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85 years ago today, the five Shapira brothers and their partners opened Heaven Hill Distillery in Bardstown, Kentucky. The Shapira family is still in charge today, with second-generation company president Max Shapira leading the company. We'll talk with Max about Bourbon then and now, including the company's recent expansion into Canadian Whisky with last year's purchase of Black Velvet and its distillery in Lethbridge, Alberta. In the news, the clock is ticking more loudly as the deadline gets closer for Congress to extend a critical federal tax break for small-scale distillers, and we'll talk with one distiller who says the damage may already have been done. There's also hope that a move in London might help ease some of the trade tensions affecting the whisky industry, while new data shows a significant decline in alcohol sales worldwide this year because of the Covid-19 pandemic. We'll have the rest of the week's news and much more on this week's WhiskyCast!

With more people looking at rare whiskies as investments, more of the world's top auction houses are adding spirits experts to their in-house wine teams. That was just one of the moves Sotheby's made over the last two years after whiskies and other spirits started making up a larger share of bidding at its wine auctions around the world. Now, Sotheby's holds separate whisky auctions in London, New York, and Hong Kong - with three auctions last month combining for more than $4.6 million in bids. Jamie Ritchie heads up the Sotheby's wine and spirits team, and joins us on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, whisky makers around the UK and Europe are just as nervous about New Year's Eve as their American counterparts, since the arrival of 2021 means the final split between Great Britain and the European Union. As of now, there's no trade deal between the two sides once the final Brexit split happens, and that could lead to all kinds of issues for whisky makers. We'll have that story, along with a new re

It's never been easier to buy an entire cask of whisky...at least in theory. While more distilleries are offering the opportunity to pick a special cask of whisky, the demand for casks far outpaces the supply - especially when it comes to casks of mature whisky from long-closed distilleries. Chris Ratcliff looks at the cask sales market on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, distillers plan a campaign of their own in Washington this week as the deadline for Congress to extend a federal excise tax cut on distilled spirits gets closer. We'll also have details on the week's new whiskies from around the world...another distillery project in Ireland, and much more!

Craft distillers dream of not only having their whiskies alongside those of the major global brands, but outselling them. For the Quint family of Iowa's Cedar Ridge Winery & Distillery, that dream has become a reality. Earlier this month, Iowa's state liquor agency released sales data showing that Cedar Ridge Iowa Straight Bourbon was the top-selling Bourbon in the state over the previous 12 months - beating the big Bourbons for the first time. We'll talk with Murphy Quint, who was a teenager when his parents opened Cedar Ridge 15 years ago and is now head distiller. In the news, time is running out for Congress and the Trump Administration to extend a critical federal excise tax cut for distillers. We'll have that story and the rest of the week's whisky news on this edition of WhiskyCast!

There's a lot of political turmoil these days, and European Union leaders threw gasoline on the fire with this week's decision to impose new import tariffs on American-made rum, vodka, brandy, and vermouth to go along with the existing 25% tariff on American whiskies. The Trump Administration had previously pledged to respond with additional tariffs on European goods, and that could mean more whiskies are under the threat of new tariffs - in a dispute between allies that has nothing to do with the spirits industry. Could the incoming Biden Administration take a different approach that reduces the rhetoric and leads to the removal of whisky tariffs on both sides of the Atlantic? We'll discuss that with Distilled Spirits Council CEO Chris Swonger, who's been trying to persuade U.S. and European leaders to do just that for more than two years. We'll also have the rest of the week's whisky news, including distillery construction in Scotland and the latest on new whiskies...including one that won't leave you feeli

Marianne Eaves had a bright career path in her future as the first female master distiller at a Kentucky Bourbon distiller when she suddenly decided to leave Castle & Key Distillery 18 months ago - a year before the first whiskies she made there would be ready for bottling. It was a leap of blind faith, and now, she's living in Oregon with her young family, consulting with makers of whiskies and other spirits, and launching another venture - blind Bourbon tasting kits for whiskey lovers. We'll talk with Marianne Eaves about the "Eaves Blind" project, along with the Sweetens Cove Tennessee Bourbon she created for a team of high-profile athletes and investors and her dream of building a mobile blending lab. In the news, Covid-19 has now forced the cancellation of three more major whisky events in the U.S. and the postponement of a major event in Europe. Kentucky Distillers Association leaders are about to get a new look at the need for improvements in diversity and inclusion in the Bourbon industry, and Bri

OK, we're not going talking about politics this week, but whisky has been made in and around Washington, DC for 400 years, including a distillery owned by George Washington himself. There may not be quite enough local whisky available to calm the nerves of politicians awaiting the results of Tuesday's presidential election, but it's a good start. We'll talk with Sid Dilawri of the appropriately-named Filibuster Distillery just outside Washington and Ali Anderson of Joseph A. Magnus & Co., which started out in Washington and is now moving to Michigan where there's room to expand. In the news, Kentucky's Bourbon distillers put in another record year of production, while bars and restaurants in many countries are being hit with another round of Covid-19 lockdowns. We'll also have the week's new whiskies, along with November's Whisky Club of the Month!

