Whisky Stories Podcast

Is there anything in whisky that Brendan McCarron hasn't done?

Brendan talks us through his career from a Diageo graduate to running the whole of Diageo's Islay Group. Creating Ardbeg An Oa, learning from Dr Bill Lumsden, distilling for Deanston, Tobermoray and Bunnahabhain, and then starting how own business.

His career has been an incredible journey and he's got some great stories from everything he's done.

Pour a couple of drams for this one.

We wanted to talk through some controversial whisky opinions of our own and from our listeners.

It was a chance for the 4 of us to catch-up, have some drams and talk through some whisky opinions that might split the room.

I don't know if I should put a trigger warning on this episode, but some of the topics definitely caused some debate.

Pour a dram, sit back and give it a listen and tell us your own controversial whisky opinions.

This episode blew my mind when we recorded it.

To say Ian Palmer has had quite a career is an understatement. Starting out as an apprentice Fitters Mate at Invergordon to Operations Director of the whole group, then building Starlaw, buying Glen Moray, and then eventually starting out on his own with InchDairnie Distillery.

There's so much to unpack in this episode. Just pour a dram, sit back and enjoy this one.

150 episodes in 150 weeks!

We were back in Diggers for a catch up, drams and some whisky chat. Ross handed in a last minute sick note, so we were joined by Jake Adcook for the evening.

What have been the biggest lessons we've learnt from the podcast?

But the BIG news is that Whisky Stories Whisky Festival tickets are ON SALE NOW!

Pour a dram, run yourself a bath, and enjoy episode 150!

A week later, we have part 2 of this epic chat with Tomatin Distillery Manager Jamie Muir and Global Marketing Manager Danny Whelan.

In the last episode we heard the stories behind the guys and how they got into whisky. Now it was all about Tomatin and what goes into making the whisky.

I had no idea just how long some of the people who have worked at the distillery have been there. It's incredible to think of the time and service some people have given. And Jamie talks us through how he manages that and works with new, younger people coming through.

Danny let us know how selling and marketing whisky across the world actually works. From dealing with importers to brand advocacy.

On top of that we got a chance to try some excellent Distillery Exclusives as well.

This is the first ever Whisky Stories Double Header Part 1.

When the Distillery Manager drives down from Tomatin to chat, we had to make sure we got all we could get.

Jamie Muir is the Distillery Manager at Tomatin, he grew up on Jura and has worked for Jura Distillery 3 times, Fettercairn, Kichoman and BrewDog.

Danny Whelan is Global Marketing Manager for Tomatin and started out working in bars making cocktails.

In this episode we hear their stories and how they got into whisky and how they both ended up working for Tomatin.

We also asked, why is Tomatin 36 the whisky to ruin whisky for you?

This one got loose! We packed out Uno Mas in Edinburgh for this Whisky Stories LIVE event and what a night it was.

John Stirling was back on the pod and we also had Christian Perez from the distillery down and he brought a very special cask sample with him that John hadn't event tried.

We went through the lineup, chatted about the whisky and challenged John on some of the conversation that's happened since his last episode.

My head was sore the next day. A sign of a very enjoyable night.

It was great having Stephen Woodcock back on the pod. And this time he came bearing gifts!

Not to be outdone by the team at Bunnahabhain, he made sure we stand out now with the bright yellow iconic Cutty Sark jackets, bags, mugs, notebooks and pens!

He also brought drams with him too and plenty of great chat about his career, some really funny stories, and plenty of distilling and blending insight too.

Well worth poring a few drams for this long and epic episode.

It was time for a monthly catch-up in Diggers with the lads.

We were down in the cellar with plenty of drams and loads to talk about.

We caught up on our distillery trip to Arbikie, some big drams on the lineup, AND if we can pull off organising our very own Whisky Stories Festival.

Loads of laughs, questionable chat, and good drams on this one.

Arbikie Distillery are about to launch their first ever Single Malt release. And it's taken them 10 long years to wait for this moment.

And what better way to spread the good word about it than to come on the Whisky Stories Podcast and tell us all about it.

John Stirling is one of the family members involved in the business. He is 'Chief Taster' and has been part of the journey since a conversation in a bar in New York.

The goal is simple - Make the best 18 year old whisky in the world.

Hear the whole story in this episode, including the £30,000 bottle, the ethos of the whisky, and creating sustainable products.