Whiskey Chats

Join me for My Midleton Distillery Garden Chat with Barry Chandler, Dan Pennington, Paul Costello and Mark Lonergan.

I set up a marquee out my back garden over Xmas 2024. The lads called up, Dan was on BBQ duty, I made Belfast Coffees, we had a ball.

I asked Midleton Master Blender Dave McCabe for a sample set from the Midleton blending lab. He very graciously sent me an amazing array of aged whiskeys, that he was working on at the time.

Midleton Distillery have vast depths of amazing liquids maturing quietly. It was amazing to get a little peak behind the curtain, of what whiskeys they have in store for the future.

This episode of the podcast is sponsored by:

• www.boanndistillery.ie
• www.killowendistillery.com

Don't forget to sign up to my Patreon channel for early access episodes and more, for a few euros a month and help me deliver the best podcasts to you.

https://www.patreon.com/whiskeychatspodcast

I really hope you enjoy listening in to our chat.

Laurie

Join me for My Eimverk Distillery Chat with Eva Sigurbjornsdottir, in Reykjavik, Iceland.

Eimverk produce Floki Whisky, which is famous for their sheep dung smoked whisky and many other amazing spirits.

My wife Sonya and I recently visited Eva for a look around their innovative distillery, where we discovered just how much effort that they put into their production and raw materials. For a distillery located on a volcanic island, its very impressive.

What a trip it was......

This episode of the podcast is sponsored by:

• www.boanndistillery.ie
• www.killowendistillery.com

Don't forget to sign up to my Patreon channel for early access episodes and more, for a few euros a month and help me deliver the best podcasts to you.

https://www.patreon.com/whiskeychatspodcast

I really hope you enjoy listening in to our chat.

Laurie

Join me for My Islay Garden Chat with Dan Pennington, Paulie Costello, Matt Kelleher & Aidan McGovern.

On a recent pilgrimage to the magical whisky island of Islay, off the coast of Scotland, with a couple of good buddies, we sat out the back of our rent-a-house on Bowmare High St, for a very honest chat about the trip so far.

I hope this gives anyone thinking about making the trip, an honest insight about the pitfalls and what we found amazing about Islay.

What a trip it was......

This episode of the podcast is sponsored by:

• www.boanndistillery.ie
• www.killowendistillery.com

Don't forget to sign up to my Patreon channel for early access episodes and more, for a few euros a month and help me deliver the best podcasts to you.

https://www.patreon.com/whiskeychatspodcast

I really hope you enjoy listening in to our chat.

Laurie

Join me for My Ardbeg Distillery Chat with Jackie Thomson, Visitor Centre Manager.

On a recent pilgrimage to the magical whisky island of Islay, off the coast of Scotland, with a couple of good buddies - Dan, Paulie, Matt and Aidan, we visited Ardbeg Distillery.

Here, I met up with Jackie Thomson, an absolute livewire of a lady and an enthusiatic whisky evangelist. She is a recent Whisky Magazine Hall of Fame inductee for 2023. I'm not in the least bit surprised.

She gave us a behind the scenes walk around the old distillery and what a amazing facility it is.

She was an absolute pleasure.

This episode of the podcast is sponsored by:

• www.boanndistillery.ie
• www.killowendistillery.com

Don't forget to sign up to my Patreon channel for early access episodes and more, for a few euros a month and help me deliver the best podcasts to you.

https://www.patreon.com/whiskeychatspodcast

I really hope you enjoy listening in to our chat.

Laurie

Join me for My Chat with Derek Mather in The Laddie Snug at Artisan.

On a recent pilgrimage to the magical whisky island of Islay, off the coast of Scotland with a couple of good buddies, we made an overnight detour to the small town of Wishaw, midway between Edinburgh and Glasgow, to the famous Artisan restaurant.

Head chef, owner, curator and co-founder of the Friends of Bruichladdich FaceBook group, Derek Mather, founded this whisky mecca 16 yrs ago..... and the grub ain't half bad either.....

Derek and his wife Fiona have amassed 1000's of bottles of Independently bottled Scotch whisky, all open and for sale by the dram at their Artisan Restaurant.

Derek doesn't believe in full bottles and prices each dram with a marginal mark-up, so that whisky lovers can visit and afford to drink some of the most fantastic whisky bottles they will ever have the pleasure of sampling.

We sat in his Laddie Snug and had a great chat about what he's been up to.

It was an absolute pleasure.

This episode of the podcast is sponsored by:

• www.boanndistillery.ie
• www.killowendistillery.com

Don't forget to sign up to my Patreon channel for early access episodes and more, for a few euros a month and help me deliver the best podcasts to you.

https://www.patreon.com/whiskeychatspodcast

I really hope you enjoy listening in to our chat.

Laurie

Join me for My Belfast Chat in The Friend at Hand with Jim, Mark & Séamus.

