Whisky Stories Podcast

This is the first ever Whisky Stories Double Header Part 1. When the Distillery Manager drives down from Tomatin to chat, we had to make sure we got all we could get. Jamie Muir is the Distillery Manager at Tomatin, he grew up on Jura and has worked for Jura Distillery 3 times, Fettercairn, Kichoman and BrewDog. Danny Whelan is Global Marketing Manager for Tomatin and started out working in bars making cocktails. In this episode we hear their stories and how they got into whisky and how they both ended up working for Tomatin. We also asked, why is Tomatin 36 the whisky to ruin whisky for you?

This one got loose! We packed out Uno Mas in Edinburgh for this Whisky Stories LIVE event and what a night it was. John Stirling was back on the pod and we also had Christian Perez from the distillery down and he brought a very special cask sample with him that John hadn't event tried. We went through the lineup, chatted about the whisky and challenged John on some of the conversation that's happened since his last episode. My head was sore the next day. A sign of a very enjoyable night.

It was great having Stephen Woodcock back on the pod. And this time he came bearing gifts! Not to be outdone by the team at Bunnahabhain, he made sure we stand out now with the bright yellow iconic Cutty Sark jackets, bags, mugs, notebooks and pens! He also brought drams with him too and plenty of great chat about his career, some really funny stories, and plenty of distilling and blending insight too. Well worth poring a few drams for this long and epic episode.

It was time for a monthly catch-up in Diggers with the lads. We were down in the cellar with plenty of drams and loads to talk about. We caught up on our distillery trip to Arbikie, some big drams on the lineup, AND if we can pull off organising our very own Whisky Stories Festival. Loads of laughs, questionable chat, and good drams on this one.

Arbikie Distillery are about to launch their first ever Single Malt release. And it's taken them 10 long years to wait for this moment. And what better way to spread the good word about it than to come on the Whisky Stories Podcast and tell us all about it. John Stirling is one of the family members involved in the business. He is 'Chief Taster' and has been part of the journey since a conversation in a bar in New York. The goal is simple - Make the best 18 year old whisky in the world. Hear the whole story in this episode, including the £30,000 bottle, the ethos of the whisky, and creating sustainable products.

It's always good to catch up with Mark Thomson. In this episode, we dived into brand advocacy and asked if the Scotch Whisky Industry are moving away from it and whether that's a good thing or not. Mark is an award winning Brand Ambassador and has worked with massive global brands as well as smaller independent ones. He's also working with brands on a contract basis to help with advocacy and training. But are we losing the Brand Ambassador? And what does Mark think? Enjoy!

This is a belter of an episode. Another Master Blender on the podcast and Julieann Fernandez gave us an amazing insight working for CVH. As well as being responsible for signing off on all the single malt and blended releases from the distilleries, she also travels the world representing the brands and talking to people about Bunnahabhain, Deanston, Tobermoray and Ledaig. We were also joined by Luke Fenton who is the Head of On Trade in the UK for CVH. So Julieann is responsible for getting the releases out and Luke is responsible for getting them sold. We were through in Glasgow for this one and managed to pop in quickly to the Pot Still Pub in Glasgow for a dram before and enjoyed some drams during the recording. Enjoy this one, it's an epic.

We were back in Diggers for a catchup and debrief from our Islay trip. This one got a bit messier than intended, but it was good to be back in the cellar chatting drams and telling Ross about how good the Islay trip was. We went through our own personal highlights from Islay, rated the distilleries on whisky, experience and merch. We answered listener questions and tucked into some fantastic drams.

Part 2 of our Islay extravaganza took us to Bunnahabhain Distillery and we got a chance to sit down and have some drams with the legendary David Brodie. David has been a tour guide at Bunnahabhain Distillery for 11 years and his Warehouse 9 Tastings have become famous. David talked us through his own journey and how he found himself moving to Islay and falling in love with the island and the whisky. From working in the bank to delivering tastings and tours. David shared drams and stories with us from his own whisky journey and the distillery. Enjoy

This is part of our FULL Islay Experience! We headed over to Islay and our first stop was Kilchoman Distillery. After a lovely tour and plenty of drams, we sat down with James Wills who is the Marketing and Sales Man as well as being son of the Founder Anthony Wills. James talked us through the whole history of Kilchoman Distillery, what it was like growing up around the distillery, accidentally setting the kiln on fire, the ethos behind 100% Islay barley, and the connection between Islay and the Land Rover. You don't often get the chance to sit outside a working distillery, drinking drams and recording a podcast episode. Enjoy!

