WhiskyCast

This week, we’ll catch up with veteran whisky and beer writer Lew Bryson. His new book “American Whiskey Master Class” is a deep dive into American whiskies from Bourbons and Ryes to the new American Single Malt category. In the news, 12,000 bottles of Westland American Single Malts have gone missing after a truck that was hauling the whiskies never made it to its destination. The haul includes 3,000 bottles of the limited-edition 10th Anniversary Garryana single malt. We’ll have that and the rest of the week’s whisky news on this week’s WhiskyCast.

Kilchoman Distillery marked its 20th anniversary in 2025, and founder Anthony Wills will be in the U.S. for a series of anniversary tastings this week. Before he left, he joined us for an in-depth interview covering everything from the distillery’s beginnings to the state of the whisky industry today. In the news, Scotch whisky industry leaders are still hoping for relief from U.S. trade tariffs, while an impending government shutdown threatens to derail whisky label approvals. We’ll have the details, along with word of a bunch of new whiskies released this week.

Angela D’Orazio is the new Creative Director of Whisky Making at Compass Box. She spent 17 years as master blender at Sweden’s Mackmyra Distillery, building a reputation for innovation and creativity. D’Orazio joins us this week on WhiskyCast In-Depth in one of her first interviews since joining Compass Box. In the news, Scottish leaders are hoping this week’s UK state visit by U.S. President Donald Trump leads to the end of tariffs on Scotch Whisky imports, the owner of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society and Single Cask Nation reports a drop in sales and memberships, and this year’s Van Winkle whiskies are headed to retailers.

This week, we’re in Bardstown, Kentucky for the annual Kentucky Bourbon Festival, which brings together more than 6,000 whiskey lovers from around the world. We’ll hear from several of the master distillers on hand, including Maker’s Mark’s Dr. Blake Layfield and Craig Beam of Jackson Purchase Distillery. In the news, Heaven Hill officially dedicated its $200 million Heaven Hill Springs Distillery in Bardstown on Thursday, marking one of the largest-ever investments in Bourbon production. Suntory’s CEO has resigned in a scandal over supplements, and Ontario Premier Doug Ford is blasting Diageo’s decision to close a Crown Royal bottling plant in his province.

As we continue our series leading up to the 20th anniversary of WhiskyCast in November, it’s important to celebrate the whisky legends who are still with us while they’re still around to receive our recognition. Jim McEwan retired from public life a couple of years ago after nearly 58 years in the whisky business, and he’s always been one of our favorite interview subjects. This week, we’re featuring Mark Gillespie’s interview with Jim from May 25, 2013, just as Jim was about to celebrate his 50th anniversary with a Feis Ile celebration at Bruichladdich. In the news, Diageo plans to close a Crown Royal bottling plant in Ontario, Independent Stave is laying off 110 workers at its Lebanon, Kentucky cooperage, and American whiskies won’t be on sale in Ontario any time soon…

Frustrated by the hoopla over Bourbons, with their relative scarcity and high pricing, Mike Gilmore decided to take a different tack. He started searching the world for alternatives to Bourbon, and found them in Armagnacs, Cognacs, and Rums from Barbados to Belize. For the last three years, he’s been bottling them under his Roaming Road Spirits label, while also exporting Bourbons from his collection of barrels to Ireland and finishing them in Irish Whiskey barrels. We’ll talk with Mike Gilmore on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, a receiver has been named for Uncle Nearest Tennessee Whiskey, while the Waterford Distillery receivership may not be resolved until next year.

Jeff and Laurie Quint started Cedar Ridge Distillery and Winery as a retirement lark. 20 years after receiving their distilling licenses, Cedar Ridge has grown from a rented garage space adjoining a liquor store to become Iowa’s largest distillery. Cedar Ridge Bourbons are Iowa’s number-one selling Bourbons, and the distillery is winning awards and praise for its American Single Malts. Master distiller and blender Murphy Quint joins us on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, a federal judge has ordered Uncle Nearest Tennessee Whiskey into receivership, but the fate of founder Fawn Weaver remains unclear at this time. We’ll have all the details and the rest of the week’s whisky news, including a new poll showing fewer Americans are drinking these days.

The Toasts Not Tariffs Coalition of drinks industry groups estimates trade tariffs could cost the U.S. economy 2 billion dollars and more than 25,000 hospitality jobs. This week on WhiskyCast, we’ll talk with two industry leaders lobbying the Trump Administration to clear a path to “zero for zero” tariffs for whiskies and other distilled spirits. In the news, Uncle Nearest is facing likely receivership after defaulting on $108 million in loans, and we’ll have all the details from Tennessee.

With new U.S. trade tariffs scheduled to take effect this week, we’ll talk with importer Raj Sabharwal about the impact of those tariffs on whisky importers. Raj co-founded Glass Revolution Imports, which is the U.S. importer for Amrut whiskies from India, Blackadder Scotch whiskies, and many more brands, and he’s dealing with tariffs that have been changing almost daily. We’ll talk about the impact to his business on WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Diageo brings a former executive back to serve as interim CFO, while former Mackmyra master blender Angela D’Orazio is joining Compass Box as creative director of whiskymaking.

Marc Watson took over for the retiring Gordon Motion this month after six months of serving as his understudy. The former master blender for The Famous Grouse has 11 years of industry experience, and he’ll join us for one of his first interviews since his promotion on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, the U-S and the European Union have hammered out a trade agreement that limits tariffs on E-U whisky exports to 15 percent. India and the United Kingdom have signed a trade agreement that will reduce India’s tariffs on Scotch Whisky imports over the next decade, and Pernod Ricard is selling off some brands as it narrows its focus.

