WhiskyCast

Whisky and other alcoholic beverages are some of the most regulated consumer products in the world, and let's be honest...not all of those laws and regulations make a lot of sense. In fact, some of them might make you want to pour yourself a dram. Jarrett Dieterle of the R Street Institute in Washington, DC has compiled some of the finest examples of legislative legerdemain and matched them up with cocktail recipes in his new book, "Give Me Liberty, and Give Me a Drink!" He'll join us to explain just how we got to this point on WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Jack Daniel's master distiller Jeff Arnett is stepping down for a new - but so far undisclosed job, while distillery managers on Islay are shuffling jobs without having to leave the island. We'll have details on how the Covid-19 pandemic and tariffs are affecting sales for Chivas Brothers, and distillers in Kentucky are putting their money behind their pledge to improve diversity in the industry.

There are hundreds, if not thousands of species of trees around the world. Why is White Oak - whether from America or Europe, the preferred wood to use for whisky barrels? What makes it so special, and how do we protect the resource for future generations of whisky lovers? Forestry scientist Tom Kimmerer, PhD. is one of the leading experts on White Oaks, and was a guest on our #HappyHour webcast earlier this month. The reaction was so positive that we've brought him back to discuss White Oaks and their preservation on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, US-European trade talks on whiskies and other exports could be delayed by a Covid-19 scandal in Ireland, while that country's pubs remain closed with no targeted opening date in sight. We'll hear from Brent Elliott of Four Roses about this year's Limited Edition Small Batch Bourbon and the rest of the week's new whiskies, too.

It's been almost three years since Brown-Forman and the Conyngham family fired up the stills at Slane Distillery on the family's Slane Castle estate near Dublin. While their flagship Slane Irish Whiskey has been made using sourced whiskies since its debut in 2017, the day is coming closer when some of the distillery's own maturing whiskey will be blended into the final product. We'll check in with Alex Conyngham on the distillery's progress in a summer that would have normally been filled with visitors to the distillery and the estate, but it's become clear that 2020 is no normal year. In the news, the coronavirus pandemic continues to plague small-scale distillers in the U.S. with estimates of lost sales now reaching $700 million this year, and the past week also saw more cancellations of whisky events worldwide through the end of 2020. We'll also check the court dockets for updates on several cases involving the whisky industry, and there's a bright spot in the form of new whiskies coming from around the world.

Johnnie Walker is celebrating its 200th anniversary in 2020, and in all that time, there have been only six master blenders. Jim Beveridge is the latest in a line that goes all the way back to founder John Walker, and he leads the team that created four new whiskies for the anniversary. We'll talk with him on WhiskyCast In-Depth about the pressure of blending rare whiskies, setting up a blending lab at home during the Covid-19 pandemic, and which of Scotland's historic distilleries he'd choose to rescue if given a time machine. In the news, the Trump Administration is leaving tariffs on imported single malt whiskies from Scotland and Northern Ireland in place over the objections of whisky makers. We'll also look at the local economic impact in Bardstown, Kentucky following the decision to make this year's Kentucky Bourbon Festival a virtual event, along with updates on the week's new whiskies and a tribute to one of whisky's top distillers.

This week saw upcoming whisky events in the U.S., England, Ireland, Canada, and Australia either postponed or cancelled outright as the number of Covid-19 cases and deaths continues to rise in many parts of the world. The list includes the Kentucky Bourbon Festival, the Whisky Show in London, and Whisky Live events in Dublin and Adelaide. The pandemic is forcing event organizers to take not only local health restrictions into account, but the bans many whisky makers have imposed on travel and participating in live events. As a result, some festivals are going virtual so whisky lovers can meet with distillers and brand ambassadors online safely, while others are trying to figure out protocols for holding in-person events safely. We'll have details on WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, the pandemic has already cost Diageo more than $2 billion in lost profits, with significant drops in its Scotch Whisky sales, while Woodford Reserve has rescheduled its annual Kentucky Derby charity Mint Julep campaign to go along with 2020's "fastest two minutes" in September sports.

