Scotch Whisky Puts Out the Welcome Mat…Slowly (Episode 828: July 19, 2020)

Tourism has become a major part of the Scotch Whisky industry, with two million people visiting distilleries in both 2018 and 2019. 2020, the “Year of the Pandemic,” will be much different after distilleries had to shut down their visitors centers for nearly four months because of coronavirus-related public health restrictions. As of July 15, they can reopen with strict limits to prevent a flareup of new Covid-19 cases, but only a handful have put out the welcome mat so far. The Scotch Whisky Experience on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile will not reopen until August 17, and we’ll talk with Julie Trevisan Hunter about the issues she and her colleagues around Scotland are facing.

In the news, the deadline for public comments on the Trump Administration’s latest review of tariffs on single malts from Scotland and Northern Ireland is coming up this weekend. Juice boxes are a common sight for kids, but what about a “whisky box” for adults? That’s a loosely-defined version of the paper-based “bottles” Diageo plans to test with Johnnie Walker whiskies next year, and we’ll go “Behind the Label” to look at the Texas-grown barley used in the latest Balcones Texas single malt.

Links: Scotch Whisky Experience | Distilled Spirits Council of the United States | Amrut | Press and Journal | Johnnie Walker | Royal Mile Whiskies | Scotch Trooper GoFundMe Campaign | The Macallan | Highland Park | Isle of Lime | High West Distillery | Westland Distillery | Clonakilty Distillery | San Francisco World Spirits Competition | Balcones Distilling