Inside Whisky

Almost 20.000km from home – quite the distance to record a podcast in situ, don’t you think?! Well, we did it anyway… We travelled halfway around the globe to meet up with Matt Johns of Pōkeno Whisky in New Zealand to record this episode.

Matt founded Pōkeno Distillery together with his wife Celine as a “passion project” just about an hour south auf Auckland in the small village of Pōkeno, to craft “one of the world’s greatest single malts”. Pōkeno is another one of those aspiring and innovative New World Distilleries, and to quote Matt, they completely “threw the rulebook out […] to make a true New Zealand whisky”. With his approach, Matt didn’t want to be inspired by the past too much, but for him it was more about building their own story from the day they decided to start Pōkeno Distillery and onwards.

Sit down, pour a dram and join us for some fascinating stories from the other side of the world. Learn about the challenges of starting a distillery in a country where native, endemic timber exists aplenty but coopers are scarce and where a copper work industry is basically non-existent. Find out about what makes Pōkeno Whisky unique and enjoy this episode straight from the Southern Hemisphere. You surely won’t regret it.

Donald & Alexander Johnston, Ian Hunter, Bessie Williamson, Iain Henderson, John Campbell, Barry MacAffer – quite an illustrious round of people – and all of them special for Laphroaig in their very own way.

And today’s episode is about Barry MacAffer, who has spent the best part of 13 years working at the distillery and who has now decided to leave Islay, Scotland, the UK and even Europe to start a totally new adventure in South Korea.

We had the chance to talk to Barry right at the end of his time at Laphroaig and met a very thoughtful, reflective, open and also entertaining Barry and we felt like we really had a chance to get to know the person behind the role of being Laphroaig’s distillery manager.

Barry took us along on his journey through the whisky world, starting with growing up on Islay, going through various roles at Laphroaig and now moving on to a totally new endeavour halfway around the world.

His memories and anecdotes from along the way make this a wonderful podcast episode and with it, we are quietly saying goodbye to a man who will surely be missed on Islay a lot. But to say it in Barry’s words: “It’s never a goodbye, it’s always ‘see you later’.”

Today, the 7th of June 2024, marks the day that Rosebank finally opens its doors to visitors again and we got the chance to have a look behind the curtain shortly before the grand reopening of the distillery to talk to distillery manager Malcolm Rennie.

Originally being founded in 1840, Rosebank had to endure a lot of agony up to this point in 2024 and we don’t know, yet, what the future holds for the distillery. But what we can say already with absolute certainty: Ian Macleod Distillers, the owners of Rosebank, have outdone themselves by reawakening this sleeping giant. The distillery building offers an impressive mix of architecture, incorporating old and new elements alike, also including the iconic Rosebank chimney, showcasing the year 1840. Within the building, the chimney marks the borderline dividing the production areas of mashing and distilling. Perfect.

Listen in and learn more about Rosebank, which is a rather unusual Lowland distillery with its uncommon mix of triple distillation and worm tub condensers, and get to know Malcolm Rennie, the man behind the reimagined Rosebank spirit, whose experience in the world of whisky is hard to rival. We were utterly impressed!

Lean back, tune in, and be one of the very first to get to peek behind the curtain of Rosebank Distillery – you won’t be disappointed.

Have you ever met Kenny Macdonald? No? Really?? Then here’s your chance! 

Kenny is the co-founder of independent bottler Dràm Mòr, which he founded together with his wife Viktorija. Since he claims himself that he is not the “brains” of the company – what does he bring to the table? Well, he’s a real showman and a great storyteller and an absolute joy to listen to – so quite naturally, we wanted to record a podcast episode with him. To be honest, we tried to do this recording several times but somehow it never happened – but now we’re more than happy that it finally worked out – and we hope you will join us.

Let’s enjoy some precious 1 on 1 (or actually 2 on 1) time with Kenny and get to know him and Dràm Mòr. We’re certain you won’t regret it. Kenny gives his all for his company and you really believe it, when he says that working in the whisky business is his absolute dream job – to the extent that he would claim that people would have to drag him out of this job “in a box”. He really loves what he is doing, and you can feel that in every single minute of this episode. 

Some of Kenny’s stories are hilarious but sometimes he’s also quite emotional and thoughtful – it makes for a perfect mix, and we had great fun recording the episode.

Lean back, relax and join us on this episode, which will take you from Munich to Dumbarton and back, via night clubs, slaughterhouses, Lithuania and even a short but pretty memorable stopover in Israel. Simply pour a dram and enjoy the (wild) ride. 

Indian Single Malt Whisky – sounds quite exotic at first sight – and probably it is to some extent. But it’s also so much more than that: It’s made with pride, it’s unique, it’s very flavourful, it’s delicious and there are so many things to be discovered about Indian whisky and also the country itself.

For this episode, our journey through the world of whisky has brought us together with Madhu Kanna of Indri Single Malt Indian Whisky – unfortunately not in India this time, but maybe some time in the future, who knows.

Madhu is the international sales manager of Piccadily Distillery, the producers of Indri Whisky and we had a wonderful chat with him about India, its culture and, of course, Indri Whisky. Let’s have a look at whisky from a different perspective together with Madhu and think outside the box of Scotch or Irish whisk(e)y for the next 40 minutes or so.

Sit down, lean back, relax and let Madhu and us invite you to the exciting world of Indian culture and Indian Single Malt Whisky – there might even be some world-exclusive news to be discovered if you listen closely – this is certainly a unique and exotic episode, and one surely not to be missed!

MCDXCIV – does that ring a bell? And no, it’s not a typo… It’s a Roman numeral and it stands for 1494, quite a pivotal year in the world of whisky and especially for the newly founded Lindores Abbey Distillery.

