Not Another Whisky Podcast

Live from Spirit of Speyside, host Daz welcomes three blenders—Brian Kinsman (William Grant & Sons), Ollie Chilton (Elixir/ Tormore), and Sarah Burgess (Head of Whisky Creation at International Beverage, jokingly “banned” from other sessions)—to taste four whiskies and talk careers, process, and mischief. Brian explains his science-to-apprentice path under David Stewart and taking over in 2009; Ollie traces retail-to-cask-buying and acquiring Tormore in 2022; Sarah recounts starting as a Cardhu tour guide, moving through Diageo, becoming a Macallan blender via a sensory/blending interview, then returning to Scotland. They taste a 2023 Tormore “plain spirit”, a 2006–2018 Speyburn single cask, and a Glenfiddich 30 22-year with oloroso and a palo cortado finish, discuss water’s role in blending, sensory blind spots, grain’s value, stock legacy, cask strategy, innovation limits, and shifting whisky audiences toward flavor over age.

Hosted by Mitch Bechard and Daz Haldane, this is where the whisky world gets pulled apart properly, with stories, insights, and the occasional bit of chaos along the way.

🥃 New episodes every week(ish)

🎤 Live shows & tastings across Scotland

🎟️ Web: www.notanotherwhiskypodcast.com

📩 Enquiries & partnerships: [email protected]

📲 Follow us on Instagram

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/not-another-whisky-podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recorded in the historic Vaults in Leith, Mitch Bechard is joined by SMWS “chief storyteller” Richard Goslan and Kask Whisky founder Justine Hazlehurst for a deep dive into one of Scotch whisky’s most overlooked powerhouses.

Leith was never just a port. It was a whisky engine room: bonding, brokering, blending, bottling and shipping enormous volumes of Scotch around the world. At one point, the area was home to around 90–100 bonded warehouses, yet its role in shaping the modern industry is often pushed into the background.

Richard brings The Vaults to life, from its ancient origins and long links with the drinks trade to the birth of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society in 1983. He shares how the Society’s single-cask ethos developed, why bottle 1.1 became legendary, how the tasting panel works, and how SMWS bottle names manage to be both brilliant and completely unhinged.

Justine guides us through Leith’s boom-and-bust whisky past, from Pattison’s infamous 1898 crash, to wars, consolidation, the whisky loch, and the stories still hiding in plain sight on the Leith Whisky Trail. There are disputed parrots, a very real pub puma attack, independent bottling chat, festival stories, and a reminder that whisky history is always better when it hasn’t been polished to death.

A proper sense-of-place episode from one of Scotland’s most important whisky rooms.

00:00 Welcome to The Vaults in Leith

00:48 Meet Richard Goslan and Justine Hazlehurst

02:46 Inside the history of The Vaults

05:57 Why Leith matters to Scotch whisky

08:46 The origins of the Leith Whisky Trail

11:06 Wild stories from Leith’s past

12:46 SMWS founding story and bottle labels

16:30 Whisky as a shared community

19:54 Leith’s boom-and-bust whisky timeline

26:02 The whisky loch and SMWS’s first cask

28:11 SMWS codes, flavour profiles and tasting culture

29:42 How the SMWS tasting panel works

30:47 The joy of flamboyant bottle names

31:25 Creators Collection and whisky artwork

32:28 Desert island dram: SMWS 1.1

34:54 Glenfarclas and Leith connections

35:50 The independent bottling boom

38:26 Fife Whisky Festival and modern whisky culture

40:39 Justine’s Pattison crash book

45:19 The Pattison parrots myth

48:01 Finding Pip Hills again

52:07 Vaults legends and wild old days

54:35 Where to find Richard and Justine

Hosted by Mitch Bechard and Daz Haldane, this is where the whisky world gets pulled apart properly, with stories, insights, and the occasional bit of chaos along the way.

🥃 New episodes every week(ish)

🎤 Live shows & tastings across Scotland

🎟️ Web: www.notanotherwhiskypodcast.com

📩 Enquiries & partnerships: [email protected]

📲 Follow us on Instagram

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/not-another-whisky-podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Not Another Whisky Podcast goes live from the Craigellachie Hotel for Battle of the Stills, recorded during the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival.

