WhiskyCast

Many craft distilleries that came to life in the early 2010’s are marking their 10th anniversaries, and this weekend, the folks at Ironroot Republic Distilling in Denison, Texas celebrated their anniversary. The Likarish family founded Ironroot Republic after Robert Likarish decided that he didn’t want to practice law in his final year of law school, and his brother Jonathan gave up a career designing medical equipment to become Ironroot Republic’s head distiller and blender. We’ll talk with Jonathan Likarish on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Diageo opens a distillery in China, while an Indian distiller plans to open a distillery in Scotland. 

While politicians in Scotland debate a potential ban on the harvesting of peat, author Mike Billett writes of the undeniable ties between peat and whisky. In his new book “Peat and Whisky: The Unbreakable Bond,” the peatland scientist explores Scotland’s peat bogs, healthy and not so healthy, and how whisky companies are helping to restore damaged peatlands back to health. Mike Billett joins us on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, whisky industry leaders are worried about the results of Tuesday’s U.S. election and the potential for new tariffs in a second Trump Administration. 

This week, Ardbeg and Glenmorangie’s Dr. Bill Lumsden joins us to answer your questions posed in the WhiskyCast Community app. The questions ranged from why the new Ardbeg 17 is chill-filtered and bottled at 40% ABV to what it was like working with Beyoncé on her new SirDavis Whisky. We’ll have Bill’s answers on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Scotch Whisky industry leaders are calling this week’s UK excise tax hike a “betrayal” and a “kick in the teeth” — and we’ll hear from Scotch Whisky Association CEO Mark Kent, who’s also worried about the potential impacts of this week’s US presidential election on tariffs. We’ll also have the rest of the week’s news, tasting notes, and much more. 

Lost Lantern Whiskey took the Scotch Whiskey tradition of independent bottlers and applied it to American craft whiskies. Founders Nora Ganley-Roper and Adam Polonski weren’t the first independent bottlers of American whiskies, but their selections over the last four years represent an eclectic variety of whiskies from around the country. They’re about to release their Fall 2024 tranche of whiskies, all at or close to ten years old, and we’ll catch up with Nora and Adam on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, it’s budget week in the U-K, and Scotch Whisky makers will be watching closely for news of an excise tax cut. We’ll have the rest of the week’s whisky news as well, along with this week’s tasting notes and a look at so-called “vatted malts."

Ever wanted to find out how a spirits competition works? This week, we’ll take you inside the recent American Craft Spirits Association’s annual judging of craft spirits to show you how the judging process works. It only takes a couple of minutes for trained judges to assess a whisky’s aroma, flavor and finish and determine a score. In the news, American electoral politics could affect the price you pay for whiskies in the future, no matter where you live in the world. 

John Campbell has long been regarded as one of Scotland’s best distillers, but he shocked the whisky world this week by leaving Scotland to join the tiny Sespe Creek Distillery in Oxnard, California. He’ll explain why he’s making the move to distill Sespe Creek’s Warbringer Bourbon in his first interview since moving to California on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Sweden’s Mackmyra Distillery has been bought out of bankruptcy, while Diageo is looking at options for a new Talisker Distillery on the Isle of Skye.

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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.

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.

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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.

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.