There's something about whisky that brings out the passion in many people. For David Jennings, his passion for Wild Turkey led him to start a blog and then write what may well be the definitive story of Wild Turkey. His book "American Spirit: Wild Turkey Bourbon From Ripy to Russell" was published this summer and demand from other Wild Turkey lovers has forced his publisher to start working on a second print run. He'll join us to talk about what fueled that passion on WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, there's a unified front against the import tariffs on whiskies in the U.S. and Europe. Unfortunately, it's the whisky makers on both sides of the Atlantic that are unified, while the politicians who will decide on whether those tariffs stay in place remain very much divided. We'll also update the disputes between politicians trying to get the Covid-19 pandemic under control and bar owners who face threats to their business from mandated closings. We'll also have a red tape story out of Ireland that may have you shaking your head, along with a Behind the Label that's just a bit corny (pun intended).

Among horse racing enthusiasts, "pinhooking" is the name for investing in a young horse based solely on its pedigree and potential for success, then cashing in when the horse is mature and ready to race. If you can see the parallels between pinhooking with horses and with barrels of young whiskey, then you'll want to listen to our interview with Pinhook Whiskey co-founder Sean Josephs. 10 years ago when he was the owner of Char No. 4 in Brooklyn, he and his partners decided to start buying barrels of young whiskey to mature and bottle - and when they heard about pinhooking from a friend in the horse racing game, Sean realized they had their brand name. Earlier this summer, Pinhook released the first whiskeys distilled at Castle and Key since the historic distillery site reopened in 2017, and Sean will explain how they beat the distillery's owners to market. In the news, the Trump Administration's tariff on imports of single malt whiskies from Scotland and Northern Ireland is under review, but the damage to Scotch Whisky exports has already reached $250 million since the tariff took effect last October. We'll have the details, along with projections of dim prospects for removing that tariff before the November election. We'll also have the latest on new whiskeys, this week's tasting notes, and on Behind the Label, we'll find out why so many whiskey barrels used to be cut into half and turned into planters.

Tourism has become a major part of the Scotch Whisky industry, with two million people visiting distilleries in both 2018 and 2019. 2020, the "Year of the Pandemic," will be much different after distilleries had to shut down their visitors centers for nearly four months because of coronavirus-related public health restrictions. As of July 15, they can reopen with strict limits to prevent a flareup of new Covid-19 cases, but only a handful have put out the welcome mat so far. The Scotch Whisky Experience on Edinburgh's Royal Mile will not reopen until August 17, and we'll talk with Julie Trevisan Hunter about the issues she and her colleagues around Scotland are facing. In the news, the deadline for public comments on the Trump Administration's latest review of tariffs on single malts from Scotland and Northern Ireland is coming up this weekend. Juice boxes are a common sight for kids, but what about a "whisky box" for adults? That's a loosely-defined version of the paper-based "bottles" Diageo plans to test with Johnnie Walker whiskies next year, and we'll go Behind the Label to look at the Texas-grown barley used in the latest Balcones single malt.

Edinburgh's newest malt whisky distillery opened with a bang - or perhaps, a cough. That's because the Bonnington Distillery had barely filled its first few casks with new make spirit before the Covid-19 pandemic forced Halewood Wines & Spirits to close the place down for a deep cleaning to comply with public health restrictions. Bonnington is the home for Halewood's revival of the venerable John Crabbie & Co. Scotch Whisky brand, and we'll talk with Marc Watson on WhiskyCast In-Depth. He oversees distilling and maturation at Bonnington, and started his career making gin before a certain podcast episode prompted him to focus on whisky several years ago - he'll explain that story, too. In the news, South Africa is reviving its nationwide ban on alcohol sales as Covid-19 caseloads start to rise, and one of India's largest whisky distilleries could be affected by a lockdown that takes effect Tuesday while more U.S. states are closing bars again. We'll hear how one Kentucky distillery is trying to keep a Bourbon legend safe while still allowing visitors, and catch up with the results of a special raffle to support an Irish children's charity.

Bars and pubs have reopened in some areas after lockdowns to prevent the spread of Covid-19, only to be closed again when the number of cases spikes as people try to resume a normal life that includes having a drink at the local pub. Public health officials see bars as a prime vector for the spread of the virus, and that will have a long-term impact on bar owners as well as their customers. H. Joseph Ehrlich has owned Elixir, the popular San Francisco whisky bar, for 17 years and is waiting for local and state officials to work out their differences before he reopens - though he already has plans in place to try and give his regulars something close to their pre-pandemic experience. We'll talk with him on WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, pubs have now reopened in Ireland, England, and Northern Ireland as police say it's virtually impossible to ensure social distancing. We'll also have details on a new distillery project in Scotland that's moving ahead with construction after months of Covid-19 delays, the week's new whiskies, and something special - a song from the Whisky Bard himself, Robin Laing!