WhiskyCast

There's no arguing that John Glaser of Compass Box is one of the whisky industry's leading innovators, but John's latest creation has been pulled off the market after a conflict with the Scotch Whisky Association over traditional practices. We'll hear from both sides, and there's a lot of news as well in this episode. Ardbeg's turning out a 40-year-old, the Famous Grouse has a new nest online, there's another addition to the WhiskyCast book club, and if you've ever wondered what working in a distillery would be like, a Wild Scotsman wants to give you the chance to find out.

WhiskyCast hits the road again, this time to the luxurious New York Yacht Club. Glasgow is sponsoring one of the ships sailing in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, which reached New York City on Friday, and the Glasgow City Marketing Bureau sponsored a reception to celebate. Glengoyne Distillery's table was the highlight, with a whisky blending competition for guests to try their hand at nosing and blending their own whisky. We'll follow one amateur blender through his turn at the table, and it's a perfect time for us to look at a "conventional wisdom" of the whisky world -- that there are 32 primary aromas the human nose can detect. As Kevin Erskine and Charles MacLean tell us, science has rendered that theory obsolete. In the news, Glasgow's controversial proposal to ban glasses from the city's pubs has been shattered...and we'll have the details on Episode 47 of WhiskyCast!

Time for a chapter from the WhiskyCast Book Club...back in 1930, a Scotsman going by the name of Aeneas MacDonald wrote the first book on whisky aimed at whisky drinkers. "Whisky" was a groundbreaking book for its time, and many of MacDonald's comments are still true today. Now, Ian Buxton has solved the mystery of Aeneas MacDonald, and Canongate Books has released a new edition of "Whisky" for a new generation of whisky lovers. Ian gives us the details, along with readings from the book on this episode of WhiskyCast!

It's the first day of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, and many whisky lovers are thinking of their summer vacations. More Scotch distilleries are taking the tourism business seriously, with at least half a dozen distilleries upgrading or opening new visitors centers this year. We'll hear from Sarah Bottomley at Glengoyne and Ian Millar of Glenfiddich about their new centers and tours, including a new tour at The Balvenie. In the news, Scotch Whisky Association leaders are touting their new code of practices, Highland Park prepares to release a new Ambassador's Cask, and a new whisky festival is in the works to celebrate Celtic and Cajun heritage in Louisiana.

Whisky and charity often go hand in hand, as whisky lovers raise thousands of dollars for those in need every year. In this episode, we'll hear from Inver House's Nial Mackinlay, who led a team of his colleagues on the UK's Three Peaks Challenge to raise money for Children First, the Royal Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. What is the Three Peaks Challenge? Climb the highest peaks in England, Scotland, and Wales...and do all three in under 24 hours. In the news, Cooley Distillery releases a new single grain Irish whiskey, and blogger/author Kevin Erskine's new edition of "The Instant Expert's Guide to Single Malt Scotch" has just been published...

It's easy to stick to the official distillery bottlings of whiskies, but a visit to specialty shops may pique your curiosity with independent bottlings. Many come from very familiar distilleries, but some bottlings are so rare that they may be the only way to find out what a distillery's single malt whisky tastes like. We'll hear from Euan Shand of Duncan Taylor & Company, Lorne Mackillop of Mackillop's Choice, and Malt Advocate's John Hansell plays devil's advocate for us. In the news, Pot Still owner Ken Storrie is standing up to Glasgow regulators, Chivas Brothers takes on a Chinese newspaper, and another woman cracks the whisky world's glass ceiling...it's a new month, and time for another new episode of WhiskyCast!

It's time for the annual Islay Festival of Malt and Music, and that also means a bit of madness on the island...everything from sheepdog trials to a visit from the Mayor of Islay...the Islay in Peru. We'll get a preview from Festival Chairperson Angus Rice on the festivities, while Laphroaig's John Campbell, Ardbeg's Stuart Thomson, and Bruichladdich's Mark Reynier tell us about some of the distillery events -- some traditional and others quite unusual -- that make Feis Ile unique. In the news section, distiller Jim Cryle is bringing back a touch of Scotland's rebellious days, and there's a major auction of whiskies on the block in Keith...

New York's a city full of whisky drinkers, but most of them only think of Scotch Whisky. LeNell Smothers is on a one-woman mission to change all that...from a tiny storefront in Brooklyn's Red Hook neighborhood. LeNell's stocks more than 100 different types of bourbon and other American whiskies, and many of them are available for tasting at a store that's been honored as the best in New York and one of the world's best retailers by Whisky Magazine. Plus...Seagram pensioners get the shaft, Diageo gets new leadership in Scotland, another native Ileach comes home to take over Lagavulin...Bunnahabhain gets a new website, and it's festival time on Islay...all on this episode of WhiskyCast!

Japanese whiskies are a mystery to many whisky lovers, and we'll get some insight to these special malts from Suntory consultant Lincoln Henderson, who spent most of his career making bourbons for Brown-Forman. In the news, Whisky Magazine's Dave Broom is honored, Penderyn finally makes it to U.S. stores, and profits flow at Pernod Ricard. Pour yourself a dram, and relax with Episode 40 of WhiskyCast!

Whisky is a passion for distillers, but it's also a science...and good scientists experiment to see what might make a good whisky and what won't. Harlen Wheatley of Kentucky's Buffalo Trace Distillery is a chemical engineer by trade and a distiller by choice, and a new collection of his experiments are being released for whisky lovers to sample. We'll hear from Harlen about his experiments, along with a contest to challenge your whisky nosing skills, and Suntory's Lincoln Henderson helps answer a listener question...all on this episode of WhiskyCast!