Whiskey Chasers

Subscriber-only episode

Send us a text

On today's Subscriber only episode we have a glass of Lagavulin Cask Strength! Continuing our scotch series with special guest Ryan from the club.  We talk about the price of scotch, premium tobacco, and this scotch series. All that and more on 

today's episode of Whiskey Chasers! 

Our Website is www.whiskeychaserspod.com, check us out! Thanks, and enjoy the show!

Be sure to show some love for the company that brought you today's bottle!

• We had a member of the club go to scotland for a work related trip and while he was over there, we had his ask a few questions that we were dying to know about scotch and here are the responses
  • So why Peat? 
    • It is easier to grow than trees since the majority of scotland is close to the sea and there are strong winds there
    • Loose soil + high winds = tree roots can’t grow deep before they are blown away
    • Peat also grows at a crazy fast rate
• At one point in my life I thought that Lagavulin 16 was the best of the best and nothing could or would compare. Then I had the distillers cut from them and thought this is the best and it could never get better. Then I got my hands on this bottle and I am not sure I can find any better. This might be their best bottling yet. 
• I have this rule about scotch:
  • 8 years is too young
  • 10-12 is okay but still young
  • 16 and above is the sweet spot
• This bottle continues to prove me wrong in my thinking. 
  • This one is 12 years
    • Meaning that the youngest barrel that goes into this blend is 12 years old 
  • And somehow it is able to pull out all the right flavors with no young aftertaste. 
  • virgin oak and their smokiest reserves, peaty casks 
• What really annoys me about distillers or brands is when you cannot find any history about them. 
  • All they appear to want is to sell their product
  • I want the product, but I want the history and to know how you do what you do. 
  • Lagavulin (Diageo) does just that, little history but pages of their offerings. 
• Price tag: 
  • $163 is considered a fair price
  • We have talked about scotch costing more, why do we think that is? Just because of age? 
  • Ardbeg is cheap, is it because it’s cheap scotch?
• Blended versus single malt
  • Which is better? 
  • Which provides more flavor? 
  • Which is cheaper? 
  • Does the price tag matter in blended?  
• If they are pipe smokers or cigar smokers, what do they drink? 
  • Blended for bulk tobacco? 
  • Single malt for tin tobacco? 
  • Would blend determine the bottle or region?

Website:www.whiskeychaserspod.com
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/whiskeychaserspodcast
Insta:https://www.instagram.com/whiskeychaserspodcast/
TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@whiskeychaserspodcast
Thanks For Listening! Tell a Friend!

Send us Fan Mail

On today's episode we have a glass of Kilchoman 100% Islay 11th edition! Continuing our scotch series with special guest Ryan from the club.  We talk about Farm to glass islay style, smokiness, and slowing down life. All that and more on today's episode of Whiskey Chasers! 

Be sure to Like us on Facebook and follow us on instagram, as well as rate and review the show wherever you are listening, it really helps us out.

Our Website is www.whiskeychaserspod.com, check us out! Thanks, and enjoy the show!

Be sure to show some love for the company that brought you today's bottle!

https://www.kilchomandistillery.com/ 

• Every year for the whiskey club we do a bottle gift exchange around Christmas, and Chris got this one!
• Pronounced Kill Ho Man
• Founded in 2005, Kilchoman was the first new distillery to be built on Islay in over 124 years. 
  • Anthony Wills, Kilchoman Founder, set out to resurrect the grass roots tradition of farm distilling. 
  • Their 100% Islay range represents the revival of those traditions, standing alone as Islay’s only Single Farm Single Malt Scotch Whisky.
• Kilchoman is a family run business established by Anthony and Kathy Wills.  
  • As the business expanded, the husband and wife team were joined by their three sons; James, George and Peter.  
  • The Wills family remain the driving force behind Kilchoman with Anthony as Managing Director and Master Distiller, Kathy running the Visitor Centre and their three sons managing the distillery’s sales and marketing activities.
• Our 100% Islay philosophy stems from Anthony and Kathy’s desire to resurrect the grass roots tradition of farm distilling. 
  •  From the very beginning, the 100% Islay range was their main reason for being.  It represents the revival of single malt whisky being cultivated from barley to bottle in a single location.  
  • Their distillery is one where the responsibility for quality and consistency is not outsourced but completed on-site with skill, care and attention to detail.
• The craggy hill ground to their south is grazed by their flock of blackface sheep.
• To the west, their herd of Aberdeen Angus cattle feed on a combination of machair grasses and draff; barley husks discarded during the whisky-making process.
• Their most fertile ground, 400 acres of rich soil surrounding the distillery, is reserved for their annual barley crop.  Sown each spring, once Islay’s 50,000 migratory geese have departed, the barley ripens over the summer months before being harvested in early autumn.
• Their Process 
• The bottle (100% ISLAY 12TH EDITION)
  • The 100% Islay 12th Edition was matured in 29 bourbon barrels and 6 oloroso sherry butts for a minimum of 8 years.
  • Boast a PPM of only 20 
  • Only 12,500 bottles were produced 