Very few Bourbon brands can claim much of a pre-Prohibition heritage, but Brown-Forman's Old Forester can. George Garvin Brown created Old Forester in 1870 in the same way many of today's whiskey entrepreneurs got started - by buying bulk whiskey from several distilleries and blending them together to create his own unique flavor. His great-great grandson Campbell Brown is the managing director of Old Forester today, and joins us on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. We'll also have the week's whisky news, tasting notes, and on Behind the Label, we'll look at the best whisky advertising money can't buy...because it's literally on the money!

John Glaser and his team at Compass Box Whisky Company are celebrating their 20th anniversary this year. While Glaser has had his disagreements with the Scotch Whisky establishment over the years, he's gone from being a rebel to being one of the industry's most respected whisky makers. He'll join us on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth to discuss the last 20 years of challenging hidebound traditions and what the future holds. In the news, The Macallan now has the distinction of having bottled the world's oldest single malt whisky with a new 78-year-old bottling that's part of the new Red Collection. We'll have that story and the rest of the week's whisky news, including details on the latest Midleton Very Rare release and an even rarer trophy bottling for this year's NBA champions.

England's modern whisky scene only goes back to 2006, when the English Whisky Company started distilling at St. George's Distillery in Norfolk. Since then, it's grown by leaps and bounds, and the first-ever English Whisky Festival will take place this coming weekend online featuring 13 different distilleries. We'll look at not only the growth of England's whisky scene, but how Covid-19 has affected whisky bars and distillery tourism as Chris Ratcliff makes his debut on WhiskyCast as a contributor. In the news, surges in Covid-19 cases are forcing a return to restrictions on pub life around Europe, while bars in Texas can start reopening this week. Jack Daniel's has named its new master distiller - one with a link to the distillery's heritage. We'll also have a story about the legendary Booker Noe on Behind the Label and much more!

Whisky is a universal drink, a pleasure that can be shared by all regardless of gender, color, national origin, disability, age (as long as one is legally old enough to drink), and so on. The trouble is, too many people still hold the stereotype of whisky drinkers as older, male, and White - and that includes some people within the whisky industry. While the recent Whisky Bible controversy brought the issue of diversity and inclusion in the world of whisky into the spotlight, the desire for change has been growing. This week, we'll bring you part of a panel discussion from The Whisky Show on the need to turn that desire for change into reality. The panelists were Tracie Franklin, the first participant in the Nearest and Jack Advancement Initiative's professional development program, Black Bourbon Society founder Samara Rivers, Sorel Artisanal Liquor founder and bartending guru Jackie Summers, and Becky Paskin of OurWhisky.com, while WhiskyCast's Mark Gillespie was the moderator. We'll also have the week's whi

There are literally hundreds of old distillery sites around the eastern half of the United States dating back to the early colonial days. While their stories have largely been lost over time, bits and pieces still exist - and Nicolas Laracuente's mission is to uncover the artifacts, the stories behind them, and put them together in historical context. The "Bourbon Archaeologist" specializes in Kentucky's distilling history, from uncovering distillery ruins to researching the history of enslaved distillers in the pre-Civil War era, and he'll share some of his journey with us on WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, the Scotch Whisky Association is launching an industry-wide diversity and inclusion initiative that was in the works before the Jim Murray controversy hit the news a week ago. We'll look at the industry's response to allegations of sexism against the "Whisky Bible" author, along with some of your reactions as well.

Every distillery is unique, but there's one in Australia that could redefine your concept of "unique." Belgrove Distillery is on Peter Bignell's farm near Kempton, Tasmania, and he not only grows the grain that goes into his whiskies - but he built the distillery himself, too. There's no other distillery quite like it, and we'll visit Belgrove on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, U.S. craft distillers may get caught in the political crossfire on Capitol Hill between budget talks, pandemic relief, the November election, and now...a Supreme Court confirmation fight. We'll have an update on the effort to extend federal excise tax relief for distillers past the end of this year. The Glenturret has unveiled its new single malts following an 18-month re-branding exercise under new management, while a Kentucky distillery is changing its name after just four years - to the name of the original distillery  that dates back to 1885. We'll have more whisky news, tasting notes, and a rare bit of commentary, to

Yeast is one of the three main ingredients in whisky, along with grain and water. While we understand what grain and water contribute to the taste of a whisky, yeast's contributions are far more mysterious. In fact, people were distilling whisky from fermented mash hundreds of years before scientists even figured out that yeast exists, let alone how it works. After our deep dive into the science of oak trees last month, we had requests to do something similar with yeast - and Indiana University biochemistry professor Matt Bochman joins us this week to help. His laboratory research involves studying yeast cells to unlock keys that may help us fight cancer and other diseases, but his informal research focuses on home brewing. He's also a consultant to brewers and distillers on fermentation issues, and shares his expertise with us on WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Great Britain and the European Union are at odds over Brexit again. We'll also look at two new programs aimed at improving diversity in the whisky

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 wo

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

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