This is a very random episode with just the 3 of us, some drams and back in the tiny room sandwiched nicely between the gents toilets and the bar.

Unfortunately, for the first time ever, we had a guest call off last minute for this episode, so we were left to amuse ourselves for this one.

Thankfully Ross has made a full recovery from his death bed and Angus was back from Japan bearing bottle shaped gifts.

We also tested out our new (potentially one episode only) feature 'Play your Distilleries Right' game.

As usual, loads of whisky chat, some great laughs and lovely drams.

Enjoy

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This was a wild and very funny episode to record.

With Angus out in Japan and Ross on his sick bed, we drafted in the help of friends of the podcast Fraser Souness and Chuck Kerr as co-hosts with our guest Curtis Moran from Scotch Bar in the Balmoral Hotel.

Curtis has nearly had as many jobs as Ross, but it was Ross who told Curtis that he HAD to take the job at Scotch when Ross left.

I was extremely out numbered tonight with Fraser and Curtis both working together at Scotch and Chuck Kerr having worked there previously.

We had so much to chat about as well as just general nonsense you'd expect when we all got together in Diggers with drams and microphones in front of us.

Enjoy

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We always have a great time when George and Rachel Keeble are involved and when there's 6 amazing whiskies to enjoy as well it's even better!

This was the first Indy Bottler Spotlight of the year and our 5th ever. It was also the first time we've done one on a Friday night. It was the last night of January which always calls for a celebration in my mind.

George and Rachel took us through an incredible 6 dram lineup from their whisky brand Fragrant Drops and what a lineup it was.

Carsebridge 48yo

Japanese Blend

Glen Grant 21yo

Inchgower 14yo

Linkwood 8yo

Ardmore 14yo

So much fun and loads of great stories, interesting whisky chat and one of the best 'Wanky Tasting Notes' we've had!

Enjoy

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This was a first for the podcast!

Our very own private distillery tour at Port of Leith Distillery with the one of the co-founders Ian Stirling.

Not many people decide to start distilling in their back garden. And fewer people decide to take it from there to opening their very own distillery.

But Ian Stirling and Paddy Fletcher did just that.

This was a fantastic experience getting to walk around one of the few 'vertical distilleries' in the world with the man who was part of coming up with the idea and concept of owning and opening a distillery in Leith.

We learnt so much about the importance of yeast and barley types, fermentation times and the challenges associated with trying to open and run a multi-million pound distillery.

As well as being a fully functional distillery which is producing spirit, Port of Leith Distillery is a very popular visitor centre and we were treated to a behind the scenes, VIP tour as well as enjoying a dram in the Board Room.

A very enjoyable episode to record and Ian was full of great stories and loads of whisky production chat.

Enjoy

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This was our first episode back in Diggers recording for 2025 and it was great to be back in our spiritual home. 

We were joined by 2 guests this week - Stephen Woodcock who is Head of Whisky Creation and Stocks for Glen Turner and we had a last minute call up for Les Mason who is founder of the Arctic Whisky Club, and is about to head out to the Arctic on some exciting adventures. 

Stephen has had an incredible journey and career in whisky. Starting off as a chemist with no real inclination for a dram, he found himself managing a cooperage site for Diageo and from there began an amazing journey which has taken him to working in some amazing distilleries and being part of some very big and significant projects. 

Stephen is now working with Glen Turner which is best known for owning Glen Moray and Cutty Sark. His stories are full of insight and humour. I can see why his longest whisky tour took 7 hours and we could have easily chatted long into the night about his experiences in the industry and hearing about some of the projects he has been involved in. 

Les is a firefighter by day but also works with his friend who specialises in adventure events and taking groups up mountains and off to the Arctic Circle. On Sunday 26th Jan he will be flying out to Finland to be a guide for multiple groups of people trekking three days through some of the coldest and harshest conditions in the world. But he'll be doing it with a Whisky Stories 25 yo Blend in his bag. 

While on these trips the other guides have made it a little tradition to bring a bottle with them so that they can enjoy a dram or two around the campfire in the minus 30 degree weather. 

As always this was a lot of fun to record and the drams and chat flowed nicely. 

Enjoy

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Just before Christmas, Angus and Graeme headed along Queen Street in Edinburgh to meet Andrew Murphy who is the Venue Supervisor for the Queen Street bar but has also worked in the SMWS Vaults down in Leith and is a fountain of knowledge when it comes to the Scotch Malt Whisky Society and their whisky.

Andrew also talks us through the importance of diversity within the whisky world, as a gay man, he is very keen to promote the LGBTQ community within the whisky industry and put on a special 'Drag me to the Whisky Tasting'. Better get the lipstick and high heels looked out for this years tasting!

