Dramface Podcast

The Twenty wan before the cheesy wan. The prospect of cheese made some of us nervous. It’s not a secret that these sessions are recorded in twos. This session is the one before the cheese pairing and most of us were already sat in front of cheese boards. Gregor insisted we wait. Therefore, this was recorded with the stench of all sorts of cheeses filling the air, and we couldn’t eat ‘em. That’s our excuse. Gregor distracted us by discussing bottles that we should be grabbing now, before they’re gone. We then wandered into price versus age, Gordon’s insightful and revealing trip to Campbeltown and Roy’s magical trip up the Ardnamurchan peninsula. We round out with yet another remarkable I Am A Distillery. Gregor & The Team This was released early to Dramface members, thank you for your support! Music credit: That First Dram by Tom Good

The Breakfast Episode The Colonials have the idea of gathering to discuss whiskies that pair with breakfast. Each of them prepare their own idea of a perfect breakfast and then try to pair it with whisky. Don't listen while hungry. This is the Colonials Podcast; the Splinter Cell. Do not make the mistake of calling it the 'American' podcast. This was made available to Dramface members early.

[Edit: this was made as a video podcast and went out via our YouTube channel on Christmas Day. After your great feedback, we realise we should've included it here. Apologies. However, as this was edited as a video podcast - using AI no less - forgive us if it's not as 'tight' or listenable , we hope you enjoy!] Recorded at the last minute, edited by AI and cobbled together for a Christmas Day release - our gift to you - Gregor pulls in the Grail Girls to explore pairing whisky with chocolate. Our other Christmas gifts to you include: - Some amateur ASMR - A discussion on our favourite branding - Peat vs Smoke - Jen’s Best Ever thing to pair with whisky - Our drams of 2024 - Dialling up the IAAD to 11 In the end you’ll discover the idea for the the last part in our 'pairing trilogy’; although you’ll need to commit to veganism. This was (mostly) edited by AI and as such isn’t as ‘tight’ as our usual edits. That said we hope you enjoy the upgrades in sound and video. As we had to get this out for Christmas, this wasn’t released early to members - everyone gets it on Christmas Day. That said - a huge thank you to our members, Dramface wouldn’t be here without you. Thank you for your support! Music credit: That First Dram by Tom Good

The Colonials are patient. They submitted this recording a while ago, it’s made it through the system and now, finally, it’s yours. This could be the extended version. There is some content within that has very little to do with whisky. Actually, nothing to do with whisky. Perhaps it’ll let you understand the team a little more, but we’re not sure that’s a good thing. Anyway, our members didn't object to the off-colour discussion in this episode, so it goes public (we’re speaking specifically about the outro, where we left the mic on… those of you with a more sensitive constitution should perhaps kill the pod as the music fades). Things begin earnestly enough, with discussion about how reviewers go about choosing what they review - and how they approach it. They talk at length about their thoughts and attitudes on scoring. Thereafter they share fascinating stats on Dramface scores and how they might relate to prices paid. Then, after a decent I Am a Distillery, they talk about fantastical places to poop. Yes, I think this is their best yet. Culture comes in many forms. Wally & The Team

Gregor asks the team to bring along their hottest drams, by ABV content before going on to ask for their ‘hot takes’ in whisky. Inevitably with these things some controversy ensues. We hope you’re enjoying these video pods, of which we have another couple in the editing room queue. We also have more Colonials podcasts coming hot on the heels of this. Your feedback - as always - very welcome! Share far and wide and remember to subscribe to the YouTube channel.

500 Reviews & 500 More (The Video One) This is not a response to The Dramface Colonials Podcast.* To celebrate Dramface reaching its 1,000 reviews milestone we thought it'd be a good idea to attempt a video edit this time around. Our editor is work-shy, so he might decide this is a one off, we'll see. If you enjoy this new format then hop on with the words of encouragement for future episodes to feature our (Dram)faces. This episode is a little self-indulgent, given the milestone, but we wander off to discuss the challenges of scoring as well as celebrating where we're at in whisky right now, like, today After we pause to mark 1k reviews, we all fall out with Roy over the I Am A Distillery result. Shocking behaviour. *Totally a response to the Dramface Colonials Podcast.