Daz is joined by three brilliant distillers: Euan Christie from The Cabrach Distillery, Polly Logan from Tormore, and Kristy Lark from Killara Distillery in Tasmania.

Euan shares the story of The Cabrach: an area with deep illicit distilling roots, a shrinking population, and a new community-led distillery using whisky to support local regeneration. He also introduces The Feering, The Cabrach’s first blended malt, created with donated casks from across the industry.

Polly takes us inside Tormore, one of Speyside’s most beautiful distilleries, as it prepares to launch its new core range. She talks about shaping the distillery’s fruity, floral style, the importance of American oak, and working with blender Oliver Chilton.

Kristy brings the Tasmanian perspective, from growing up with a still outside her bedroom door to founding Killara Distillery. She shares how Tasmania’s climate shapes maturation and introduces a wonderfully unusual whisky inspired by a Black Velvet cocktail, finished through sparkling wine and stout casks.

There are audience questions, festival chaos, whisky gossip, and at least one answer involving rum-infused Scottish tea that probably needs a legal disclaimer. 

The Cabrach – The Feering Early Harvest

A bright, bourbon-led blended malt with gentle peat and a strong community story.

Tormore – Timeless

Fruity, floral and elegant, showing orchard fruit, malt and honeysuckle notes.

Killara – Black Velvet Inspired Single Cask

A rich Tasmanian single cask involving tawny, sparkling wine, stout and glorious madness.

Please subscribe, rate and review Not Another Whisky Podcast wherever you listen. Slàinte!

Hosted by Mitch Bechard and Daz Haldane, this is where the whisky world gets pulled apart properly, with stories, insights, and the occasional bit of chaos along the way.

🥃 New episodes every week(ish)

🎤 Live shows & tastings across Scotland

🎟️ Web: www.notanotherwhiskypodcast.com

📩 Enquiries & partnerships: [email protected]

📲 Follow us on Instagram

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/not-another-whisky-podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mitch and Daz catch up after a packed festival season, They recap Spirit of Speyside’s, Mitch’s chaotic-but-fun Tormore launch and plans to expand their sold-out “Battle of the Ambassadors” into a winter tournament, “The Road to Speyside,” with heats and a final at the festival.

Daz recounts Fèis Ìle highlights at Laphroaig’s 40th anniversary tastings and Bowmore events, including a boat trip on Loch Indal and a 1969 Bowmore dram.

They taste three whiskies: Chivas Charles Leclerc 16 (40%), Raasay Hungarian Oak (50%), and SMWS “A Belter for America” Tullibardine 10 (61%). They announce being shortlisted for the Scottish Podcast Awards, discuss Tormore’s new releases, the Bon Accord closing, Woven’s new Leith blending experience, and Glen Cairn’s leadership change, then tease upcoming episodes and a giveaway of a Ferrari cap plus whisky samples for reviews.

00:00 Whisky Stories Banter

00:48 New Theme Tune Debate

02:23 Show Intro and Catch Up

03:55 Festival Season Rundown

05:31 Tormore Launch Chaos

08:10 Road to Speyside Plan

12:24 Three Drams Lineup

13:51 Chivas x Leclerc Collab

17:52 Fèis Ìle Highlights

23:57 Feis vs Speyside Vibes

27:33 Raasay Island Escape

29:11 Hungarian Oak Tasting Notes

31:41 Warehouse Night Stories

32:53 Podcast Award Shortlist

34:35 Whisky World News Roundup

36:43 Edinburgh Whisky Experiences Boom

38:32 Glen Cairn Leadership Change

39:40 World Cup Whisky Bottling

44:28 Deep Dives and Cooper Traditions

46:57 Wrap Up and Listener Giveaway

Hosted by Mitch Bechard and Daz Haldane, this is where the whisky world gets pulled apart properly, with stories, insights, and the occasional bit of chaos along the way.

🥃 New episodes every week(ish)

🎤 Live shows & tastings across Scotland

🎟️ Web: www.notanotherwhiskypodcast.com

📩 Enquiries & partnerships: [email protected]

📲 Follow us on Instagram

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/not-another-whisky-podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mitch and Daz take a deep dive into coopering — the ancient craft behind every great dram.

Recorded in Edinburgh over suspiciously large highballs, the episode traces the cask from Celtic barrel-makers and Roman trade routes to modern whisky maturation, wood policy, rejuvenation and the global cask trade.

