Episode 587: April 30, 2016

The other night, one of the whiskey bars in Louisville held a “Jim Rutledge Tribute Night” to honor the retired Four Roses master distiller. Less than 24 hours later, Jim announced his plans to come out of retirement and start a $2 million crowdfunding campaign to build a new distillery near Louisville. We’ll talk with Jim about his new project on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Brown-Forman is back in the Scotch Whisky business after 11 years with a $416 million deal to buy the BenRiach Distillery Company from Billy Walker and his partners, Compass Box is hoping to “enlighten” those who oppose transparency in Scotch whisky with two new bottlings, and Cleveland Whiskey’s Tom Lix is using his “magic” maturation machine for a new range of finished whiskies.

Links: J.W. Rutledge Distillery | Brown-Forman | The BenRiach Distillery Company | Compass Box | The Glenrothes | Wemyss Malts | Sagamore Spirit Distillery | Cleveland Whiskey | Monmouth Whisky Club | Trail’s End Bourbon | Yellowstone Bourbon | Michter’s