The Whiskey Lore® Podcast

Last week we looked at the growth of one of the biggest bourbon making areas in Kentucky - an area that at its peak had nine distilleries, but at the turn of the century had just about forgotten its whiskey past.

Join me this week as we examine the area's downfall, the Kentucky Whiskey Trust, the families as they faded away, and the future of New Hope. My special guests are Wally and Charles Dant of Log Still Distillery. Listen to what they have in store for this once great whiskey area.

One of the great centers of the bourbon industry in the late 1800's started with humble beginnings in the deep woods of Kentucky near present day Pottinger's Creek. But drive around the area today and you would hardly know that this place was once the home of upwards of nine distilleries - selling whiskey from Boston, Massachusetts to San Francisco, California.

This is the origin story of New Hope, Kentucky and the surrounding area. It features the names Basil Hayden, J.W. Dant, George Willett, and other bourbon whiskey legends.

Featuring special guest J.W. "Wally" Dant of Log Still Distillery in New Hope.

I've heard people defending why you should spell whisk[e]y with an "e" and without an "e" - but I haven't heard anyone give me a good explanation of where these two spellings originated or why each has found its own hooks in certain countries.

So in this episode, I'll take a look at the origins of the word and see if we can determine the best way to navigate this spelling minefield.

This week I look at two mysterious tragedies in the history of scotch whisky. One takes place at the Laphroaig Distillery on Islay and the other at Glenturret Distillery.

I also provide details about several steps in the process of making scotch whisky.

Join me and Lucy Armstrong, Development Manager and unofficial historian for Glenturret Distillery and we learn of the tragic story of Grace Gow and find a silver lining in an otherwise sad tale.

What is the source of this "father of" obsession we have? Who was the Father of Baseball; who was the "Father of the Internet;" who was the "Father of Radio;" and who was the "Father of Bourbon?"

There is a highly publicized answer that graces a bourbon bottles and historic signs around Kentucky, the Reverend Elijah Craig. I'll take a look at his life and see if we can spot his relationship to the origins of "America's Native Spirit."

In this week's episode, I investigate a couple of legends built around whiskey barrels, distillery cats, bourbon, and scotch whisky. I also head to Glenturret Distillery in Perthshire, Scotland to ask questions about the most famous and prolific distillery cat of them all, Towser.

I'll also unveil the background on the name of the whisky Monkey Shoulder.

This week, we look at New Orleans and Bourbon Street as a potential source for the name of "bourbon" whiskey. We'll cover the theories that suggest this famous street's influence on bourbon's name and unveil a secret about Bourbon Street that most people are not aware of.

Elizabeth Pearce of the Drink and Learn podcast joins me as we dig into the origins of the name of bourbon whiskey.

In this modern world of brands and brand names, it is hard to fathom that no one seems to know the story behind bourbon whiskey and how it got that name. 

In this episode, we'll dive deeper into names and the history surrounding the name "Bourbon" in America - and we'll look at two sources that could lead us learning how bourbon got its name.

False facts are all around us. And one that has been with us for almost 80 years is the "tongue map." That little visual we were shown in our textbooks as children is not quite as true as we've been led to believe.

Join me as we talk tasting history, learn how to we taste, and apply that to how we approach experiencing whisky and writing our tasting notes. Cheers!

An entry in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland in 1494 points to Friar John Cor and a group of Tironensian monks as the likely source of the first aqua vitae provided to the king. This record has brought the home of these monks, Lindores Abbey, fame as the spiritual home of scotch whisky. But is it?

Join me and Drew McKenzie-Smith, founder of Lindores Abbey Distillery, as we look further into the history of distillation on this historic property.