Mitch speaks with Ian MacDonald, former head cooper at The Balvenie, who started his apprenticeship in 1969 and spent over 50 years in the trade. Ian shares stories of rebuilding bourbon barrels into hogsheads, working alongside David Stewart, being paid per cask, apprentice initiations, and why coopering is far more than “just hammering bits of wood together."

The episode also features Lawrence Proctor, manager of Camlachie Cooperage and president of the Coopering Federation, who explains the modern reality of running a cooperage: cask repair, rejuvenation, apprenticeships, bourbon barrel prices, industry slowdowns and why coopers are often the first to feel the pressure when whisky dips.

Ian MacDonald — former Head Cooper at The Balvenie

Lawrence Proctor — Manager at Clydeside Cooperage and President of the Scottish Coopering Federation

Hosted by Mitch Bechard and Daz Haldane, this is where the whisky world gets pulled apart properly, with stories, insights, and the occasional bit of chaos along the way.

🥃 New episodes every week(ish)

🎤 Live shows & tastings across Scotland

🎟️ Web: www.notanotherwhiskypodcast.com

📩 Enquiries & partnerships: [email protected]

📲 Follow us on Instagram

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/not-another-whisky-podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Daryl interviews Sarah Dowling, lead whisky maker at Laphroaig, tracing her path from a genetics and environmental background to a 2012 Edrington recycling contract that turned into a long whisky career via sensory panels, Diageo, and nearly seven years at Cooley in Ireland (working on Connemara and other releases, and even managing the site). She discusses how her palate evolved from missing vanilla to treating smoke as a “neutral,” and how collaborative tasting works best when nobody gets told what they “should” taste. Sarah explains the organic Willem Dafoe collaboration (the “Unforgettable” campaign), built from pilot blends, repeated tastings, and an Oloroso-driven 14-year whisky bottled at 53.7% with rich texture. For Fèis Ìle’s 40th anniversary, Laphroaig’s Càirdeas is fully matured in French oak, noted for Lapsang souchong-like smoke and melon notes, and Sarah previews interactive Laphroaig Day tastings, parties, and Friends of Laphroaig camaraderie.

00:00 Welcome Sarah Dowling

01:09 From Sustainability to Whisky

02:59 Discovering Sensory Panels

07:03 Finding Flavor Blind Spots

11:53 Irish Whiskey Calling

16:41 Life at Cooley Distillery

17:55 Full Time Blender Role

18:36 Willem Dafoe Collaboration

20:34 Building the Oloroso Blend

23:47 First Tastes and Bold Character

24:28 Bold New Release

25:07 Willem Gets It

26:17 On Set Inspiration

29:05 Friends And Festivals

30:40 French Oak Cairdeas

31:58 Tasting Notes Tea Smoke

35:51 Feis Ile Tastings

38:04 Friends Stories And Farewell

Hosted by Mitch Bechard and Daz Haldane, this is where the whisky world gets pulled apart properly, with stories, insights, and the occasional bit of chaos along the way.

🥃 New episodes every week(ish)

🎤 Live shows & tastings across Scotland

🎟️ Web: www.notanotherwhiskypodcast.com

📩 Enquiries & partnerships: [email protected]

📲 Follow us on Instagram

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/not-another-whisky-podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gordon Dundas brings out Tamdhu’s Dalbeallie Dram, ninth edition — a natural-colour, first-fill sherry powerhouse sitting at 60.5% ABV. It’s everything you’d hope for from Tamdhu in full sherry beast mode: fruitcake sweetness, dark spice, espresso bitterness and a finish that somehow drinks far too easily for its strength.

The panel get stuck into age statements, natural colour, value, pricing, and where the whisky market is heading after a few years of everyone releasing everything, everywhere, all at once.

Then Stuart Buchanan steps up with the final dram: a newly shelved Benriach 2009 15-year-old peated whisky at 61.1% ABV, matured in refill hogsheads before spending six years in PX. Stuart talks through Benriach’s peated history, how cask choice shapes phenols, and why everyone apparently needs to save the hogshead.

Along the way, the ambassadors talk favourite recent markets, from Japan and Turkey to Singapore and Australia, before looking ahead to what might be next for whisky: more highballs, more blends, more indie bottlers, and hopefully fewer releases that require remortgaging your house.