Support the show

Website:www.whiskeychaserspod.com
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/whiskeychaserspodcast
Insta:https://www.instagram.com/whiskeychaserspodcast/
TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@whiskeychaserspodcast
Thanks For Listening! Tell a Friend!

Send us Fan Mail

On today's episode we have a glass of Laphroig Lore! Continuing our scotch series with special guest Ryan from the club, an Avid scotch fan! We talk about Lagavulin vs. Laphroig, the peating and malting process, and BBQ. All that and more on today's episode of Whiskey Chasers! 

Be sure to Like us on Facebook and follow us on instagram, as well as rate and review the show wherever you are listening, it really helps us out.

Our Website is www.whiskeychaserspod.com, check us out! Thanks, and enjoy the show!

Be sure to show some love for the company that brought you today's bottle!

https://www.laphroaig.com/en/lore 

• Last time we had Laphroaig on the podcast we talked about their colored past involving the war between two families/distilleries. More specifically we talked about the war over the water that is used and here is why
  • The water supply that they pull from is already, naturally peated. 
  • Kilbride Reservoir
• They hand cut their own peat
  • 3 months for it to dry out, weather permitting 
  • “Grassy roots and fungi” and “mainland peat is pull from the forest not by the sea”  is what makes Islay peat different than mainland
• Malt their own Barley
  • Steeping the malt (Soaked for 2 days)
  • Still use a malting floor (Holds 7 tonnes=to 7.7 tons) 
  • Windows stay open to help maintain the right temperature (about 60 degrees)
  • They also have to turn the barley once a day
• Peating their Barley
  • The peat it before it dries 
  • 17 hour process 
  • They use a cold smoke method (kind of like smoking cheese)

• This bottle:
  • Created using techniques that have been passed down for generations, this single malt Scotch is made from some of the most precious whiskies in our Atlantic storehouse. Our master distillers select spirits from five different cask types, including ex-Bourbon barrels, 19th Century-style quarter casks and large Oloroso sherry butts.
  • Aged anywhere from seven years to 21 years, each spirit brings its own element — and lore — to the blend.The result is the richest expression of our unforgettable peated whisky. Sparkling gold, this rich and smoky Scotch tastes of fall days by the ocean with hints of ash and bitter chocolate. A long, sweet finish and spicy chili tingle make this dram utterly unparalleled. Serve neat, or over ice.
  • Complex blend of small-batch Scotch whisky, matured in five casks
  • Rich, smoky taste with hints of dark chocolate and ocean air
  • Crafted based on traditions passed down through generations
  • Aged from 7 to 21 years for the richest possible Laphroaig flavor
  • 2019 International Wine and Spirit Competition Silver

Support the show

Website:www.whiskeychaserspod.com
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/whiskeychaserspodcast
Insta:https://www.instagram.com/whiskeychaserspodcast/
TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@whiskeychaserspodcast
Thanks For Listening! Tell a Friend!

Send us Fan Mail

On today's episode we have a glass of Lediag 10 year.  Continuing our Scotch series with special guest Ryan from the club, we drink Lediag 10 year from the mole region of scotland.  We talk about seaweed, the Gin craze, and peatless scotch.  All that and more on today's episode of Whiskey Chasers! 

