Cocktails Distilled

What if you could capture the essence of a rugged Scottish island in a bottle? Join us as we journey to Islay, Scotland, with Adam Hannett, the head distiller at Bruichladdich Distillery, to explore the bold new expression of The Botanist gin—Distiller's Strength.

By increasing the alcohol content to 50%, this limited edition gin accentuates its juniper core while preserving the fine balance of 22 native botanicals. Hannett highlights the importance of exploration and innovation in cocktail creation, inspiring bartenders and gin enthusiasts to push the boundaries of their craft with Islay's finest.

Step into the enchanting world of Islay's botanicals with us as we uncover the nostalgic ties to plants and honor the legacy of master distiller Jim McEwan through the artistry involved in bottling Islay’s unique aromas and flavors.

This episode is not just a celebration of tradition but a testament to the endless possibilities of gin crafting, showcasing The Botanist's commitment to innovation and respect for the timeless beauty of Islay’s landscapes.

Whether you're a gin aficionado or new to the spirit, this conversation with Adam Hannett, Head Distiller at Bruichladdich Distillery, where the Botanist is made, promises a taste of something truly special.

To find out more go to thebotanist.com/

Or buy a bottle with our affiliate link 

While we’d be hard-pressed to believe that cocktail syrups are the Elixir Vitae or ‘elixir of immortality,’ spoken about in ancient Alchemy, for lovers of tropical drinks, Falernum is not far off. 

So it’s unsurprising that US Premium Cocktail Syrups brand, Liquid Alchemist has just launched their own Falernum, the most recent addition to their stable of flavours. 

To find out more, we talk to a modern version of an alchemist, former bartender and Liquid Alchemy founder Randy Tarlow about flavour, tropical cocktails and the importance of Syrups to the balance of a good drink. 

When people talk about Bourbon, they usually talk about the barrels - they go on about the char levels and whether there was any toasting. 

After that, they might discuss the age and the time the liquid spent in those nicely charred barrels because, for most people, that time and those barrels denote the liquid's flavour. 

Occasionally, the conversation may turn to the makeup of the mash bill, such as the percentage of corn, to rye, to barley, or wheat. 

But very rarely do they ever talk about yeast. 

That is until Pat Heist and Shane Baker started Wilderness Trail in 2012. Unlike most other Craft distilleries that started during that period, Wilderness Trail had a unique advantage in its founders. 

It has two people who made a career out of supplying yeast strains and fermentation products to breweries and distilleries with their company FirmSolutions. 

Over ten years after they lay down their first distillations, we talk to Heist about fermentation, wheated whiskey and whether yeast really is the key to Bourbon’s flavour 

For more information, go to https://www.wildernesstraildistillery.com/

If you travel high into the French Alps between the cliffs of Vercors and the peaks of Écrins National Park, you might be surprised that besides some of the world’s most beautiful mountain terrain, there is also Whiskey. 

Surrounded by the Trièves Mountains sits Les Hautes Glaces, the world’s oldest organic whisky farm & distillery, established in 2009 by Frédéric Revol. 

Nestled in such beauty, it’s not surprising that the distillery aims to put terroir at the heart of the taste of all its liquids. 

To find out more, we talk to Revol about grains, terroir and what it’s like to distil in the French Alps. 

Ever wondered what happens when a pop icon teams up with a master mixologist? 

Jennifer Lopez and Lynnette Marrero bring their unique talents together to create Delola, a line of Ready to Enjoy (RTE) cocktails that blend artistry and accessibility. 

While the brand already boasts expressions like its Paloma Rosa, Bella Berry and L’Orange Spritz, they have just added a new flavour to the sable in the form of a Light Margarita. 

We talk to Marrero about flavour, low ABV and what star power adds to a brand

For more information on Delola, go to http://delolalife.com

There is nothing more romantic than the story of a revived brand, and none seems to have done it as well as Kentucky Owl. Founded in 1879, the brand created Whiskey until Prohibition shut it down. 

A hundred years later, the great-great-grandson of the founder revived the family business with a view to respecting the past but looking to the future. And with that, a boutique Bourbon business known for its limited releases was reborn. 

Its latest release, the Maighstir (which is Gaelic for master) epitomises the creativity and disruptive nature of the brand. 

To find out more, we talk to Master Distiller Dr. Maureen Robinson about blending, legacy and turning Bourbon into Scotch

Let’s face it: the agave spirits market is crowded. So, if you are looking to bring out a new tequila, you’ve really got to stand out. 

Casa Obsidiana, a brand that was released at the end of last year, is looking to do that on several fronts. 

By incorporating elements of modern art, heritage, and liquids substantially transformed by wine cask ageing, the brand is looking to make its mark on the ultra-premium market. 

But the promises of all those elements are a lot to live up to. 

We talk to co-founder Jean-Charles Boisset about yeast strains, barrel regimes and what it takes to cut through the noise. 

No matter what you think of RTDs, you can’t argue with the convenience factor - a fact that has driven the sector into a meteoric rise since COVID. 

Although figures show that the sector is beginning to plateau, the premium end of the category is still seeing growth and a demand for new variations. 

One such premium brand that has been making its mark is Australia’s Curitif - a brand that believes its expressions empower consumers to redefine their occasions. 

With a luxury, high-end image, the brand seeks to constantly express its core values of quality, convenience, and sustainability. 

To find out more about this, we talked to the brand’s founder, Matt Sanger, about cocktails, the future of the category, and a shiny, new expression the brand is about to release. 

We live in a time when people often refer to Scotch not only by the brand name but also by the age of the liquid. 

In executive boardrooms and exclusive gentlemen's clubs, the names of single malts are mentioned with a certain reverence, and a hush will come over the room as a Glenlivit 74-year-old or a Dalmore 45-year-old, as discussed. They are expensive, they are exclusive, and they have given single malt scotch an air of rarity and distinction.

But there is one brand that seeks to throw all the trappings of labelling aside and who seeks to challenge the drinker to look to flavour and taste as a benchmark. 

With Smokehead, the liquid in its bottles is Islay single malts, but distillery names and age classifications are not mentioned. 

In other words, Smokehead is looking to take you down the road less travelled and presents cask-finished whiskies that have the pedigree but without the labelling. 

To find out what it all means we talk to Michael Brown, Global Whisky Brand Ambassador for Smokehead’s parent company, Ian Macleod Distillers about flavour, smoke and what disrupting scotch whiskey means 

New Orleans has a long tradition of being the gateway between US Bourbon and the rest of the world. And Chicken Cock, being one of the oldest Whiskey brands in the US, has had a long association with the city. 

Even before he started Chicken Cock Whiskey, original founder James A. Miller was shipping barrels of his coveted whiskey down to the ‘Big Easy’ in the 1830s. So it's no surprise that Chicken Cock has been shipping a very special expression down south for this year's New Orleans Bourbon Festival. 

A limited-edition, created in collaboration with the festival, the brand's Single Barrel Double Oak Kentucky Whiskey has been aged for nine years—the final two in new American White Oak with a level four char. 

We caught up with Master Distiller Gregg Snyder to discuss the expression and what it's like to create a liquid designed to live up to the legends of the city, the festival, and the brand.