WhiskyCast features cask strength conversation twice each week with in-depth interviews, the latest news on whiskies from around the world, whisky events, Mark Gillespie’s tasting notes, and more!
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This Week on WhiskyCast
Speed Rack: Women Shaking Cocktails for a Cause (Episode 707: June 17, 2018)
There are plenty of cocktail competitions for bartenders, but Speed Rack was one of the first to highlight women working behind the bar. Lynette Marrero and Ivy Mix founded Speed Rack in 2012 to not only empower women in the cocktail culture, but also to raise money for breast cancer research and charities. They’ve succeeded at both over the last six years, and will be staging the first Speed Rack competition in Australia next month. We’ll talk with Lynette Marrero on WhiskyCast In-Depth, and while we’re talking about cocktail competitions, we’ll check in with Lynn House as the eight regional winners in Heaven Hill’s 2018 Bartender of the Year competition gather in Sea Island, Georgia for this week’s finals. In the news, China has joined the growing list of US trading partners targeting American-made whiskies for punitive tariffs as the trade war expands. Kentucky’s Castle & Key Distillery has successfully defended a trademark infringement suit over its use of the original Old Taylor name for its distillery, and on Behind the Label, we’ll look at the tricky question of when whiskies made in one country can be labeled as coming from another country.
A Double Whammy for US Whisky Distillers (Episode 706: June 14, 2018)
Tax cuts that took effect at the start of 2018 encouraged many US whisky distillers to expand their facilities. Now, they’re caught in the middle of the trade war between the United States and its trading partners in Canada, Mexico, and the European Union. Not only are the whiskies some of those distillers export going to be hit with new tariffs at the start of July, but prices for the stainless steel and aluminum they need for those expansion projects are going up because of the US tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. We’ll look at the issue on WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Brown-Forman has opened its Old Forester distillery on Louisville’s “Whiskey Row” downtown, while the management of Bardstown’s Willett Distillery is being handed down to the next generation. Wild Turkey is releasing a new Bourbon with a back story appropriate for Father’s Day weekend, and we’ll head into the weekend with some Dad jokes.
WhiskyCast HD: A Craft Distiller’s Last Call
James Yoakum opened Cooper River Distillers in 2014 in the heart of Camden, New Jersey – just wanting to make good whiskies and rum. He and his team did just that, but they learned an important lesson along the way: size matters. They couldn’t make enough whiskey and rum to meet the demand, but they also couldn’t make enough money to expand the distillery. Faced with that dilemma, Yoakum decided to close the distillery with one final Kentucky Derby party on May 5, 2018.
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
No, this isn’t a massive game of Jenga. These stacks of lumber will eventually be turned into staves for whiskey barrels at the Brown-Forman Cooperage in Louisville, Kentucky.
