This Week on WhiskyCast

An Anniversary Celebration…One Year Late (Episode 866: April 12, 2021)

Bourbons Bistro had everything ready to go for its 15th anniversary dinner in April…of 2020. Of course, the Covid-19 pandemic forced the Louisville landmark to cancel its plans, and there were times when it looked like the bistro might suffer the same fate as many other bars and restaurants that went out of business over the past year. Jason Brauner and his team made it, though, and will celebrate with a 16th anniversary dinner on April 21.  We’ll talk with Jason about the events of the past year – and the 15 years before it – on WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, we now know more about Jeff Arnett’s future plans after leaving Jack Daniel’s ahead of a formal announcement next week, while Diageo plans a pricey release of rare Brora whiskies next month to celebrate the distillery’s reopening. We’ll also have details on two charity projects from the Bourbon world and much more on this week’s WhiskyCast!

A Sustainable Future for Whisky Distilling (Episode 865: April 5, 2021)

Distillers are always looking to the future. After all, many are laying down casks of whisky for future generations to bottle. Now, more distillers are looking ahead for a different reason…to make sure their distilleries have a minimal impact on the environment. Scotland’s Nc’Nean Distillery was named “Sustainable Distillery of the Year” in Whisky Magazine’s 2021 Icons of Whisky Awards, and we’ll talk with Nc’Nean founder Annabel Thomas on WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Scotland’s government is slowly relaxing strict public health restrictions, and that’s allowing distillery shops to start opening again. We’ll also have details on a groundbreaking new Bourbon, the latest innovation from Bruichladdich, the retirement of a longtime whisky blender, and the celebration of a 60-year-long (and counting) career for Glen Grant’s Dennis Malcolm.

Join us every Friday at 5:00pm New York time (21:00 GMT) for our live #HappyHour webcast. This week, our guest will be William Grant & Sons malt master Brian Kinsman. You can also watch all of our previous webcasts on the WhiskyCast YouTube channel, our Facebook page, Twitter, and Twitch.

Four Roses master distiller Brent Elliott joined us on Friday night’s #HappyHourLive webcast.

If you have an idea for a guest you’d like to see on one of our webcasts or a way that we can help you learn more about whisky, just use the contact form or catch us on social media. We’d love to hear from you!

We’re humbled and proud that Whisky Magazine has named WhiskyCast’s Mark Gillespie as “Communicator of the Year” in the 2021 Icons of Whisky Awards! That follows the February announcement that Mark won the award in the U.S. regional competition. It’s only the second year that this award has been presented on the global level, and thanks to all of you for listening along with our sponsors. Without your support over the years, this wouldn’t have been possible. Thanks!

Each month, we honor a whisky club as our Whisky Club of the Month, and the club receives two dozen WhiskyCast Glencairn glasses to use at their club tastings thanks to our friends at Glencairn Crystal. April’s winning club is the Bourbon Honey Hole club of Houston, Texas…congratulations!

If you’re in a whisky club and would like to nominate your club, just use the contact form to get in touch with us and tell us about your club. If your club has a web site or is active on social media, we’ll also be glad to add a link on our directory of Whisky Clubs around the world so other whisky lovers can find you. You only need to nominate your club once, since we carry over entries from month to month.

Our very first episode of WhiskyCast dropped on November 12, 2005, and thanks for joining us each week as we continue our 16th year as the world’s longest-running whisky podcast series!

Each week, veteran journalist Mark Gillespie brings you the latest whisky news, in-depth interviews, tasting notes, and much more. Each podcast features brand-new content, and unless there’s a special occasion, we don’t do “best of” shows.

If you’re just discovering us for the first time, here’s a bit of our own story. 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 – and free – 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.

Please explore the website. We’ve collected all of our past episodes here, and post the latest whisky news as it happens – often several days before the next episode of WhiskyCast. All of our web content is free, including Mark’s database of more than 3,000 tasting notes for whiskies from around the world and our calendar of upcoming whisky festivals and tastings.

We’re able to do this thanks to the support of our advertisers – both past and present. They advertise on WhiskyCast knowing that they will never have any say over our editorial content, and may even have their ads running next to features on their competitors. They recognize the importance of independent, fact-based journalism devoted to telling the stories of whisky in a creative, yet ethically sound way focused on helping you learn more about whisky. If you’re interested in finding out more about our advertising packages, please contact us!

Slainte!

The WhiskyCast Team

Mark Gillespie’s Whisky Photo of the Week

Years ago, almost every distillery in Scotland had a malting floor like this one. Now, only a handful of distilleries have their own floor maltings like this one at Highland Park Distillery on Orkney.