Be sure to Like us on Facebook and follow us on instagram, as well as rate and review the show wherever you are listening, it really helps us out.

Our Website is www.whiskeychaserspod.com, check us out! Thanks, and enjoy the show!

Be sure to show some love for the company that brought you today's bottle!

https://www.compassboxwhisky.com/whiskies/glasgow-blend 

• I have never heard of this brand before. Tipsy recommended it after one of this usual suspects asked him to bring in a case (which is only 6 bottles) and the guy bought 4 that day. 
• History:
  • The dream for this distillery started in 1797, when John Sinclair, a local Kelp merchant, decided to apply for a lease of 57 acres of land known as Ledaig. 
    • And yes he was a seaweed merchant
  • He had these great plans to build housing and a distillery 
    • He was rejected for that and was approved for a brewery instead
  • He ignored that and a year later he built the distillery known as ledaig
  • 1930’s come around, as did the great depression, prohibition and the halting of operations at this distillery for over 41 years
  • 1990’s brought life to the distillery, as it was bought out and reopened by Burn Stewart Distillers 
  • 2000’s brought yet another buyout and ownership, but this time it also brought a team that wanted to bring it back to life for the public. 
    • Purchased in 2013 by Distell, the renovated and reopened the Tobermory Distillery in 2019
• They are the only distillery on this island, which the island only has 2,667 people and is only 338 square miles 
  • Takes about 2 hours to drive around the whole island 
  • And it is the 4th largest island in Scotland 
• Meet the team: 
  • They only have 4 people showing for the “meet the team” section on their website. 
    • Master Distiller
    • Distillery Manager
    • Master Blender
    • Visitor Center Manager
• Their Whiskey:
  • Tobermory Whiskey
    • Unpeated Whiskey? 
  • Ledaig Whiskey
    • True peated Scotch
• This bottle: 
  • As with all our single malts, this peated Ledaig is non-chill filtered and natural color.  
  • Bottled at 46.3% and produced using peated (30-40 ppm) concerto barley.
    • Might be the first distillery that has stated what brand of grain they use 

Support the show

Website:www.whiskeychaserspod.com
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/whiskeychaserspodcast
Insta:https://www.instagram.com/whiskeychaserspodcast/
TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@whiskeychaserspodcast
Thanks For Listening! Tell a Friend!

Send us Fan Mail

On today's episode we have a glass of Compass box Glassglow.  This is the start of our Scotch series with special guest Ryan from the club!  We talk about blending, Marrying Casks, and heavy peated scotches. All that and more on today's episode of Whiskey Chasers! 

Our Website is www.whiskeychaserspod.com, check us out! Thanks, and enjoy the show!

Be sure to show some love for the company that brought you today's bottle!

https://www.compassboxwhisky.com/whiskies/glasgow-blend 

• Compass box is not one of a kind when it comes to the world of Scotch. It is a blending company, which is how several distilleries got their start in scotland.
• They consider themselves ‘Whiskymakers’ 
  • a word they invented 
  • A Whiskymaker is someone who feels compelled to make things better - to ask questions, to challenge, to experiment. A Whiskymaker is different from a distiller, and more than a blender.
• If they were a bourbon company, I would be bashing them for this! But, again, majority of blended scotch companies started this way 
• Back in 2000, John Glaser was working for a large UK distiller when he realized that there was so much that hadn’t yet been explored in the world of Scotch whisky.
• So, he started Compass Box, an inventive company based on the long-lost model of the Scotch whisky blending house, but with a forward-looking approach and an unrelenting desire to create deliciousness.
• Originally working from his kitchen, Compass Box has grown over the years and now has two dedicated Blending Rooms in London. 
• They have their own stocks of maturing whiskies in Scotland and a team of over 15 hugely enthusiastic whisky-lovers. 
• The bottle: 
  • In his 1930s book ‘Whisky’, Aeneas MacDonald teaches us that Glaswegians historically preferred fuller bodied and more flavor-packed whiskies than people in other parts of the world. So what better name for a whisky such as this?
  • Glaswegians are also famed for their sense of humor, which is why the city’s Wellington statue – traditionally dressed down with a traffic cone – is featured on the front label.
  • Glasgow Blend boasts a high single malt content. Inclusion of malt whisky matured in Oloroso Sherry-seasoned butts, and an Islay single malt of a powerfully peaty nature, has made this a blended Scotch whisky like no other.
  • Full, rich and smoky on the palate, with notes of sticky toffee pudding, Sherry wine character and impressions of a coal fire, Glasgow Blend shines in combination with rich cheeses and cured meats.
• Even further down the rabbit hole: 
  • Married blends are very common. They take the blended whiskey, then put it back in the barrels they came from, age some more and then are blended together for bottling
  • This is a single marry cask 
    • It was put back in it’s original barrel aged and then bottled 
      • Lowland Grain Whiskey Barrel