We had some great drams and Andrew talked us through the amazing story of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society and how it was founded and has grown to a massive global organisation, yet still holds on to the founding principles of flavour first.

Enjoy

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Happy New Year from the Whisky Stories Podcast!

What a year it's been and there was no better way to end 2024 than to sit in the Dug Oot back room in the Athletic Arms sandwiched nicely between the bar and the gents toilets, drinking drams, having lots of laughs and looking back on the year.

We had former guests Ali Baxter from Scotch Whisky Experience and Chuck Kerr in with us for this one and we spent the last hour and 40 mins (or so) of 2024 looking back on some of our whisky highlights of the year, remembering some of the great whisky stories that we've heard and the whiskies that we've sampled.

A few sore heads on New Years Day...

Happy New Year and enjoy.

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We've probably all seen or heard about these online competitions where you can win a huge prize by just buying a ticket for a couple of pounds. But how do they actually work and are they real?

We caught up with John and Scott Lang (they're not brothers, just pals) from The Collectors Club.

Every week they give away thousands of pounds worth of whisky prizes to the people who enter their competitions. Whisky bottles ranging from £50 all the way to £30,000 worth!

These lads have approached whisky from an angle where it's being appreciated as a collectable item rather than something that can be drank. However, they are both quick to point out that they both enjoy drinking and sharing drams just as much as collecting them.

In this episode we found out how 2 pals shared a journey into whisky, found themselves interested in the collecting side of things and then ended up creating a business where people can win some incredible whisky bottles and prizes through their competitions.

John and Scott were great company and brought in some fantastic drams for us to enjoy during this recording. They explained exactly how The Collectors Club Competitions works and talked about how they both found a shared passions for whisky at the same time which has taken them on a wild ride.

Enjoy

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In this episode we were underground with Simon Smith in The Lost Close in Edinburgh.

This was the second time we've had Simon on the podcast to share his views, stories and wealth of knowledge on world whisky with us.

Simon has such a passion and enthusiasm for whisky, it makes him so easy to chat to and listen to.

He is running a pop-up bar in The Lost Close which has some incredible whisky to enjoy, picked by Simon. Old blends, strange old bottlings and really interesting international whisky. If you're in and around Edinburgh, it's well worth a visit. - https://www.instagram.com/the_desert_isle/profilecard/?igsh=dGt5eHZxNDNjejQ5

As well as running the pop-up bar, Simon is also working with whisky brands and other venues to help with collaborations and to curate their whisky collections. He's had some great success with the The George Hotel Inveraray. We were lucky enough to sample his recent collaboration with the hotel and Ardnamurchan Distillery.

He is also hosting one of his very popular Burns Nights at Saint Lukes in Glasgow on the 22nd of Jan. As per Simon's usual way of things, he likes to approach Burns in a totally different way and talk about the connections between Burns and whisky. Tickets still available here.

Simon has been a great friend of the show, a regular cameo on our ventures out and about and will definitely be back on for a third episode. This was a lot of fun recording in the old dark tunnels from hundreds of years ago under the city centre, and the whisky was fantastic too.

Find out more about Simon's work with Whisky and Cynicism - whiskyandcynicism.com

Enjoy

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For this episode we were underground in the deep and dark Diggers Whisky Vaults with Cameron Ewen - The Scotch Cam and Moa Reynolds - Swedish Whisky Girl to talk all about their new book that was released last month - The Balmoral Guide to Scotch Whisky.

It was great to catch up with Cam again and we really enjoyed meeting Moa for the first time and hearing all about her journey from Sweden that led her to literally marrying into whisky with her 'current husband' Cody Reynolds.

Moa started an her Swedish Whisky Girl social media accounts as a way to show her on journey into the wonderful world of whisky and it soon picked up a lot of popularity. Now she has been able to give up her day job and works full time showcasing whisky brands and working on some really exciting projects.

Projects like the new book that has been co-written by herself and Cam.

The book is a guide to the Scottish Whisky available in the famous Balmoral Hotel Whisky Bar- Scotch which Cameron is the manager of.

Cameron has collated his top whiskies behind the bar and written his own notes on the liquid and flavours while Moa has dived into the distilleries and writes about the interesting points about these whiskies as well as busting some whisky myths.

We also discussed the incredible news that Diggers are now doing Whisky Take-Aways!

This was so much fun to record and it's always nice when a guest puts and keeps Ross in his place!

Enjoy

Buy the book - https://www.amazon.co.uk/SCOTCH-Balmoral-guide-Scottish-whisky/dp/1784729515

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