Brian Ellison

When is a “first-fill” Bourbon barrel not quite a “first-fill” – and how might that affect the whisky that goes into it next? That’s our Behind the Label story on this week’s #podcast!

Buffalo, Barrels, & Bourbon: The History of Buffalo Trace (Episode 903: October 14, 2021)

Took a few extra days, but we have a new WhiskyCast #podcast in time for the weekend! F. Paul Pacult joins us with the story behind his new history of @buffalotrace. We'll also have the latest whisky news and much more! Listen with your favorite podcast app or download it at WhiskyCast.com.

I drink whisky because I want to enjoy life…I drink coffee so that you might live as well. 😏

Why do you say that, @whiskybry? 😏

Is this an @angelsenvy sighting on last night’s @wweonfox #smackdown with @baroncorbinwwe?

Slowly getting better, but not to the point where I can sit at the computer with lights and a camera…no webcast again this week, but the #podcast version of our last webcast with @RanaldWatson and Findlay Ross of @Springbank1828 is now available!

Happy Hour Live with Springbank’s Findlay Ross and Ranald Watson (Episode 902: October 8, 2021)

It took three days to produce, but we're back with a new episode of WhiskyCast! @RoyalSalute Master Blender @whiskyblenderdude joins us on this episode with his latest challenge…creating a #whisky to match the decanter (It's usually the other way around)!

Designing a Bespoke Whisky…for a Bespoke Design (Episode 901: October 4, 2021)

Good news…my cat scan for the concussion came back negative!

This week's WhiskyCast will be delayed until tomorrow. Not allowed to use screens for the rest of the day, and that makes it hard to produce the #podcast. Thanks for your patience.

Gotta give this spider credit…only put that workbench there late yesterday and left it out overnight. Nice web for an overnight job!

If you missed last night's #HappyHourLive webcast with @springbank1828's Ranald Watson and Findlay Ross, you missed a lot – including confirmation of plans for another distillery in #Campbeltown! The on-demand replay is available now at the WhiskyCast YouTube channel, and the #podcast version will be available later this week!

@whiskyblenderdude created a special blend of @royalsalute 21-year-old to go with this special decanter design by Richard Quinn to kick off the brand's new Couture Collection. Sandy tells us about the process of creating that new blend on the next WhiskyCast #podcast!

The Whisky Fairy delivered a sample of the new @redbreastirishwhiskey PX Edition today, along with the @redbreastwhiskeyus Lustau Edition that make up the new Iberian Series! Tasting notes on the next episode! #whiskycastsponsor

The podcast version of our latest #HappyHourLive webcast with Ashley and Colby Frey of Nevada's @freyranchdistillery, actor @BethBehrs, and Gareth Howells of @DewarsAberfeldy is now available wherever you get your #podcasts, and it's our 900th episode of WhiskyCast, too!

I have lost one of my best friends, and the whisky world has lost a friend to all of us.

Peter Silver passed away overnight following a long series of illnesses…cancer, kidney disease, and in the end, it was an infection following surgery for a broken hip that took him from us.

In addition to being one of the original Malt Maniacs, Peter was a jazz trumpeter (I shot this photo during one of his band's concerts in 2011 at the legendary Blue Note jazz club in New York City) and a dentist…he was known as the "Jazz Dentist" and named his band "Blue Nitrous."

His apartments all had the nickname "Dram Central Station," and while you might need some time to search through his extensive collection of whiskies, he would gladly open and pour anything no matter whether you were a fellow connoisseur or a newcomer to whisky.

The last time I saw him, he stopped by the house a few months ago on his way to his nephew's wrestling meet nearby and brought a few vintage samples from bottles he'd collected recently. I poured him a few samples from my whiskies that he hadn't tried yet…when he left, he was optimistic about his prospects for a kidney transplant…and wanted me to stop by his place in Bayonne the next time I was going into New York.

Sadly, the pandemic has kept me from going into the city…and we never got to share another dram. I'll be pouring something special tonight from Islay in Peter's memory, and ask you to join me.

Rest well, my friend…you earned it!

Our friends (and sponsors) at @Redbreast_US are unveiling a new expression right now! The Redbreast Iberian Series debuts with the new Pedro Ximénez Edition and joins the Lustau Edition in that range. Goes on sale in Ireland 9/27, UK/Finland/Global Travel Retail late September, and the US in November!