Support the show

Website:www.whiskeychaserspod.com
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/whiskeychaserspodcast
Insta:https://www.instagram.com/whiskeychaserspodcast/
TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@whiskeychaserspodcast
Thanks For Listening! Tell a Friend!

Subscriber-only episode

Send us a text

On today's episode we have a glass of Dragons Milk Origins from New Holland Distillery!.  Our series of Craft Distillers Wraps up with New Holland Distillery in Holland Michigan.  We talk, for a long time, about how to pronounce words, and to clear it up.  It is Root Beer, Route (Root), and reeses pieces. We also talk about beer and Beowulf!   All that and more on today's episode of Whiskey Chasers!

Our Website is www.whiskeychaserspod.com, check us out! Thanks, and enjoy the show!

Be sure to show some love for the company that brought you today's bottle!

https://www.still630.com/products/rallypoint-maple-sunset-rare-release-whiskey-375ml?variant=19981064077441  

Our patreon is https://www.patreon.com/Whiskeychaserspod  

You can also sign up through buzzsprout!

Intro: 

• I can’t drink beer anymore without my body hating me the next day; however, when I could drink beer I loved New Hollands Dragon’s Milk Stout
  • Stout finished in ex bourbon barrels. 
• They have also done a dragon's milk bourbon and rye, mainly because of the name. But the bourbon and rye are not finished in the dragon’s milk barrels, until now. 

Body:

• New Holland is a Brewing company first. They started that in 1997 and it wasn’t until 2005 that it started to catch onto the distilling world with its Gin and Vodka. 
• They then saw a benefit to whiskey, especially whiskey finished in beer barrels
  • First to be released was Beer Barrel Bourbon
    • Which was believed to be bourbon finished in dragon’s milk stout, but might have turned out to be one of their ales
  • Second was the Beer Barrel Rye
    • Which was believed to be rye finished in dragon’s milk stout, but might have turned out to be one of their IPA’s
  • The third was their Dragon’s Milk Origins
    • Which is this bottle 
• My thoughts: 
  • The origin’s line up, which there are two of them now, are made with whiskey they have distilled themselves. 
• Reality: 
  • They are very tight lipped on this all 
  • Except for this, Origin is distilled on their prohibition-era pot still with extended periods of reflux.
  • They claim this is small batch
    • 100 barrels or less
    • There is only one company I have seen that does smaller batches 
      • 30 barrels
• The bottle speaks for itself! 

Website:www.whiskeychaserspod.com
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/whiskeychaserspodcast
Insta:https://www.instagram.com/whiskeychaserspodcast/
TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@whiskeychaserspodcast
Thanks For Listening! Tell a Friend!

Send us Fan Mail

On today's episode we have a glass of Maple Sunset Rally Point Rye!.  Our series of Craft Distillers continues with Still 630 out of St. Louis Missouri.  We talk about excellent marketing, St Louis, and the other end of pricing.  All that and more on today's episode of Whiskey Chasers!

Our Website is www.whiskeychaserspod.com, check us out! Thanks, and enjoy the show!

Be sure to show some love for the company that brought you today's bottle!

https://www.still630.com/products/rallypoint-maple-sunset-rare-release-whiskey-375ml?variant=19981064077441  

Our patreon is https://www.patreon.com/Whiskeychaserspod  

You can also sign up through buzzsprout!

