May 17, 2021 – A thaw in relations between the European Union and the United States has American whisky makers breathing easier. Just two weeks… Read More
tariffs
Rye is Rye, Right? Not So Fast… (Episode 867: April 19, 2021)
Whisky lovers can probably name at least a few varieties of barley commonly used to make single malts, but rye? Rye doesn’t get the same… Read More
“Star Trek” Economics & Whisky Prices in a Post-Tariff World
Commentary by Mark Gillespie March 6, 2021 – After the United States reached tentative truces with Great Britain and the European Union this week and… Read More
U.S. Suspends Single Malt Whisky Tariffs During Talks with Great Britain & Europe
By Mark Gillespie Updated March 5, 2021 – In a surprise early-morning move Thursday, the Biden Administration announced a four-month suspension of tariffs on single… Read More
British Government Freezes Spirits Duties in Budget’s Covid Response
By Mark Gillespie March 3, 2021 – Scotch Whisky makers had been hoping the British government’s response to the economic damage from the Covid-19 pandemic… Read More
Another New Distillery for Islay (Episode 858: February 14, 2021)
Scotland’s legendary whisky island is getting yet another new distillery. Local officials have approved the plans for the new Elixir Distillers project just east of… Read More
Ardbeg’s Pirate Captain Sails Into the Sunset (Episode 857: February 7, 2021)
Mickey Heads retired recently after 13 years as Ardbeg’s distillery manager and four decades of work at distilleries on Islay and Jura. Now, Ardbeg has… Read More
Asia’s Whisky Capital (Episode 856: January 31, 2021)
Hong Kong has become a key center for the world’s whisky makers, and we had more evidence of that this week. Gordon & MacPhail’s new… Read More
US Spirits Industry Makes Gains in 2020 Despite Covid, Tariffs
By Mark Gillespie January 28, 2021 – 2020 was not a good year by virtually all measurements, but the U.S. distilled spirits industry managed to squeak… Read More
A Fèis-Less Islay Again in 2021 (Episode 855: January 25, 2021)
For the second straight year, Islay’s biggest party of the year has been cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Fèis Ile, the Islay Festival of… Read More
A Bright Future for The GlenAllachie (Episode 854: January 17, 2021)
It’s been a little more than three years since Billy Walker and his partners acquired Scotland’s GlenAllachie Distillery from Chivas Brothers. What had previously been… Read More
Ending 2020 On a High Note (Episode 851: December 27, 2020)
2020 will not be remembered well by many people, but there have been a few bright spots for whisky lovers. One is the arrival of… Read More