1494 is the year in which, according to the Scottish Whisky Association, the earliest documented record of distilling in Scotland occurred in the Exchequer Rolls (the tax records): An entry lists “To Friar John Cor, 8 bolls of Malt, wherewith to make Aqua Vitae for King James IV.”

Friar John Cor produced this water of life exactly in the place where you find Lindores Abbey Distillery today. Cool background story – don’t you think?!

Mr. John Howison then bought the Lindores Abbey estate in 1913 and we had a chance to talk to his great-grandson Drew McKenzie Smith, who, together with his wife Helen, founded Lindores Abbey Distillery in 2016.

We know, we know, that’s a lot of facts and numbers, but isn’t it absolutely fascinating? In our opinion, it is! We hope you think the same because if yes, this presents a perfect chance for you:
Listen in and find out more about Drew McKenzie Smith and Lindores Abbey and maybe discover some more intriguing stories about its historic past, its malty present and its promising future.

10 centimetres of snow, a single track road and its end, a Viking-style longhouse, mystically lit by torches and overlooking a picturesque Norwegian fjord – wow! That’s what our arrival looked like when approaching Aurora Spirit Distillery - quite the way to arrive at a distillery…

Okay, okay, you have to go there in late autumn or winter for the snow and the torches are well-animated electrical torches, but still, our “wow” keeps standing – and we haven’t even mentioned the majestic Northern Lights, yet, which you can perfectly spot there when it’s clear at night. 

After parking the car and then walking by the Viking longhouse, which is actually a whisky warehouse, we finally arrived at our final destination, Aurora Spirit Distillery, the producers of Bivrost Whisky: A beautiful and very modern building with a vast glass front, offering a perfect view of the fjord, coupled with traditional wooden elements. Stepping inside, you recognise right away all the thoughtfully staged artifacts reminiscent of the old Vikings – all very moody! 

Upon our arrival, we were greeted by a man, who can actually claim that he is 100% Viking himself (a very calm and charming one, as we might add): Tor Petter Christensen, founder and CEO of Aurora Spirit Distillery.

Before our recording, Tor took the time to give us an extensive tour of the entire site and we were hooked in no time – what an absolutely fabulous place to produce the northernmost whisky in the world. Spectacular!

Are you curious now? Well, you should be! So don’t miss out on our new podcast episode with Tor and find out more about Aurora Spirit Distillery, Bivrost Whisky and producing whisky at 69° North. We’re sure it’s time well-spent – especially during the darker time of the year. So lean back and enjoy.

 

Campeltown – once the whisky capital of the world – has become a place of whisky pilgrimage more and more in the last years. Nonetheless, many people still disregard the Glen Scotia Distillery in favour of their bigger neighbour.

However, we think that is a mistake! 

At Glen Scotia, Iain McAlister and his team produce a worldclass spirit and mature it to perfection. And apart from the great whisky you can get there, the atmosphere when you arrive at the distillery is just absolutely wonderful. Everybody is so warm-hearted and welcoming and distillery manager Iain McAlister is no exception to that (maybe he’s actually the reason for it?!).

That said, we had a wonderful time recording this episode with Iain and to chat all things Campbeltown, whisky, Glen Scotia and bees (yes, indeed). 

If you might not be as familiar with Glen Scotia, yet, this is your chance! And if you are an expert already, we’re pretty sure there are some more lovely details to be discovered in this episode.

So don’t hesitate, tune in and get to know the wonderful Iain McAlister and his Glen Scotia Distillery.

If you think of a whisky distillery in Scotland which stands for powerful and peaty whisky with a hint of sweet vanilla and citrus, which is extremely good at storytelling, very creative in bringing old myths to life to describe and sell their whiskies with worldclass marketing but which is also seen as quite polarising at times throughout the whisky community, which distillery name pops up in your head?

For many of you, just like for us, the answer is probably going to be Ardbeg.

Year in, year out many people make the pilgrimage to Scotland and the Isle of Islay to experience their beloved Ardbeg Distillery first hand and we really have to say that Ardbeg, at least for us, is still a benchmark when it comes to hospitality. Even more so when you travel there during the Islay Whisky Festival, Fèis Ìle, and that’s exactly what we did once more this year.

During all the festivities and the busy hustle of Ardbeg Day 2023 (and his top-secret Ardbeg Committee event), T.J. Littlejohn, Global Expierence & Advocacy Manager of The Glenmorangie Company, which Ardbeg is a part of, took the time to talk to us and tell us some lovely stories (very Ardbeggian, isn’t it?!). 

So raise a dram of TEN, Uigeadail, Corryvreckan, An Oa, Wee Beastie, Smoketrails, BizarreBQ, Heavy Vapours or maybe The Harpy’s Tale (we could probably continue this list forever…) and join us to relive Ardbeg Day 2023 with T.J. and learn some more about this wonderful Islay distillery. 

Far up north, just off the northernmost point of the UK’s mainland, there are the Orkneys – islands shaped by the sea and extreme weather. And right up there, on these rough islands, there’s a distillery which is extremely beautifully situated and producing surprisingly smooth whisky. Of course, we are talking about Scapa Distillery overlooking the breathtaking Scapa flow.

And that’s exactly the place where we recorded this episode with Mick Swanney, team leader at Scapa Distillery. As a real Orcadian, Mick knows a lot of stories about his home, Orkney, and obviously, he also knows a thing or two about whisky. 

Find out about Scapa’s history and its superb whisky, about the rivalry with their neighbouring distillery (or is it?), life on Orkney and why you shouldn’t believe everything that’s on the internet. 

Lean back, pour a dram and let a real Orcadian tell you some stories about his home - this remote, rough and captivating place, which, on top, also produces some absolutely incredible whiskies.