• Dear friends of mine gave this bottle to me for christmas, well to the podcast really. 
• Opened in St. Louis by David Weglarz in 2012 with the belief that life should be filled with passion and intensity.
• He wants Still 630 to be different, not just some assembly line churning out products. 
• We are different because we are passionate, bold, and committed.
• The 630 stands for 630' tall, which is both the height and the width of the St. Louis Arch.
• To them, the arch is a symbol of the unconquerable spirit of the pioneers that built it.
• They use as many of the best organic, local ingredients as possible.
• They believe in pushing conventional boundaries.
• They  are constantly experimenting with unique distillation processes. 
• Rather than use the most common distillation process, they use the old-world method of double distillation to capture more flavors.
• RallyPoint Maple Sunset  begins as their flagship Rye Whiskey and then carefully finished with notes of bourbon and beautiful maple syrup.
• Mashbill: 90% rye 10% malted barely
• Other people may add flavoring to achieve the desired result. But that’s not their style. This unique spirit was born the hard way, with time leading to full maturation. The story of this spirit is as much about the barrel itself as the RallyPoint Rye Whiskey that went into it.
• This whiskey started life being distilled twice, then aging in a charred American Oak barrel from right here in Missouri. At this point, it was well on its way to becoming another standout Single Barrel of our RallyPoint Rye Whiskey. They intentionally select a barrel that has special traits and ideal flavors to compliment the finishing barrel. 
• This special barrel they use to add delicious flavors and nuance to their RallyPoint changes from batch to batch. However, they use one of their own old bourbon barrels that was used a second time to age actual maple syrup. When it is emptied after this second fill, they  fill it with a hand-picked barrel of mature RallyPoint. Time alone dictates the length of maturation in the finishing barrel. 
• No age statement on the rye or on the finishing. 

Support the show

Website:www.whiskeychaserspod.com
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/whiskeychaserspodcast
Insta:https://www.instagram.com/whiskeychaserspodcast/
TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@whiskeychaserspodcast
Thanks For Listening! Tell a Friend!

Send us Fan Mail

On today's episode we have a glass of Detroit City Homegrown Rye!.  We continue our Craft distillery Series with Detroit City Distillery out of Michigan.  We talk about Cheese curds, the motor city, and how price can change an opinion real quick!.   All that and more on today's episode of Whiskey Chasers!

Our Website is www.whiskeychaserspod.com, check us out! Thanks, and enjoy the show!

Be sure to show some love for the company that brought you today's bottle! 

https://www.detroitcitydistillery.com/homegrown-rye 

Our patreon is https://www.patreon.com/Whiskeychaserspod  

You can also sign up through buzzsprout!

Intro: 

• I got the chance to try a glass of this at a bar in Michigan and was blown away by the flavor. 
• It reminded me of something, but I could not put my finger on it and I still struggle putting my finger on what bottle this reminds me of

Body:

• Detroit fueled prohibition and an entrepreneurial spirit that didn't follow the rules. 
  • eight childhood friends started a small distillery a century later
• Detroit City Distillery creates small batch spirits using the finest local ingredients sourced directly from farms near their distillery 
  • The result is a drink of distinction made for the revolutionaries rewriting the history of a great American city.
• This bottle: 
  • Made this the old fashioned way - on a small copper pot still in the back of an old slaughterhouse in Detroit’s Eastern Market.
  • From grain to glass, this whiskey celebrates the legacy of the farmers that make their spirits possible.
  • They use organic Rye from Washtenaw County, MI
  • MASH BILL
    • 97% rye with 3% specialty malted barley
• They do not say what the specialty malted barley is or what makes it special
• They make 4 whiskies, 3 gins, and a Pączki Day Vodka that they release in February
• Steve notes
  • Chris
    • Very little smell
    • Very short finish 
  • Cody
    • One noted
    • But not boring 
    • Low Rye taste
• Everyone agrees the price is way to high at $50

Support the show

Website:www.whiskeychaserspod.com
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/whiskeychaserspodcast
Insta:https://www.instagram.com/whiskeychaserspodcast/
TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@whiskeychaserspodcast
Thanks For Listening! Tell a Friend!