On this episode, I had 3 guests who joined me in a round-table chat in the spectacular tasting room in the back of The Friend at Hand whiskey shop and museum in the heart of Belfast city.

. Jim Ingram who works in The FAH and has the YouTube Channel The Whiskey Novice.

. Séamus Óg Birt, Brand Ambassador in Echlinville Distillery in Co. Down.

. Mark McConville, Brand Ambassador for Bushmills Distillery in Co. Antrim.

We all brought a couple of bottles of special liquids to the table for the chat and we had a ball. It was recorded during Belfast Whiskey Week 2024 and Pride was also on in Belfast at the same time. You will hear one of the many Pride parties happening in the background, as we had the back door open onto the courtyard of The Dark Horse bar next door.

This episode of the podcast is sponsored by:

• www.boanndistillery.ie
• www.killowendistillery.com

Don't forget to sign up to my Patreon channel for early access episodes and more, for a few euros a month and help me deliver the best podcasts to you.

https://www.patreon.com/whiskeychatspodcast

I really hope you enjoy listening in to our chat.

Laurie

Join me for My Chat with Willie Jack in The Friend at Hand in Belfast.

Willie Jack is a legend in Belfast. He is a publican, whiskey museum curator, architectural salvager and restorer, antiques dealer, community builder, cultural ambassador and a seriously well connected and sound fella.

I have wanted to speak to Willie for many years about the shrine to Irish Whiskey he has built at The Friend at Hand "whiskey shop"...... it's far more than a whiskey shop.

It is a must go to in Belfast and Sonya and I were given a massive welcome from Willie and the 3 grumpiest of old men, who Willie calls staff........ Ray, Marty & Jim... They're sound too.

This episode of the podcast is sponsored by:

• www.boanndistillery.ie
• www.killowendistillery.com

Don't forget to sign up to my Patreon channel for early access episodes and more, for a few euros a month and help me deliver the best podcasts to you.

https://www.patreon.com/whiskeychatspodcast

I really hope you listening in to our chat.

Laurie

Join me for My Live Festival Chat with Noel Sweeney - Master Distiller.

Noel is famous for his amazing time as Master Distiller at Cooley Distillery, where he became responsible for releasing alot of the amazing Irish whiskeys that we all love today. His Cooley malts and single grains are still being released by different brands and bottlers to this day, to massive plaudits.

Right now, one of Noel's focuses is on his blended whiskey from his collaboration with the famous dancer Michael Flatley called...... Flatley Whiskey. He was at the Cork on a Fork festival in Cork in August 2024, where we sat down for a Live audience chat, as one of the many events at the festival.

This episode of the podcast is sponsored by:

• www.boanndistillery.ie
• www.killowendistillery.com

Don't forget to sign up to my Patreon channel for early access episodes and more, for a few euros a month and help me deliver the best podcasts to you.

https://www.patreon.com/whiskeychatspodcast

I really hope you enjoy listening in to our chat.

Laurie

Join me for My Live Chat at Cork on a Fork Festival

I was asked to do a number of Live podcasts at a recent foodie festival in Cork - Cork on a Fork.

I set up a podcast studio in the top floor bar of Cork Opera House in August 2024, in front of a Live audience, where my guests and I shared some very interesting drinks and chats.

My 3 guests were:

Mark Lonergan - ex-manager of The Shelbourne Whiskey Bar in Cork

Barry Walsh from Killahora Orchards

Liam Murray - President of Cork Whiskey Society

It was an afternoon of fine guests, fine drinks and some fine chats.

This episode of the podcast is sponsored by:

• www.boanndistillery.ie
• www.killowendistillery.com

Don't forget to sign up to my Patreon channel for early access episodes and more, for a few euros a month and help me deliver the best podcasts to you.

https://www.patreon.com/whiskeychatspodcast

I really hope you enjoy listening in to our chat.

Laurie

Join me for My McConnell's Distillery Chat with Graham Millar, Head Distiller.

Myself and Sonya visited McConnel's Distillery, in the old Crumlin Road Jail in Belfast, whilst up at Belfast Whiskey Week 2024.

Graham showed us around their amazing converted and renovated centuries old prison wing, that is now their Distillery!

The project was started over a decade ago by another party and the current shareholders were able to finally complete the earlier vision this year, by turning on the stills and starting to produce again, as one of only 2 distilleries now in Belfast city, once one of the powerhouses of whiskey production in the British empire.

This episode of the podcast is sponsored by:

• www.boanndistillery.ie
• www.killowendistillery.com

Don't forget to sign up to my Patreon channel for early access episodes and more, for a few euros a month and help me deliver the best podcasts to you.

https://www.patreon.com/whiskeychatspodcast

I really hope you enjoy listening in to our chat.

Laurie