Inside Whisky

There are probably not too many places in Europe that one would label as “extremely un-get-at-able” – but that’s exactly how George Orwell once described the Isle of Jura when he spent several years there in the late 1940s to write his masterpiece and final work, 1984.

During his time there, Orwell unfortunately did not have the pleasure to enjoy Jura whisky because the distillery fell silent in the early 1900s. It was not until the 1950s that it was rebuilt and expanded. The work was finally finished in 1963 and Jura Distillery has been up and running ever since.

But who are we to tell you all that? There are people who know so much more about Jura Distillery and its history than we do.

One of them is Kirsty Wright, Jura’s new brand home manager, who luckily took some time to record a podcast episode with us – as usual – in situ, on the beautiful and quite un-get-at-able Isle of Jura. It was just wonderful to experience how passionate Kirsty is about the distillery and the island itself. We had a great time recording this episode with her and roaming the grounds of the distillery.

Listen in and get to know JURA from a totally new PERSPECTIVE (No. 01). Learn about how the team on the island and the distillery owners, Whyte and Mackay, are trying to make sure that Jura Distillery is well-prepared for the future without ever forgetting its roots. This new perspective we’ve mentioned above is a perfect example to showcase just that.

Almost 20.000km from home – quite the distance to record a podcast in situ, don’t you think?! Well, we did it anyway… We travelled halfway around the globe to meet up with Matt Johns of Pōkeno Whisky in New Zealand to record this episode.

Matt founded Pōkeno Distillery together with his wife Celine as a “passion project” just about an hour south auf Auckland in the small village of Pōkeno, to craft “one of the world’s greatest single malts”. Pōkeno is another one of those aspiring and innovative New World Distilleries, and to quote Matt, they completely “threw the rulebook out […] to make a true New Zealand whisky”. With his approach, Matt didn’t want to be inspired by the past too much, but for him it was more about building their own story from the day they decided to start Pōkeno Distillery and onwards.

Sit down, pour a dram and join us for some fascinating stories from the other side of the world. Learn about the challenges of starting a distillery in a country where native, endemic timber exists aplenty but coopers are scarce and where a copper work industry is basically non-existent. Find out about what makes Pōkeno Whisky unique and enjoy this episode straight from the Southern Hemisphere. You surely won’t regret it.

Donald & Alexander Johnston, Ian Hunter, Bessie Williamson, Iain Henderson, John Campbell, Barry MacAffer – quite an illustrious round of people – and all of them special for Laphroaig in their very own way.

And today’s episode is about Barry MacAffer, who has spent the best part of 13 years working at the distillery and who has now decided to leave Islay, Scotland, the UK and even Europe to start a totally new adventure in South Korea.

We had the chance to talk to Barry right at the end of his time at Laphroaig and met a very thoughtful, reflective, open and also entertaining Barry and we felt like we really had a chance to get to know the person behind the role of being Laphroaig’s distillery manager.

Barry took us along on his journey through the whisky world, starting with growing up on Islay, going through various roles at Laphroaig and now moving on to a totally new endeavour halfway around the world.

His memories and anecdotes from along the way make this a wonderful podcast episode and with it, we are quietly saying goodbye to a man who will surely be missed on Islay a lot. But to say it in Barry’s words: “It’s never a goodbye, it’s always ‘see you later’.”

Today, the 7th of June 2024, marks the day that Rosebank finally opens its doors to visitors again and we got the chance to have a look behind the curtain shortly before the grand reopening of the distillery to talk to distillery manager Malcolm Rennie.

Originally being founded in 1840, Rosebank had to endure a lot of agony up to this point in 2024 and we don’t know, yet, what the future holds for the distillery. But what we can say already with absolute certainty: Ian Macleod Distillers, the owners of Rosebank, have outdone themselves by reawakening this sleeping giant. The distillery building offers an impressive mix of architecture, incorporating old and new elements alike, also including the iconic Rosebank chimney, showcasing the year 1840. Within the building, the chimney marks the borderline dividing the production areas of mashing and distilling. Perfect.

Listen in and learn more about Rosebank, which is a rather unusual Lowland distillery with its uncommon mix of triple distillation and worm tub condensers, and get to know Malcolm Rennie, the man behind the reimagined Rosebank spirit, whose experience in the world of whisky is hard to rival. We were utterly impressed!

Lean back, tune in, and be one of the very first to get to peek behind the curtain of Rosebank Distillery – you won’t be disappointed.

Have you ever met Kenny Macdonald? No? Really?? Then here’s your chance! 

Kenny is the co-founder of independent bottler Dràm Mòr, which he founded together with his wife Viktorija. Since he claims himself that he is not the “brains” of the company – what does he bring to the table? Well, he’s a real showman and a great storyteller and an absolute joy to listen to – so quite naturally, we wanted to record a podcast episode with him. To be honest, we tried to do this recording several times but somehow it never happened – but now we’re more than happy that it finally worked out – and we hope you will join us.