Award-winning author Noah Rothbaum spent five years researching his new book “The Whiskey Bible.” It’s a comprehensive in-depth look at the spirit we love - its history and some myth-busting, too. Noah joins us on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Diageo parts ways with CEO Debra Crew after just two years on the job, while the Trump Administration and European Union negotiators try to hammer out a trade deal before the President’s August 1 deadline.

It’s hard to capture the entire world of whisky in one book, but that’s the task Felipe Schrieberg took on with his new book “The World of Whisky.” Schrieberg covers everything from the origins of whisky to today’s modern distilleries located all over the world, and he’ll join us on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, the U.S. announces new import tariffs on Irish Whiskey and other European goods, while Texas distillers step up to help victims of this month’s Hill Country floods.

Jimmy Russell will soon begin his 71st year at Wild Turkey Distillery, and this fall, he’ll celebrate his 91st birthday. This week, we’re honoring the Legend of Lawrenceburg with an in-depth interview recorded in 2009, in which Jimmy discusses his friendships with Booker Noe, Parker Beam, and Elmer T. Lee…his way of making Bourbon and how it changed with the advent of distilling technology…and an eye to his legacy. In the news, tariffs are back in the conversation this week in Washington as a 90-day pause comes to an end. Edrington is blaming economic conditions for a sharp loss in sales in the last fiscal year, and Glenfarclas is getting back into the travel retail market.

Filmland Spirits founders Troy Bolotnick and Charlie Flint created their brand as an homage to the classic “B Movies” of the 1950’s and 60’s. With eye-catching labels based on movie posters and names like “Moonlight Mayhem” and “Ryes of the Robots,” their whiskies stand out on store shelves and in the eyes of the critics, who have given Filmland Spirits’ whiskies several medals in recent competitions. Troy Bolotnick joins us on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth, and we’ll have a double feature tasting of his whiskies in the What I’m Tasting This Week Department. In the news, two more Irish distilleries have been shut down, including Diageo’s Roe & Co. facility in Dublin, at a time when the deadline for a new European Union-U.S. trade deal is fast approaching.

At one time, Campbeltown, Scotland was the heart of the Scotch Whisky industry with around 30 working distilleries. Over the years, all but two disappeared, and the futures of Springbank and Glen Scotia were very much in doubt at various times over the last century. Author David Stirk researched the history of Campbeltown and its distilleries for his new book “Whiskyopolis,” and he’ll join us on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, we have details on more layoffs in the whisky industry, with declining global demand getting the blame. Two Canadian provinces are ending their boycott of American-made whiskies, and we have a lot of new releases to talk about this week.

Whisky collector Mark Wade specializes in vintage bottlings, specifically Prohibition-era “medicinal” bottles. Part of his collection went on the auction block this month at Sotheby’s, and he’ll join us on his week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth to discuss the search for dusties, authenticating his finds, and that one whisky he’s still searching for. In the news, this year’s class of Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame honorees has been announced, and we’ll talk with Parker Beam Lifetime Achievement Award winner Chris Morris. We’ll also look at an Irish distillery’s unique use of nanotechnology in its stills on Behind the Label.

Dr. Bill Lumsden is best known as the head of whisky creation for The Glenmorangie Company, but he’s also the master blender for Beyonce’s Sir Davis American whiskey. Much of the day to day work of blending Sir Davis falls to master blender Cameron George, who took on the role when Sir Davis was launched last year. We’ll talk with both of them on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth, and we’ll also be joined by Ireland’s first female master blender, Helen Mulholland of Sazerac’s Hawk’s Rock Distillery. She’s just released the first whiskey from Hawk’s Rock, the Garavogue 20-year-old Irish single malt. In the news, investors ran away from Brown-Forman shares this week following a disappointing earnings report, and two fledgling Kentucky distilleries are facing lawsuits and liens over construction bills.

Mary Dowling was a pioneer among women in distilling. She ran distilleries and cooperages with her husband John before and after his death in 1903, and is the subject of a new historical novel, “Mother of Bourbon” by Eric Goodman and Kaveh Zamanian. Zamanian is the founder of Rabbit Hole Distillery in Louisville, and recently released a series of whiskies bearing Mary Dowling’s name. He’ll join us on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth, and we’ll taste one of Mary’s whiskies in the What I’m Tasting This Week Department. In the news, the courts are getting involved in President Donald Trump’s trade war, while economic conditions have prompted a major Scottish maltster to postpone its expansion plans.

This week, we’re going to geek out with the results of two studies comparing whiskies matured in Texas with the same whiskey matured elsewhere. Milam and Greene’s Heather Greene joins us to explain her team’s decision to age otherwise identical whiskey in Texas and Kentucky, while Jared Himstedt and Gabe Richarde of Balcones Distilling share the findings of their experiment maturing the same single malt whiskey in four different locations. We’ll also taste the Milam and Greene whiskies, which are being released this week in a two-bottle set. In the news, new U.S. trade tariffs on the European Union are being delayed until July 9 to allow more time for negotiations, while Diageo says tariffs could cost the company $150 million this year.

Ireland’s largest distillery is celebrating 200 years since the original Midleton Distillery opened in 1825, along with the 50th anniversary of the “new” Midleton, which replaced the original distillery in 1975. Master Distiller Kevin O’Gorman joins us on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth with details on two new whiskies commemorating the anniversaries. In the news, Old Elk is getting new ownership and a new home in Ohio, while the Dublin Liberties Distillery is shutting down because of the headwinds facing the Irish Whiskey industry.