The episode finishes with distillery recommendations from around the world, thoughts on new distilleries finding their feet, concerns around the pace of Irish whiskey growth, and the all-important audience vote.

00:00 Next Dram Setup

00:22 Dalbeallie Origins

01:41 Sherry Bomb Breakdown

03:44 Tasting Notes Banter

04:29 Editions and Value Talk

05:28 Age Statements Debate

07:13 Whisky Market Correction

10:06 Secondary Market Trends

11:16 Final Dram Dedication

12:17 Introducing Benriach Peat

12:58 Peated Release Details

14:50 Cask Strategy and Hogsheads

17:09 PPM and Peat Science

19:23 First Impressions Wrap

19:29 Sherry Cask Debate

20:14 Speyside DNA Explained

21:10 Glenglassaugh Coastal Dram

22:11 Travel Highlights Quickfire

23:49 Whisky Trends Next Year

26:41 Distillery Picks Worldwide

33:32 New Distilleries Growing Pains

34:59 Irish Whiskey Boom Concerns

37:41 Global Whisky Wrap-Up

39:39 Audience Vote Results

Hosted by Mitch Bechard and Daz Haldane, this is where the whisky world gets pulled apart properly, with stories, insights, and the occasional bit of chaos along the way.

🥃 New episodes every week(ish)

🎤 Live shows & tastings across Scotland

🎟️ Web: www.notanotherwhiskypodcast.com

📩 Enquiries & partnerships: [email protected]

📲 Follow us on Instagram

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/not-another-whisky-podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mitch kicks off a sold-out Clash of the Drams live recording, making it clear from the start that this is not going to be one of those polite Speyside tastings where everyone nods quietly and pretends to know what quince is.

This year’s brave contenders are Stuart Buchanan from Brown-Forman, Gordon Dundas from Ian Macleod Distillers, Struan Grant Ralph from Glenfiddich, and first-time entrant Charlie Metcalfe from The Balvenie. The audience are given the terrifying responsibility of judging both the drams and the banter, before casting their final vote in the Quaich Bar.

Part one features two outstanding drams. First up is Glenfiddich Snow Phoenix, created after the heavy winter snow of 2010 caused warehouse roofs to collapse, leading Brian Kinsman to vat together a unique selection of rescued casks. The panel talk through the story, the rarity, the price, and why it still holds such a special place for Glenfiddich fans.

Dram two comes from Balvenie, with an 18-year-old finished for seven years in Pineau des Charentes casks. Charlie explains how ambassador-led ideas can help shape whisky projects, while the group get into cask influence, flavour development, market differences, and what happens when ambassadors are allowed anywhere near new liquid.

And because this is Not Another Whisky Podcast, things naturally take a turn. The episode ends with the ambassadors being forced into celebrity-style whisky poems, including Daniel Craig and Jack Nicholson impressions that may never fully leave the room.

Part two is where things get even more unhinged.

00:00 Welcome to Clash

01:37 How the Voting Works

03:11 Meet the Panel

07:16 Festival Banter

10:26 Ambassador Origins

12:47 Dram One: Glenfiddich Snow Phoenix

18:26 The Warehouse Roof Collapse

19:17 Snow Phoenix Price Talk

20:50 Tasting Notes and Vibes

21:54 Dram Two: Pineau des Charentes Cask

25:01 How Ambassadors Shape Whisky

25:38 Signatures and Fingerprints

29:48 Markets and Innovation

32:42 Envelope Impression Game

37:40 Part One Sign Off

Hosted by Mitch Bechard and Daz Haldane, this is where the whisky world gets pulled apart properly, with stories, insights, and the occasional bit of chaos along the way.

🥃 New episodes every week(ish)

🎤 Live shows & tastings across Scotland

🎟️ Web: www.notanotherwhiskypodcast.com

📩 Enquiries & partnerships: [email protected]

📲 Follow us on Instagram

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/not-another-whisky-podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mitch is joined by Ria McAdam, European Marketing Manager at The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, for a dive into the world of SMWS — who chats about the current chance for members to win an entire Distillery 10 Islay cask.

They get into the origins of the Society, from Pip Hills sharing cask-strength whisky with friends in the 1970s to the founding of SMWS at The Vaults in Leith in 1983, before moving into how it has grown into a global whisky membership community. Ria talks through the monthly outturn model, the coded bottles, the flavour-led approach, and the gloriously odd names that have become part of SMWS folklore.