Brian Kinsman is the Master Blender for William Grant & Sons. That means he is responsible for overseeing some of the biggest whisky brands in the world. Glenfiddich, The Balvenie, Grants, Monkey Shoulder, and now The Famous Grouse. He's only the 6th Glenfiddich Malt Master in nearly 140 years. He's worked within the William Grant & Sons Business for over 25 years, and his name is on every bottle of Glenfiddich sold around the world. We chat all about his career, his role, cask sniffer dogs, and what it means to be part of the biggest selling Single Malt in the world. This is a biggy. Strap in, pour a dram and enjoy this.

Mike McGinty is the Brand Home Manager for John Dewars & Sons. That means a big part of his job is to take people to the distilleries owned by Dewars and tell them the amazing stories about them. Aberfeldy, Aultmore, Craigallachie, Macduff, and Royal Brackla all fall under his remit. And in this episode he told us the stories behind them all. Why is Dewars so popular in America? Mike explained how a gift to an American President helped create that popularity. What makes Dewars Double Double so special? What distillery has the kinkiest lyne arms? Mike has so many amazing and fun whisky stories, this was a classic night in the Diggers Cellar enjoying drams and great whisky chat.

We've all seen the labels on bottles and seen brands promoting that they are finalists or winners of whisky awards. But what does that actually mean? And what goes into winning a whisky award? John Boyle is the man who's job it is to start putting the Scottish Whisky Awards together each year. Getting brands to submit entries, bringing in sponsors, and putting on a MASSIVE tasting session for judges. This was a great insight into the work that goes into the Scottish Whisky Awards.

What is it that makes Tamnavulin so popular? To celebrate 60 years of the distillery, we held a birthday party for Tamnavulin and got to try some incredible whisky. Whisky Maker Kirsty Hodge and Distillery Manager Trevor Milne came down to Diggers Leith for the party and brought along some whisky goodies. It's not every day you get to try 50. year old whisky, so the final dram of the night was a real treat. But it was the 16 year old sample from what could be something to look forward to in the future that stole the show. There's so much in this episode to unpack and enjoy.

What does working in an Edinburgh City Centre whisky shop teach you about whisky? David Agnew is the Manager of The Whisky Shop on Multrees Walk in Edinburgh City Centre. He's also the man who first started teaching Ross Barr about whisky. This turned into one of my favourite nights recording. David has his own unique way when it comes to talking about whisky. He's seen the trends of new distilleries and launches, to popular styles and flavours, and he's seen the changes in prices and consumer behaviour. This was a lot of fun to record and there's some great dram chat in this.

I love listening to Alex Thomson talking about history, whisky, and Scottish Hospitality. And there's plenty of that on this episode. Since the last time Alex was on the podcast he's since left his role at Glenturret and has set up his own business with a focus on delivering authentic Scottish experiences with a focus on the Perthshire area. Alex has plenty of amazing whisky stories and is also a member of the Athol Highlanders which is a private Scottish army. It was great catching up with him again.

This is the second time we've interviewed Gregor Hannah from Lady of the Glen Independent Bottlers. And if there's one thing I know about him, he just says it as it is. This episode is one of the best insights I've ever had on Independent Bottling. How he started the business, growing the business to the point of bringing in a Brand Ambassador Paul McKendrick, and searching for markets to sell their whisky. This was our May Indy Bottler Spotlight tasting with a live audience, we went through their latest releases and even got our very own One of One bottle from the ONLY Solera Cask System in Scotland.

It was just the boys in for some drams and a catch up for this week. We haven't had an episode with just the 4 of us this year! So it was good to get us all in the back room at Diggers, get some drams and answer some listener questions. There's a lot to unpack in this, there's questions ranging from our dream distillery visit to who would win in a whisky triathlon. Turns out Chuck's dad is now a listener, so hello Mr Kerr. Ross is off to America with the Current Wife. So if anyone at Iron Fish Distillery is listening, hook him up. Pour a dram and enjoy this.

This is the second time we've had Finn Thomson on the podcast. The first time was for our second Indy Bottler Spotlight. But we wanted to sit down with Finn and dive into his fascinating whisky family history which dates all the way back to 1772. Illicit stills, blending, buying casks, and carrying on the family business. We hear all about how Finn decided to set up his very own whisky business and the work that goes into starting a whisky brand. He even brought in some of the new bottles for his latest project with the Scotland Tartan Army for the World Cup. These are the Official Tartan Army bottlings. They look and taste fantastic, and at the time of the podcast going out, they are on sale to buy. If there are any left. Enjoy

It was a big night at Mother Superior for our Whisky Stories LIVE event with Adelphi and Ardnamurchan. After our trip to the distillery, it was great to sit down with a group on a Friday night and go through a great lineup which included our very own hand picked cask sample we drew on our trip to the distillery. We had Calum Rafferty and Connie MacDonald in representing Adelphi and Ardnamurchan and they brought some great drams along with them. Another great night with loads of laughs and great whisky.