WhiskyCast

More from Edinburgh on this edition, with a look at some of the key places whisky lovers seek out on a visit to Scotland's capital. We'll check out Royal Mile Whiskies, The Scotch Whisky Experience, and one of Edinburgh's best whisky bars. In the news, Whyte & MacKay is about to release a replica of Shackleton's whisky from Antarctica, Australian whisky comes to the US, an update on Japan's distilleries after the earthquake, and much more!

1940 was a crucial moment in world history, as World War II was breaking out in Europe. That February, Gordon & MacPhail arranged to have 15 casks filled with new make spirit at The Glenlivet in Speyside. 70 years later, the one remaining cask has been bottled as the second release in G&M's "Generations Series". The Glenlivet 70 was unveiled this past Tuesday in Edinburgh, along with 5 other single cask Glenlivets from 1954 through 1991, and you'll hear the highlights and reaction on this episode of WhiskyCast!

David Perkins has been getting a lot of attention for his High West whiskies. Malt Advocate just named him its Industry Pioneer of the Year, and two weeks ago, Matt Colglaizer sang the praises of High West in his WhiskyCast interview. This time around, David explains how he moved from biochemistry to making whisky in Utah. In the news, the winners of Whisky Magazine's World Whiskies Awards, a new Bulleit Rye whiskey hits the market, and much more!

Brown-Forman's cooperage in Louisville, Kentucky has an impact on whiskies all over the world. The cooperage makes all of the barrels for Jack Daniel's, Woodford Reserve, and Brown-Forman's other whiskies...and of course, those barrels are later sent to distilleries in Scotland and around the world for aging whiskies. It's also one of the few cooperages open for tours, and general manager Greg Roshkowski will give us a tour in this episode. In the news, the Christchurch earthquake and its connection to the whisky world, plenty of awards, and more new whiskies!

Still in Indiana, but that's giving me a chance to catch up with old friends. Matt Colglazier writes the American Craft Spirits blog, and also happens to be the marketing manager for Big Red Liquors in Bloomington, Indiana. That's where I spent four years getting my degree (in Bloomington, not at Big Red), and Big Red now boasts a selection of more than 200 whiskies. We'll hear from Matt about the growth in craft spirits and much more in this episode...

This week's episode comes from Edinburgh...no, not THAT Edinburgh. I'm actually in Edinburgh, Indiana on family business, but talked with Alistair Longwell of Ardmore and Ryan Maloney of Julio's Liquors in Westborough, Massachusetts before I headed west. They've been working on the first official single cask Ardmore bottling that will make its debut at Julio's later this month. In the news, Diageo has an eye on Beam Global's future, a Kentucky distilling family wants to return to its roots, and much more.

Jim Murray isn't one to hold his tongue when he doesn't like something, and the man behind the Whisky Bible shares some of the things that are bothering him these days in this episode, along with some of the whiskies that surprised him this year. We'll also hear from Andrew Ferguson of Calgary's Kensington Wine Market about his hotbed of whisky in the middle of the cold Canadian prairie, along with the rest of the week's news and much more.

Canadian whiskies seldom gets their fair share of credit, since many whisky drinkers perceive them as something best mixed into a cocktail. While that's certainly an acceptable way to drink them, there are many Canadian whiskies that can hold their own when compared to any whisky from around the world. Davin de Kergommeaux of Canadian Whisky.org shares some of the history behind these unique whiskies and a few recommendations in this episode. In the news, new whiskies from Cooley, Highland Park, Buffalo Trace, Bowmore, and much more...

Plenty of highlights at this year's Victoria Whisky Festival, and we'll have all of the details in this episode recorded on location in Victoria, British Columbia. In the news, Scotch whisky exports are on the rise, Glenfarclas marks an anniversary, Arran goes peaty, Compass Box goes Orangerie again...and we mourn the loss of longtime Buffalo Trace legend Jimmy Johnson.

This is the first live webcast of WhiskyCast, on location at the Victoria Whisky Festival in British Columbia. Our tasting panel and nosers from the audience went through five blind samples selected by Malt Maniac and Victoria Whisky Festival president Lawrence Graham, and you'll hear just how hard it is to guess just what a whisky could be without any clues. In the news, Shackleton's whisky gets first-class treatment, new expressions from The Dalmore and Old Pulteney, and whisky in a can?