Meet Royal Barkla, the Whisky-Sniffing Robotic Dog
Leaking barrels have been a problem for whisky makers going back generations, and just finding the bad barrels is the biggest part of the problem. Now, a test project involving Royal Barkla, a Boston Robotics robot dog equipped with an ethanol sensor, is underway at the John Dewar & Sons Poniel maturation campus near Glasgow. The robotic dog alerts its human operators when it discovers a leaking barrel, and so far, the test has been a success. We’ll talk with Bacardi’s Angus Holmes about the project on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, no layoffs are expected from the shutdown of the Jim Beam Distillery in Kentucky for 2026, while Scotch whisky global sales are down for the third straight year.
Episode 1141: December 28, 2025
Links: Dewar’s | James B. Beam Distilling Co. | Diageo | IWSR | Angus Dundee Distillers | Macaloney Distillers | Ballantine’s | Thompson Bros. | Decadent Drinks | Gordon & MacPhail | Warbringer Bourbon | Olta Whisky Mexicano | The Macklowe | Green River Distilling | Loch Lomond
