism, the owners of Justins’ House of Bourbon have reached a settlement with state regulators, and the International Whisky Competition announces its 2024 winners.
Duration:00:53:08
Taking a Trip on the Wilderness Trail
6/16/2024
Kentucky’s Wilderness Trail Distillery has grown over the last decade from a small barrel-a-day distillery to become one of the nation’s largest Bourbon distilleries. Dr. Pat Heist and Shane Baker founded Wilderness Trail as an offshoot of Ferm Solutions, their consulting business that works with distillers and brewers around the world. This week on WhiskyCast In-Depth, we’ll talk with Pat Heist about the origin of Wilderness Trail — in a rock band, of all places, and the circumstances that led to their decision to sell the distillery to Campari in late 2022. In the news, Laphroaig is planning a major expansion, while whisky auction prices have yet to recover from recent declines.
Duration:00:47:27
Leaving Laphroaig...and Islay Behind
6/9/2024
Barry MacAffer is leaving Laphroaig Distillery and his native Islay for a new adventure: building a malt whisky distillery in South Korea. This week on WhiskyCast In-Depth, Barry tells us why he’s making the move now and what he’ll miss most about Islay. In the news, the threat of tariffs hangs over the whisky industry again as the U.S. Presidential election heats up, another new distillery is in the works for Scotland, and Rosebank Distillery opens its doors to visitors for the first time.
Duration:00:35:14
Dispatch from Jura
6/3/2024
There’s one distillery on Scotland’s Isle of Jura, and Jura master whisky maker Dr. Kirstie McCallum joins us from the island this week on WhiskyCast In-Depth. We’ll talk about Jura’s festival day as part of the Islay Festival of Malt and Music, this year’s Festival bottling, and her 25-year-long career in the Scotch Whisky industry. We’ll also have details on the week’s new releases, tasting notes, and much more!
Duration:00:36:36
A Part of the Community
5/27/2024
Many distilleries take great pains to be involved in their surrounding communities, but Scotland’s Glen Wyvis Distillery goes to an extreme. That’s because many members of the Dingwall community are shareholders in the community distillery, which was built with a crowdfunding campaign. The distillery donates a percentage of its profits each year to grants for local community programs, with a goal of improving life for all of Dingwall’s residents. Distillery manager Matthew Farmer joins us on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Wild Turkey honors Jimmy Russell with its new visitors center, while Scotch Whisky industry leaders are worried about a potential return to tariffs after the U.S. Presidential election.
Duration:00:40:01