It's the final episode of 2006, and we'll end the year with a
profile of one of the newest distillers in the business, and one
who's already making her mark on single malts. Gillian Howell is the
distiller at the Welsh Whisky Company, which produces Penderyn
Single Malt. Gillian explains how she went from the University of
Cardiff straight to the stillroom at Penderyn, and we'll get a
performance review from her mentor, Dr. Jim Swan.
EPISODE 72: DECEMBER 23, 2006
There are many whisky competitions, but few give the average whisky
lover a vote in deciding the winners. Now, the Drammie Awards have
changed that, thanks to Kevin Erskine of The Scotch Blog. Erskine
created the Drammies, and joins us to go through the inaugural list
of winners. In the news, Jim Murray gives a blended whisky top
honors and malt lovers fits, Scotch whisky exports have an economic
impact of nearly 3 billion pounds, and help boost profits at Gordon
& MacPhail...the Scotch Whisky Association takes on a Canadian
distillery over the word "Glen", and Glenmorangie PLC confirms that
Michael Heads will be taking over at Ardbeg in the spring. Pour
yourself a dram, relax, and have a very merry Christmas...Hanukkah,
Boxing Day, Kwanzaa...or whatever holiday you're celebrating...
EPISODE 71: DECEMBER 16, 2006
The debate over blended whiskies vs. single malts will never be
decided, but both can be appreciated, much as a music lover can
enjoy both symphonies and jazz. One of the maestros of blended
whiskies is Whyte & Mackay's Richard Paterson, and he shares his
lifetime of experience in the whisky business with us. In the news,
Ardbeg has hired a new manager to replace Stuart Thomson, Duncan
Taylor puts more rare whiskies on the auction block for charity, and
we'll get some tasting notes on the Pakistani single malt from
Episode 70!
EPISODE 70: DECEMBER 10, 2006
Many of us would describe ourselves as "malt maniacs", but the title
of "Malt Maniac" belongs to 24 serious whisky experts from around
the world. You've heard from several of the Maniacs in previous
episodes, and now, Master Maniac Johannes van den Heuvel joins us
from Amsterdam with the winners of the 2006 Malt Maniacs Awards! In
the news, socialism and whisky apparently don't mix well in
Venezuela, but do in Vietnam, and the infidels are distilling
something interesting in Pakistan.
EPISODE 69: DECEMBER 3, 2006
The green and white labels may be plain, but the whisky inside the
bottles is usually something special. We'll go inside the Scotch
Malt Whisky Society with US chapter president Alan Shayne. In the
news, one of the oldest bottles of whisky on record fetched
thousands at auction, more whisky winners, and was George Washington
not only the "father of his country", but the "distiller of his
country"?