Send us Fan Mail

On today's episode we have Old George Single Barrel From Grand Traverse.  Our series of Craft Distillers has begun! We start with Grand Traverse out of Michigan.  We talk about Lab Grown Meat, Ryes and Irish Whiskey, and Whiskey Prices.  All that and more on today's episode of Whiskey Chasers!

Our Website is www.whiskeychaserspod.com, check us out! Thanks, and enjoy the show!

Be sure to show some love for the company that brought you today's bottle!

https://www.grandtraversedistillery.com/our-spirits#Whiskeys 

Our patreon is https://www.patreon.com/Whiskeychaserspod  

You can also sign up through buzzsprout!

• We found this awesome liquor store in Kalamazoo Michigan 
  • Stadium Liquor (Richy’s)
  • Floor to ceiling of whiskey behind the counter
• I did not get to meet the owner, Richy, but his sister called him so that he and I could talk about whiskey
  • Shout out to him and a big thank you
  • He highly recommended this bottle 
  • Also Found out Grand Traverse is not Traverse City
• Kent Rabish grew up on a small family farm in Pinconning, Michigan. 
  • One day Kent came across a still hidden in the back of the barn. 
  • Grandpa George had been putting the excess grain to good use.
• The memory of Grandpa’s still comes calling. 
  • Grand Traverse Distillery opened in 2005. 
  • Northern Michigan’s first craft distillery.
• To this day, they are committed to doing things right.
  • use only local grains, from farms just a few miles down the road. 
  • distill, age, and bottle every spirit that carries the Grand Traverse name. 
• This is a true family operation
  • Kent opens
  • His son Landis is now the master distiller
  • Steven oversees logistics and production
• This bottle the Old George Single Barrel Rye: 
  • This is our Rye Whiskey pulled from a single barrel right at cask strength after being aged for four to five years. The high proof brings out the sweeter toasted oak notes balanced with the earthy flavor from the Rye, along with a punch on the back of the palate from the cask strength.
• They make a lot of different products ranging from 
  • Chipotle Vodka 
    • Our Wheat Vodka infused with chipotle peppers to create a smoky and spicy flavor. This vodka is perfect for Bloody Mary lovers who like a little heat.
  • Isles O’Rye
    • Locally grown rye and peated malted barley from Scotland join forces to merge American rye spice with the richness of traditional peated single malt whiskey.

Support the show

Website:www.whiskeychaserspod.com
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/whiskeychaserspodcast
Insta:https://www.instagram.com/whiskeychaserspodcast/
TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@whiskeychaserspodcast
Thanks For Listening! Tell a Friend!

Send us Fan Mail

On today's episode we have part two of our interview with Jeptha Creed!  The first post prohibition distillery in Shelby county KY!  We talk with the owner and Master Distiller, Joyce, and her daughter, Master Marketer, Autumn, about the Name Jeptha Creed, Bottled in Bond, and what else we can expect from the best no namer out there! All that and more on today's episode of Whiskey Chasers! 

Our Website is www.whiskeychaserspod.com, check us out! Thanks, and enjoy the show!

Be sure to show some love for Jeptha Creed!

Website: https://jepthacreed.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jepthacreed

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jepthacreed/

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jepthacreed

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JepthaCreed

Our patreon is https://www.patreon.com/Whiskeychaserspod  

You can also sign up through buzzsprout!

Part 2:

• Jeptha Creed Name
  • Named for Jeptha in Judges in the Bible
  • Named by Squire and Daniel Boone in the area
  • Creed is a promise to quality and the area
• Red white and blue
  • A great melding
  • The different corns play really well together
• Bottled in Bond
  • Mashbill
    • 75% bloody butcher
    • 20% malte rye
    • 5% malted Barley
  • Husband wanted Wheat, I wanted Rye 
• The best no namer around
  • They are on the brink
  • Lesser known but working into other markets
  • Hopefully in Ohio 2024

Support the show

Website:www.whiskeychaserspod.com
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/whiskeychaserspodcast
Insta:https://www.instagram.com/whiskeychaserspodcast/
TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@whiskeychaserspodcast
Thanks For Listening! Tell a Friend!