Let’s enjoy some precious 1 on 1 (or actually 2 on 1) time with Kenny and get to know him and Dràm Mòr. We’re certain you won’t regret it. Kenny gives his all for his company and you really believe it, when he says that working in the whisky business is his absolute dream job – to the extent that he would claim that people would have to drag him out of this job “in a box”. He really loves what he is doing, and you can feel that in every single minute of this episode. 

Some of Kenny’s stories are hilarious but sometimes he’s also quite emotional and thoughtful – it makes for a perfect mix, and we had great fun recording the episode.

Lean back, relax and join us on this episode, which will take you from Munich to Dumbarton and back, via night clubs, slaughterhouses, Lithuania and even a short but pretty memorable stopover in Israel. Simply pour a dram and enjoy the (wild) ride. 

Indian Single Malt Whisky – sounds quite exotic at first sight – and probably it is to some extent. But it’s also so much more than that: It’s made with pride, it’s unique, it’s very flavourful, it’s delicious and there are so many things to be discovered about Indian whisky and also the country itself.

For this episode, our journey through the world of whisky has brought us together with Madhu Kanna of Indri Single Malt Indian Whisky – unfortunately not in India this time, but maybe some time in the future, who knows.

Madhu is the international sales manager of Piccadily Distillery, the producers of Indri Whisky and we had a wonderful chat with him about India, its culture and, of course, Indri Whisky. Let’s have a look at whisky from a different perspective together with Madhu and think outside the box of Scotch or Irish whisk(e)y for the next 40 minutes or so.

Sit down, lean back, relax and let Madhu and us invite you to the exciting world of Indian culture and Indian Single Malt Whisky – there might even be some world-exclusive news to be discovered if you listen closely – this is certainly a unique and exotic episode, and one surely not to be missed!

MCDXCIV – does that ring a bell? And no, it’s not a typo… It’s a Roman numeral and it stands for 1494, quite a pivotal year in the world of whisky and especially for the newly founded Lindores Abbey Distillery.

1494 is the year in which, according to the Scottish Whisky Association, the earliest documented record of distilling in Scotland occurred in the Exchequer Rolls (the tax records): An entry lists “To Friar John Cor, 8 bolls of Malt, wherewith to make Aqua Vitae for King James IV.”

Friar John Cor produced this water of life exactly in the place where you find Lindores Abbey Distillery today. Cool background story – don’t you think?!

Mr. John Howison then bought the Lindores Abbey estate in 1913 and we had a chance to talk to his great-grandson Drew McKenzie Smith, who, together with his wife Helen, founded Lindores Abbey Distillery in 2016.

We know, we know, that’s a lot of facts and numbers, but isn’t it absolutely fascinating? In our opinion, it is! We hope you think the same because if yes, this presents a perfect chance for you:
Listen in and find out more about Drew McKenzie Smith and Lindores Abbey and maybe discover some more intriguing stories about its historic past, its malty present and its promising future.

10 centimetres of snow, a single track road and its end, a Viking-style longhouse, mystically lit by torches and overlooking a picturesque Norwegian fjord – wow! That’s what our arrival looked like when approaching Aurora Spirit Distillery - quite the way to arrive at a distillery…

Okay, okay, you have to go there in late autumn or winter for the snow and the torches are well-animated electrical torches, but still, our “wow” keeps standing – and we haven’t even mentioned the majestic Northern Lights, yet, which you can perfectly spot there when it’s clear at night. 

After parking the car and then walking by the Viking longhouse, which is actually a whisky warehouse, we finally arrived at our final destination, Aurora Spirit Distillery, the producers of Bivrost Whisky: A beautiful and very modern building with a vast glass front, offering a perfect view of the fjord, coupled with traditional wooden elements. Stepping inside, you recognise right away all the thoughtfully staged artifacts reminiscent of the old Vikings – all very moody! 

Upon our arrival, we were greeted by a man, who can actually claim that he is 100% Viking himself (a very calm and charming one, as we might add): Tor Petter Christensen, founder and CEO of Aurora Spirit Distillery.

Before our recording, Tor took the time to give us an extensive tour of the entire site and we were hooked in no time – what an absolutely fabulous place to produce the northernmost whisky in the world. Spectacular!

Are you curious now? Well, you should be! So don’t miss out on our new podcast episode with Tor and find out more about Aurora Spirit Distillery, Bivrost Whisky and producing whisky at 69° North. We’re sure it’s time well-spent – especially during the darker time of the year. So lean back and enjoy.

