This Week on WhiskyCast

The Bible says “The Lord works in mysterious ways.” As proof, we have the story this week of Father Jim Sichko, a Kentucky-based Catholic priest heading to Rome for an audience at the Vatican with Pope Francis. He admits to not knowing much about Bourbon, but whether you want to call it providence or luck, he was able to get his hands on some of the much-sought-after Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon for the Pope, along with enough whiskey to start a new collection at the Vatican. He’ll share his story with us on WhiskyCast In-Depth, and we’ll also preview the upcoming Spirit of Speyside Festival.

In the news, the world’s largest brewer is dipping its toes into the Scotch Whisky business, while construction will begin next month on Edinburgh’s first malt whisky distillery in 90 years and Canada’s Supreme Court has dealt a legal setback to whisky lovers,. We’re also kicking off a new segment this week, as “Behind the Label” looks at things you may have wondered about when it comes to learning more about whisky.

Billy Walker could have walked away from the Scotch Whisky business last year after he and his partners sold the BenRiach, GlenDronach, and Glenglassaugh distilleries to Brown-Forman for more than $400 million. However, he decided to jump back in with his “dream team” of industry leaders and buy the Glenallachie distillery from Chivas Brothers, and will launch the distillery’s first range of single malts in June. We’ll talk with Billy about building that team and giving new life to a long-underrrated distillery on WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Anheuser-Busch InBev has acquired Atom Group, the UK-based drinks company that owns Master of Malt, while Diageo has announced plans to invest £150 million to upgrade the visitors centers at 12 of its distilleries in Scotland and create a new “brand home” for Johnnie Walker in Edinburgh. We’ll also have details on Gordon & MacPhail’s move to consolidate its 12 lines of single malt whiskies into just five starting this month with the Connoisseurs Choice range, and the Spirit of Speyside Festival brings judging for its annual whisky competition to New York for the first time.

WhiskyCast now comes to you twice a week, with a new mid-week episode in addition to our regular weekend podcast! We’ve decided that there’s so much to cover in the world of whisky each week that it makes more sense to bring you two shows each week that fit better into your busy schedule instead of one longer show.

WhiskyCast pioneered the genre of whisky-focused podcasts back in 2005, when most people had never heard of podcasting! Since then, we’ve produced hundreds of hours of original audio and video content for whisky lovers like you around the world. Our community spans the globe, and we’ve done stories on whiskies made in the far north of Scandinavia all the way to the tips of South Africa and Australia – and everywhere in between. We’ve met many of you at whisky festivals and while visiting distilleries, and hope to meet many more of you over time.

We’d also like to thank our many sponsors over the years, both present and past. Without their support, WhiskyCast would have faded into the mist years ago. Thanks to them, we’ve been able to continue growing and producing new content for you each week, while still maintaining our standards for quality, fairness, and ethical reporting on whisky. By the way, if you’re interested in reaching a global audience of committed whisky lovers, please get in touch with us to discuss advertising opportunities on WhiskyCast!

Slainte!

The WhiskyCast Team

Whisky Photo of the Week

Scotland’s Benromach Distillery is celebrating two anniversaries this year: its 120th anniversary and the 20th anniversary of its reopening in 1998 by Gordon & MacPhail. We’ll talk with distillery manager Keith Cruickshank on the next episode of WhiskyCast.