Award-winning author Noah Rothbaum spent five years researching his new book “The Whiskey Bible.” It’s a comprehensive in-depth look at the spirit we love - its history and some myth-busting, too. Noah joins us on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Diageo parts ways with CEO Debra Crew after just two years on the job, while the Trump Administration and European Union negotiators try to hammer out a trade deal before the President’s August 1 deadline.

It’s hard to capture the entire world of whisky in one book, but that’s the task Felipe Schrieberg took on with his new book “The World of Whisky.” Schrieberg covers everything from the origins of whisky to today’s modern distilleries located all over the world, and he’ll join us on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, the U.S. announces new import tariffs on Irish Whiskey and other European goods, while Texas distillers step up to help victims of this month’s Hill Country floods. 

Jimmy Russell will soon begin his 71st year at Wild Turkey Distillery, and this fall, he’ll celebrate his 91st birthday. This week, we’re honoring the Legend of Lawrenceburg with an in-depth interview recorded in 2009, in which Jimmy discusses his friendships with Booker Noe, Parker Beam, and Elmer T. Lee…his way of making Bourbon and how it changed with the advent of distilling technology…and an eye to his legacy. In the news, tariffs are back in the conversation this week in Washington as a 90-day pause comes to an end. Edrington is blaming economic conditions for a sharp loss in sales in the last fiscal year, and Glenfarclas is getting back into the travel retail market.

Filmland Spirits founders Troy Bolotnick and Charlie Flint created their brand as an homage to the classic “B Movies” of the 1950’s and 60’s. With eye-catching labels based on movie posters and names like “Moonlight Mayhem” and “Ryes of the Robots,” their whiskies stand out on store shelves and in the eyes of the critics, who have given Filmland Spirits’ whiskies several medals in recent competitions. Troy Bolotnick joins us on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth, and we’ll have a double feature tasting of his whiskies in the What I’m Tasting This Week Department. In the news, two more Irish distilleries have been shut down, including Diageo’s Roe & Co. facility in Dublin, at a time when the deadline for a new European Union-U.S. trade deal is fast approaching. 

At one time, Campbeltown, Scotland was the heart of the Scotch Whisky industry with around 30 working distilleries. Over the years, all but two disappeared, and the futures of Springbank and Glen Scotia were very much in doubt at various times over the last century. Author David Stirk researched the history of Campbeltown and its distilleries for his new book “Whiskyopolis,” and he’ll join us on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, we have details on more layoffs in the whisky industry, with declining global demand getting the blame. Two Canadian provinces are ending their boycott of American-made whiskies, and we have a lot of new releases to talk about this week.

Whisky collector Mark Wade specializes in vintage bottlings, specifically Prohibition-era “medicinal” bottles. Part of his collection went on the auction block this month at Sotheby’s, and he’ll join us on his week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth to discuss the search for dusties, authenticating his finds, and that one whisky he’s still searching for. In the news, this year’s class of Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame honorees has been announced, and we’ll talk with Parker Beam Lifetime Achievement Award winner Chris Morris. We’ll also look at an Irish distillery’s unique use of nanotechnology in its stills on Behind the Label. 

Dr. Bill Lumsden is best known as the head of whisky creation for The Glenmorangie Company, but he’s also the master blender for Beyonce’s Sir Davis American whiskey. Much of the day to day work of blending Sir Davis falls to master blender Cameron George, who took on the role when Sir Davis was launched last year. We’ll talk with both of them on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth, and we’ll also be joined by Ireland’s first female master blender, Helen Mulholland of Sazerac’s Hawk’s Rock Distillery. She’s just released the first whiskey from Hawk’s Rock, the Garavogue 20-year-old Irish single malt. In the news, investors ran away from Brown-Forman shares this week following a disappointing earnings report, and two fledgling Kentucky distilleries are facing lawsuits and liens over construction bills. 

Mary Dowling was a pioneer among women in distilling. She ran distilleries and cooperages with her husband John before and after his death in 1903, and is the subject of a new historical novel, “Mother of Bourbon” by Eric Goodman and Kaveh Zamanian. Zamanian is the founder of Rabbit Hole Distillery in Louisville, and recently released a series of whiskies bearing Mary Dowling’s name. He’ll join us on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth, and we’ll taste one of Mary’s whiskies in the What I’m Tasting This Week Department. In the news, the courts are getting involved in President Donald Trump’s trade war, while economic conditions have prompted a major Scottish maltster to postpone its expansion plans. 

This week, we’re going to geek out with the results of two studies comparing whiskies matured in Texas with the same whiskey matured elsewhere. Milam and Greene’s Heather Greene joins us to explain her team’s decision to age otherwise identical whiskey in Texas and Kentucky, while Jared Himstedt and Gabe Richarde of Balcones Distilling share the findings of their experiment maturing the same single malt whiskey in four different locations. We’ll also taste the Milam and Greene whiskies, which are being released this week in a two-bottle set. In the news, new U.S. trade tariffs on the European Union are being delayed until July 9 to allow more time for negotiations, while Diageo says tariffs could cost the company $150 million this year.

Ireland’s largest distillery is celebrating 200 years since the original Midleton Distillery opened in 1825, along with the 50th anniversary of the “new” Midleton, which replaced the original distillery in 1975. Master Distiller Kevin O’Gorman joins us on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth with details on two new whiskies commemorating the anniversaries. In the news, Old Elk is getting new ownership and a new home in Ohio, while the Dublin Liberties Distillery is shutting down because of the headwinds facing the Irish Whiskey industry.