The Colonials are serious. Not only have they submitted their second episode within a remarkably prompt time window, there’s another hot on the heels of this. Good news if you enjoy it, we suppose. Anyway, Gregor has suggested that, given the difficulties in scheduling, it’s acceptable to proffer the ‘B-team’ now and again. All the while he’s readied his response, and he’s promising power-ups. Of what style we’re not sure, but we wait excitedly to see the outcome. (Members have access already). In the meantime enjoy Rob and the team sharing their thoughts on the length of a finish, an ingenious way to free up bottle space, availability of this year’s OSWA.co.uk nominations in the not-so-united states of America as well as proffering their own picks for the OSWAs Best Value category for 2024. Enjoy! Wally & The Team

New Kids on the Block New is the topic for this session. New distilleries, sure, but also new whiskies, new make and even how the word ‘new’ should actually be pronounced. We cover environment and time and also wonder why Gordon can’t taste effervescence. Yet.

The Whisky Roads Less Travelled. An eclectic discussion around trips and travels in the pursuit of whisky. Gordon shares tales of sailing to Campbeltown while Roy heads there for the festival. All the while we share takes on dog training, island life and mixing our whiskies.

To Buy Or Not To Buy As the team find it more and more difficult to successfully find an evening where they’re all available, we’re eeking things out. We know we could do with sharing more of these, we hope you’ll accept some rather than none. We will try harder though, we really do enjoy it.. In this session we witness Roy’s red-faced inability to find the mute button as he lets his inner demon out, before venturing into chats about different kinds of sherry maturation, buying habits and palate progression. Gordon, after his record-breaking win last time, hosts the I Am A Distillery.

New face and new voices. And new games. A bit late... Of course there’s a huge apology due on this one because it was recorded way back after the Easter break. This means it’s the longest to-edit Dramface podcast yet. However, that record will only stand for a week or so, since we recorded Twenty Eight at the same time and it’s still being edited now. We hope it’s worth the wait. With the help of the amazing Gus, we cover chocolate malt, blind tasting and where those lactic notes come from. Before we diverge into wood types and maturation, Gregor pulls out a new game he came up with in collaboration with Jenny. We round out with much cheatery in I Am A Distillery.

The Dramface Strikes Back. Again. Covering all the topics we didn’t get to during Podcast Twenty Five. Gregor asks the teams for some “drams of note” that we’ve encountered since we wrapped season two. From there we wander into The Jura Problem, the delightful surprises of the Dramface Top 40 and the sadness at the loss of Malt Review, before rounding off with another community-sourced IAAD. See you back in a couple of weeks! Gregor & The Team

The Dramface Strikes Back. Self indulgence. Well, a little self-indulgent. But these are mostly always just us hanging out and talking whisky and our own whisky lives, so they’re always a little indulgent. You don’t seem to mind. We finally got to grips with where all the buttons were and hit record in time to hear some impromptu McWee karaoke before getting right into an XXL version of what was in our glasses. This takes so long that we run out of time to cover our “drams of note” and “state of Dramface” segments which we push out to next time. Instead, we run through our highlights of whisky happenings since we lat powered up the mics, so planty more self-indulgence then. All-in-all a nice time was had. We hope it’s okay for you too. See you back in a couple of weeks. Gregor & The Team This was released early to Dramface Members first. Back to early access for the last two of the season following this.Thank you for your support! Already a Dramface Member? Invite yourself into the podcast with the Dramophone and you could feature in a future podcast. Music credit: That First Dram by Tom Good

Season finale. Dramface Fantasy Distillery Brackets & More. Pick your top five, then a reserve five. Think you can keep ‘em? Look, you’re not gonna hear from us for a while, so we left a lot in this one. More than usual? Yeah. Too much? Probably. But we enjoyed the topics and thought you might too. We start off on annunciation and pronunciation before discussing what colour we taste in whisky. Gregor digs up some gold form Jen and Rachel on retail trends before there’s some disagreement on opening minds as people explore whisky. All of this via chats around all whiskies ,whether planted or unpleated, before getting into an intensely fought battle for our five fantasy distilleries. If you want to play along, make your list of five plus five reserves, choose one or two players to go up against and see how many of yours stay intact. You can see the results of the brackets below; one of the team clearly kicked it out of the park, but we’ll leave you guessing who while you listen along. Of course, we round out with yet another I Am A Distillery, and it’s another geeky one.

