Author name: Mark Gillespie

There are at least 774 malt whisky distilleries around the world, according to the 2023 edition of the Malt Whisky Yearbook. We’ll hear from some of the emerging malt whisky makers, including Dhavall Gandhi of The Lakes Distillery in England and Desiree Reid of New Zealand’s Cardrona Distillery, on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. Number 775 could be Jack Daniel’s, which unveiled plans this week to release an American Single Malt next June. We’ll also take a look at a group of whisky lovers that need special attention from whisky show organizers…those who need wheelchairs to get around. Links: Business Post Read More »

This week, we’re on location in London for The Whisky Exchange’s annual Whisky Show at Old Billingsgate. We’ll have interviews from throughout the weekend on WhiskyCast In-Depth, including Diageo’s Colin Dunn, Oliver Chilton of Elixir Distillers, and Tomatin’s Scott Adamson. Tomatin took home top honors at this week’s International Wine and Spirits Competition Awards, and we’ll have that story in our news segment along with details on a new record for Kentucky’s growing Bourbon barrel inventory. We’ll also have tasting notes from the weekend, and in our Behind the Label segment, we’ll explain the difference between rejuvenated casks and “STR” Read More »

Until now, Alfred Barnard’s classic book “The Whisky Distilleries of the United Kingdom” was the benchmark guide for whisky historians. Now, a collection of 120 distillery profiles first published between 1922 and 1929 has been published in a Barnard-esque book by James Eadie Ltd. The Distilleries of Great Britain & Ireland is a worthy sequel to Barnard’s original book and fills a critical need for whisky history from the early 20th century. We’ll talk with Eadie’s Leon Kuebler and writer Tom Bruce-Gardyne, who compiled the profiles and wrote the introduction, on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, the UK’s Read More »

The Cabrach region of Scotland’s Highlands has a distilling history that goes back centuries, but The Cabrach has been left behind as other parts of Scotland developed. Now, The Cabrach Trust hopes to create jobs and infrastructure for the region with a single malt distillery, with the profits from its whisky going to fund affordable housing and other projects. We’ll talk with the Trust’s CEO, Jonathan Christie, and longtime distiller Alan Winchester, who’s working as an advisor on the distillery, on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, we’ll hear from Stoli Group CEO Damian McKinney as work begins on Read More »

Phil Steger distills his single malt in the Scottish tradition at Minnesota’s Brother Justus Distilling, but he’s an outlier in the American Single Malt community. That’s because he believes the TTB’s proposed standards for American Single Malts would keep him from making his whisky the way he thinks is best. He’ll tell us why on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth, and he’ll also explain his unique process for “cold-peating” his whiskies. In the news, Ireland’s Midleton Distillery is expanding again with a new €250 million distillery adjacent to the current facility. We’ll also explain what happens to the royal warrants held Read More »

September is Bourbon Heritage Month, and while Bourbon can be made anywhere in the U.S., Kentucky is known as “the State of Bourbon.” Bourbon makers generate millions of dollars annually for the state’s economy, and their taxes help pay for local services and public education. The unprecedented growth of the industry hasn’t come without its growing pains, though…and we’ll look at some of the issues facing the “State of Bourbon” with Janet Patton of the Lexington Herald-Leader. In the news, Maker’s Mark has lost two of its top leaders as Denny Potter and Jane Bowie leave for a new venture, Read More »