WhiskyCast Episodes

WhiskyCast is where it all begins. Now in our 18th year, each weekly podcast brings you the latest in whisky news, along with the latest events, tasting notes, comments from other listeners, and the weekly “In-Depth” segment features interviews with the people who help make whisky the “water of life”.

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Episode 527: March 28, 2015

Suntory Holdings CEO Takeshi Niinami during a speech in New York City March 20, 2015. Photo ©2015 by Mark Gillespie.Suntory Holdings CEO Takeshi Niinami is one of Japan’s leading business executives. He’s the first  CEO from outside the founding Torii family, and is also a key economic adviser to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe. He inherited last year’s $16 billion acquisition of Beam when he joined Suntory six months ago, and has been focused on making the deal work while changing Suntory’s internal culture. We’ll discuss the growing pains of the deal, which made Beam Suntory the world’s #3 spirits company, with Takeshi Niinami on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, a preliminary ruling in one lawsuit against a “handmade” spirits maker could be a sign of problems for whisky makers facing similar lawsuits, Four Roses plans another round of construction in Bourbon Country, and milestones mean commemorative bottlings of whiskies from around the world.


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