There’s also plenty on what membership actually gives you, from access to exclusive bottlings and Members’ Rooms to tastings, guest access, content and whisky education. Ria explains the crazy current May promotion where buying a festival bottle or activating a membership gets you into the draw to win a full Distillery 10 cask.

The episode also touches on SMWS’s Scotland football-inspired release, A Belter for America, a 10-year-old Highland single cask bottled to celebrate Scotland’s return to the World Cup.

Links

SMWS website

Join SMWS

Win a cask / festival bottles

Buy A Belter for America (28.118)

00:00 Welcome to SMWS

01:45 Origin story: Pip Hills

03:38 Global membership today

05:06 Ria’s role in marketing

06:27 How outturns work

10:11 Wild bottle names

11:52 What membership offers

13:19 Members’ Rooms and perks

15:14 Staff training and whisky culture

17:59 Ria’s own whisky journey

23:00 Events, outreach and content

25:36 Win a cask giveaway

29:03 A Belter for America

30:42 How to join and buy

33:24 Wrap up and thanks

Hosted by Mitch Bechard and Daz Haldane, this is where the whisky world gets pulled apart properly, with stories, insights, and the occasional bit of chaos along the way.

🥃 New episodes every week(ish)

🎤 Live shows & tastings across Scotland

🎟️ Web: www.notanotherwhiskypodcast.com

📩 Enquiries & partnerships: [email protected]

📲 Follow us on Instagram

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/not-another-whisky-podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mitch takes Not Another Whisky Podcast on the road for a live recording at Speyburn, joined by distillery manager Euan Henderson and head of whisky creation Sarah Burgess—two people quietly shaping one of Speyside’s most underrated distilleries.

They dig into Speyburn’s “hidden gem” reputation, what’s changed with the new visitor centre, and how the team balances consistency in new make with the creative chaos of building a modern whisky portfolio.

There’s proper whisky chat too—none of that vague “notes of happiness” nonsense. The lineup starts with the Speyburn 10 Year Old (refill ex-bourbon, 40%), before moving through the range, touching on the 15 and 18 with their increasing sherry influence, plus experiments with rum casks and the slightly geeky (but very cool) world of dechar/rechar cask rejuvenation.

Euan breaks down the distillery’s unusual setup—worm tubs, mixed condensers, and a blend of wooden and stainless steel washbacks—and how those choices shape Speyburn’s crisp, green-apple-driven spirit. There’s also a look at real-world challenges, including water supply issues that actually forced production cuts (because whisky isn’t always as romantic as we pretend it is).

They nose fresh, fruity new make, chat about early peated runs now quietly maturing away, and then… land on something ridiculous:

A 1975 vintage (53.4%), distilled in 1975 and re-vatted in 2017 into sherry-seasoned European oak butts—packed with rich, balanced old-whisky character and, somehow, still talked about as “good value” (which feels illegal).

It’s part distillery deep-dive, part live tasting, part organised chaos—with a proper crowd in the room.

00:00 Welcome & warm-up

00:40 Meet the hosts

02:10 Speyburn: the “hidden gem” conversation

04:07 Who actually does what behind the whisky

08:03 First dram: Speyburn 10

09:12 Range breakdown & cask strategy

12:04 Distillery DNA explained

15:15 Inside Speyburn

16:18 Worm tubs, condensers & water realities

17:18 Drum maltings heritage

18:45 Old stock & shifting flavour profiles

19:56 Expansion vs consistency

20:47 Life as a distillery manager

22:05 Sustainability & water challenges

24:48 New make: green apple and freshness

26:19 Peated experiments & terroir chat

28:51 The 1975 edition story

31:06 Tasting notes & balance

33:46 Age vs flavour debate

36:24 Audience Q&A & wrap

Hosted by Mitch Bechard and Daz Haldane, this is where the whisky world gets pulled apart properly, with stories, insights, and the occasional bit of chaos along the way.

🥃 New episodes every week(ish)

🎤 Live shows & tastings across Scotland

🎟️ Web: www.notanotherwhiskypodcast.com

📩 Enquiries & partnerships: [email protected]

📲 Follow us on Instagram

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/not-another-whisky-podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.