 

Campeltown – once the whisky capital of the world – has become a place of whisky pilgrimage more and more in the last years. Nonetheless, many people still disregard the Glen Scotia Distillery in favour of their bigger neighbour.

However, we think that is a mistake! 

At Glen Scotia, Iain McAlister and his team produce a worldclass spirit and mature it to perfection. And apart from the great whisky you can get there, the atmosphere when you arrive at the distillery is just absolutely wonderful. Everybody is so warm-hearted and welcoming and distillery manager Iain McAlister is no exception to that (maybe he’s actually the reason for it?!).

That said, we had a wonderful time recording this episode with Iain and to chat all things Campbeltown, whisky, Glen Scotia and bees (yes, indeed). 

If you might not be as familiar with Glen Scotia, yet, this is your chance! And if you are an expert already, we’re pretty sure there are some more lovely details to be discovered in this episode.

So don’t hesitate, tune in and get to know the wonderful Iain McAlister and his Glen Scotia Distillery.

If you think of a whisky distillery in Scotland which stands for powerful and peaty whisky with a hint of sweet vanilla and citrus, which is extremely good at storytelling, very creative in bringing old myths to life to describe and sell their whiskies with worldclass marketing but which is also seen as quite polarising at times throughout the whisky community, which distillery name pops up in your head?

For many of you, just like for us, the answer is probably going to be Ardbeg.

Year in, year out many people make the pilgrimage to Scotland and the Isle of Islay to experience their beloved Ardbeg Distillery first hand and we really have to say that Ardbeg, at least for us, is still a benchmark when it comes to hospitality. Even more so when you travel there during the Islay Whisky Festival, Fèis Ìle, and that’s exactly what we did once more this year.

During all the festivities and the busy hustle of Ardbeg Day 2023 (and his top-secret Ardbeg Committee event), T.J. Littlejohn, Global Expierence & Advocacy Manager of The Glenmorangie Company, which Ardbeg is a part of, took the time to talk to us and tell us some lovely stories (very Ardbeggian, isn’t it?!). 

So raise a dram of TEN, Uigeadail, Corryvreckan, An Oa, Wee Beastie, Smoketrails, BizarreBQ, Heavy Vapours or maybe The Harpy’s Tale (we could probably continue this list forever…) and join us to relive Ardbeg Day 2023 with T.J. and learn some more about this wonderful Islay distillery. 

Far up north, just off the northernmost point of the UK’s mainland, there are the Orkneys – islands shaped by the sea and extreme weather. And right up there, on these rough islands, there’s a distillery which is extremely beautifully situated and producing surprisingly smooth whisky. Of course, we are talking about Scapa Distillery overlooking the breathtaking Scapa flow.

And that’s exactly the place where we recorded this episode with Mick Swanney, team leader at Scapa Distillery. As a real Orcadian, Mick knows a lot of stories about his home, Orkney, and obviously, he also knows a thing or two about whisky. 

Find out about Scapa’s history and its superb whisky, about the rivalry with their neighbouring distillery (or is it?), life on Orkney and why you shouldn’t believe everything that’s on the internet. 

Lean back, pour a dram and let a real Orcadian tell you some stories about his home - this remote, rough and captivating place, which, on top, also produces some absolutely incredible whiskies.

How do you produce whisky inefficiently on purpose and why would you want to do that? Well, we also wanted to know and asked Phil and Simon Thompson of Thompson Bros Distillers, Dornoch Castle Hotel and the relatively newly founded Dornoch Distillery.

Despite their young age, Phil and Simon have had the chance to try some extraordinary whiskies from times long gone, dating back as far as the 1900s. Inspired by that they set themselves the goal of recreating an old-style spirit.

And since whisky creation takes time, they are independently bottling very high quality single cask whiskies and their own blends in the meantime, using a very sophisticated ballot system to get their whisky into the “right” hands – but better listen for yourself and let Phil and Simon explain it to you first hand.

Certainly being one of our most entertaining episodes with a lot of geeky knowledge and whisky enthusiast-friendly perspectives, this is one not to be missed!

Green rolling mountains, sleepy and bleating sheep, idyllic villages and vivid cities with wonderful people, vibrant traditional pubs with passionate folk music, delicious local food and, of course, a long and quite eventful history of producing whiskey…

… Does that sound appealing to you? If yes, come join Miri on her trip to Ireland and experience the Emerald Isle with her!

For this episode, the three of us sat down together to have a chat about Miri’s journey and, of course, Miri didn’t come back from Ireland empty-handed. She brought some short interview snippets with her, which she recorded on-site at several distilleries. So, you can look forward to interviews with Alex Chasko of Teeling Distillery, John Cashman of Powerscourt Distillery and Diarmuid Madden of Jameson Distillery.

