WhiskyCast

The most secure jobs in the whisky business may be the coppersmiths at Forsyth's of Rothes in Scotland, since almost all of the major distillery construction projects underway worldwide are buying their stills from Forsyth's. We got word of two more new distilleries this week...the Morrison family's Glasgow Whisky Distillery to be built on the Queen's Dock along the River Clyde and Bernard Walsh's new distillery in County Carlow, Ireland. Tim Morrison and Bernard Walsh join us to discuss their plans on WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, the search is on for the "Pappy Pilferer", two whisky auctions this week raised tens of thousands of dollars for charities, and if you're feeling a cold coming on, this week's tasting notes may have just the answer.

With 28 malt whisky distilleries and two grain whisky distilleries in Scotland, Diageo almost always has something going on. Dr. Nick Morgan is head of whisky outreach for the world's largest whisky producer, and we sat down in New York City this week with drams of Talisker Storm to discuss the malt's U.S. debut, this year's special releases, and more for this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth segment. In the news, plans for another malt distillery in Scotland are getting clearer, Arran releases its Millennium Casks, and WhistlePig unleashes The Boss Hog. We'll also hear WhiskyCast listeners venting their frustrations (and singing their praises) in this week's Your Voice.

Baker Beam comes from one of Kentucky's legendary Bourbon families. However, the grand-nephew of Jim Beam and cousin to Booker Noe, Fred Noe, and Parker Beam doesn't often get the spotlight. If his name sounds familiar, it's because he's the namesake for Baker's Bourbon from Beam's Small Batch Collection, and that makes him one of the few living distillers with a Bourbon that bears his name. He'll share his history in distilling and memories of working with Booker Noe on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, the U.S. government shutdown is affecting whisky makers, but plenty of new whiskies beat Washington's budget clock in time to hit the market this week.

This week's WhiskyCast comes from Forty Creek Distillery's annual Whisky Weekend in Grimsby, Ontario. Forty Creek's John Hall makes his whisky differently from any other distiller, and we'll deconstruct Forty Creek Barrel Select on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth during a Whisky Weekend tasting session with John, Davin de Kergommeaux, and Johanne McInnis. In the news, a WhiskyCast exclusive -- Diageo's supply of whiskey for Bulleit Bourbon from Four Roses will be cut off next spring, and that could force Diageo to make a decision on the future of the long-closed Stitzel-Weller Distillery in Louisville.

In the second of two episodes from this weekend's Kentucky Bourbon Festival in Bardstown, we'll hear from the newest members of the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame. Fred Noe is the 7th generation member of the Beam family at Jim Beam, and Tom Blincoe's Buzick Construction has been responsible for most of the state's major distillery construction projects over the last several decades. In the news, Whisky Magazine announces the winners of this year's U.S. Icons of Whisky Awards, Jimmy Russell explains just what happened when his team made a mistake that led to Wild Turkey's new Forgiven, and Mike Veach tells us about the Filson Historical Society's Bourbon Challenge next month.

Parker Beam surprised everyone the other night at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival in Bardstown. He wasn't expected to attend the Kentucky Distillers Association's All-Star Sampler event with master distillers from all of the KDA member distilleries, but he came and spent the entire evening signing bottles and meeting Bourbon lovers. We'll hear from Parker about his battle with ALS on the first of this weekend's two episodes from the Kentucky Bourbon Festival.

Ger Buckley is the fifth-generation cooper at Ireland's Midleton Distillery, but had no one to pass the torch to. In fact, there hadn't been an apprentice cooper at any Irish distillery for nearly four decades...but Ger was able to convince Irish Distillers that the tradition needed to be kept alive for another generation. 21-year-old Killian O'Mahony has just signed on for a four-year apprenticeship...he and Ger join us for this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, we pay tribute to the late Lincoln Henderson, Buffalo Trace plans to keep honoring the late Elmer T. Lee, and the latest on this year's Buffalo Trace Antique Collection. This week's tasting notes include Wild Turkey's new Forgiven...an accidental blend of Rye and Bourbon.

There was a changing of the guard at Ireland's Midleton Distillery this week, in addition to the housewarming party for Midleton's massive distillery expansion. Brian Nation officially replaced Barry Crockett as Master Distiller for Ireland's largest distillery, and it's the first time in almost 70 years that a Crockett family member won't be at the distillery. We'll meet the man charged with carrying on the legacy of names like Jameson, Power, and Crockett on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth, and get the details on the distillery expansion in our news update. There's also word on this year's special releases from Diageo, and Fred Laing tells us about the new Douglas Laing's Old Particular range of single cask bottlings. In this week's tasting notes, there's a little-known Irish whiskey from Midleton, Glen Grant's Five Decades single malt honoring longtime Master Distiller Dennis Malcolm, and a new Dalmore bottling from Single Cask Nation.

Pappy Van Winkle's Family Reserve Bourbons may well be some of the hardest whiskies to find, and hundreds of people call the Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery office in Louisville every year begging to get just one bottle. Celebrities, ordinary people with a special occasion, and the most ardent Bourbon lovers all get the same answer from Preston Van Winkle and his father, Julian Van Winkle III: "We can't help you, now, but if you check with your local retailer in October, they might be able to find you a bottle." Preston Van Winkle joins us for this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth to discuss "Pappy-Mania" -- and he'll tell us why this year's 23-year-old Pappy may well be the last of its kind. Ryan Maloney of Julio's Liquors in Massachusetts explains why he and his colleagues have to resort to lotteries to allocate their few bottles of Pappy each year, and Benjamin Lee will tell us about his quest to explore all 59 U.S. national parks (and a few distilleries) by motorcycle.

When Kentucky was still a wilderness in Colonial days, Pennsylvania was a hotbed of whiskey distilling. Back then, the Keystone State was known for its rye whiskies. Over the last several decades, though, Pennsylvania's distilling industry dried up and withered away. Herman Mihalich and John Cooper are trying to revive the tradition with their Dad's Hat Pennsylvania Rye Whiskey, producing it themselves at a converted wool mill in the Philadelphia suburb of Bristol. We'll hear their story on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Jack Daniel's is expanding, John Teeling's been pulled back into the Irish Whiskey business, the new Parker's Heritage Collection Bourbon has a mission of raising funding -- and awareness -- for ALS research, and this week's tasting notes include one of whisky's Holy Grails, the Pappy Van Winkle's Family Reserve 23-year-old Bourbon.