Almost a Podcast. Gregor wanted to ask us about our Almost a great whisky possibilities. You know, those releases, whiskie sor distilleries that could, with a wee bit of effort, be so much more enjoyed - even if it’s from the perspective of enthusiasts. On the way there we enjoy Jen’s recipe for Jalapeño syrup, tales form Rachel about how the 1700’s propaganda blighted gin, preparing for festivals and teasing the brackets challenge for our next and final episode (for this season!). So sit back, pour a dram and listen to us adjust our tighteny bits, brush away our furry things and toggle our floppy stuff. Of course, we round out with yet another I Am A Distillery, and this one’s for the real geeks. Strap in for the brackets in the final episode next time, list your own top 5 and play along. Remember to include one world whisky distillery.

The Cheesy Wan. Or - Noobs Attempt Whisky and Cheese. The team try their best to gather similar whiskies and similar cheese, but of course don’t quite get it right. Scatter-gunning the pairings, they work out there’s an art to things and while some pairings hit, others miss. Hard. This is a self-indulgent podcast but we hope you find it as laid back and easy as we did recording it; a relaxed Friday night in, late-night vibe. With cheese. So, as long as you’re not put off by chewing and lip-smacking, kick back with a cheese and whisky of your choosing and listen to Gregor admitting he gets the cheese sweats, Scott justifying never eating cheese after midnight and a general lack of cheese and whisky pairing skill. We round out with Gordon’s I Am A Distillery. Gregor & The Team The cheese selections: Parmesan Blue Cheese Cheddar Brie The Whisky selection: Bourbon-matured scotch Sherry-matured scotch A bourbon A peated scotch This was released during the Dramface holiday break, and therefor the only pod not to be released early to Dramface Members first. Back to early access for the last two of the season following this.Thank you for your support! Already a Dramface Member? Invite yourself into the podcast with the Dramophone and you could feature in a future podcast. Music credit: That First Dram by Tom Good

Buyer's Remorse. What do you regret buying? What do you regret not buying? Even better, what did you think you might regret buying, only for it to turn out to be a revelation? Joining Gregor this time are Julie, Roy, Rob and Stuart. As we share our trials, tribulations and regrets, we also touch upon branding successes and disasters before finishing on a quite remarkable (and impressive!) I Am A Distillery. We do not manage to keep it under an hour. Gregor & The Team

14 Scores, 12 Reviewers, 7 Batches… Deep-diving into a deep-dive. Joining Gregor this time are Julie, Roy, Rob and Scott. We consider future contenders for the next mega-review thingy to test the patience of the editing team, while discussing how the last mega-review came about covering Springbank’s opinion-splitting 15yo. The I Am A Distillery challenge comes from a Dramophone contributor and member Iain Bruce which puts our own recent efforts to shame.We also tease the cheese. Gregor & The Team

“I Can’t Taste What Everyone Else Does!” Inspired by a Dramophone comment As usual we have a main topic; nosing, tasting and note-taking. As per usual, we’re all over the place and it takes us a while to get there. But get there we do. We discuss nosing, tasting and note taking. Via peanut butter, Ruffle bars, chocolate and cheese. Rob shares another killer auction steal, before breaking his mic, and then going on to break I Am A Distillery. As usual, we leave it all in. Gregor & The Team www.Dramface.com

We're rusty. In case it isn’t obvious We forgot how to do things. We have a pre-meeting planning meeting to decide how to refine our intro, which we fumble, but decide just to leave it all in. Then we forget to bring a warm-up “bum” tune, so we leave it all out. From there we kinda get it together and cover some great auction tips and reflect on a year of Dramface. It gets a little self-indulgent but only for a wee bit before Gordon brings a new word to us. This is therefore the “shunky” one. We make a few excuses on why there’s not been much in the way of podcasting recently too. Next release is already in the works! Gregor & The Team This was released early to Dramface Members https://www.dramface.com/dramface-members