From Midleton to Minnesota (Episode 933: March 13, 2022)

This Thursday will be Brian Nation’s first St. Patrick’s Day outside of Ireland. The veteran distiller joined O’Shaughnessy Distilling in Minneapolis last year after years at Ireland’s legendary Midleton Distillery, and as he tells us on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth, “it was a cold winter.” Brian and his family survived the cold, though, and he joined us from their spring break vacation in a much warmer Arizona. In the news, Kentucky lawmakers are a step closer to protecting private barrel picks, while Bardstown Bourbon’s founders have cashed out in a private equity sale. Diageo will invest millions to build a new carbon-neutral Crown Royal distillery in Ontario, while the spirits giant paid a £1.2 million GBP fine in Scotland for violating environmental laws over a six-year period. We’ll also look at one more aspect of sustainable distilling…what to do with the leftover spent grains when the cattle farmers don’t need them.

Links: Keeper’s Heart Whiskey | Fred Minnick.com | Bardstown Bourbon Company | Crown Royal | Diageo | Bowmore | Method and Madness | Chichibu | Michter’s | Alberta Premium | Kinsale Spirit Co. | Natterjack Irish Whiskey | Lost Irish Whiskey | KO Distilling | Castle & Key Distillery