Guided through the country by John Callely of Whiskey Island, who you will also get to know during this episode, and Gracie Boylan of @tourismireland and @entdecke_irland, Miri had the chance to discover the stunning beauty of Ireland and we couldn’t wait to listen to Miri’s and her interview partners’ stories – maybe you feel the same now?!

If all that has made you curious, sit down, relax, pour yourself a lovely dram of whiskey and come discover a glimpse of Ireland with us.

If we told you that there is a distillery in the Scottish Highlands, which is beautifully situated, easily accessible, has a very rich history, but which is still quite often overlooked, would you want to know more about it – especially if you knew that they promise you the “golden dram”?

Well, we were certainly intrigued and once we visited for the first time, we couldn’t but visit many more times in the following years.

Of course, we’re talking about Dewar’s Aberfeldy Distillery, where we met with Gary Ross, distilleries ambassador for John Dewar & Sons, to record this episode in the distillery’s visitor centre.

Gary, who describes himself as a “mega whisky nerd” was absolutely wonderful and we had a great time wandering about the distillery and then also recording with him. He is extremely knowledgeable, very likeable and tremendously enthusiastic and excited about whisky. If that wasn’t enough already, he also calls himself a “sub-par home brewer” and he is a member of the Bacardi Boyband – if you want to know what that is all about, just listen in!

We hope you will enjoy listening to the episode as much as we did recording it. Let Miriam and Martin take you with them on their journey to Aberfeldy to spend an hour with Gary Ross, chatting about all things Aberfeldy (and more).

“If you can work in the stillhouse at Dalmore, you can work in any stillhouse in the world because it’s completely complicated” – doesn’t sound like the easiest of jobs, don’t you think? So let’s get to know the man who is responsible to make sure that every single drop of The Dalmore is, well, The Dalmore, despite the quite complicated process in the stillhouse. 

Let’s meet Mark Lancaster and find out, why it is actually that intricate to produce The Dalmore's spirit.

Mark Lancaster is the distillery manager at The Dalmore and he took the time to meet us at the premises of the distillery to record this episode with him. Luckily, he also showed us around the place, which is currently still closed to the public, to experience how The Dalmore is made first hand. We had a wonderful afternoon and now we would like to share this experience with you.

Tune in to find out more about Mark, the Englishman in charge of one of Scotland’s most prestigious distilleries, some lovely anecdotes about Richard Paterson and, of course, all things Dalmore. This is an episode not to be missed.

No Scots on this episode?! Not for me, you say? BUT WAIT!! This German-Italian whisky-bromance straight from our hometown Munich might indeed be a bit different but we can assure you that it still makes for a great listen.

In this episode we talk to Davide Ansalone and Randolph Kunis.

You might know Davide better as @whisky_munich on Instagram, since he is one of the most influential and biggest whisky bloggers there. Apart from that, Davide is also a member of WhiskyFacile, a new and very promising independent bottler from Italy, which you should really get to know.

Randolph (Randy) is the owner of Munich’s best-known whisky shop, TARA Spirits and very well-connected in the world of whisky.

 

Listen in and find out about the bumpy start to Davide’s and Randy’s friendship and what a Yamazaki 25 has to do with it. Furthermore, get to know WhiskyFacile, TARA and some of Davide’s best tips for your personal (whisky) Instagram account.

Pour a dram and join us in our hometown Munich to meet Davide and Randy – we’re sure you won’t regret it!

Nicole Lindsay you say? Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? And indeed, if you follow our podcast regularly you probably know her already from our episode about Springbank Distillery. This time, however, Springbank will take a backseat since the episode is (mainly) about Kilkerran Single Malt and Glengyle Distillery.

We met Nicole in the new Springbank blending lab to record this episode and it was so much fun talking to her again since she is an absolutely wonderful person and so incredibly knowledgeable – but, of course, you know that already if you have listened to our first episode with her.

Let’s dive deep into Glengyle Distillery, the original purpose of which it was to make sure Campbeltown would retain its status as a whisky region and which, ever since, has become an integral part of the Campbeltown whisky family.

Lean back, pour a dram, relax and come to Campeltown with us to meet Nicole Lindsay once more – you know it’s worth it.

Have you always wanted to meet the legendary Swedish mermaid of the Ardnamurchan peninsula? Then here's your chance: Meet Jenny Karlsson, Ardnamurchan Distillery's marketing and communications manager, part of the blending team, part-time mermaid and much more.

We travelled all the way to the very West of Scotland's mainland to talk to Jenny in situ about Ardnamurchan, AD whisky, the narrow single-track road leading to the distillery, sustainability, hidden gems in the warehouses, Miriam's and Martin's Swedish (which is absolutely "jättebra") and a lot more. And guess what, it was an absolute blast!

When you listen to the episode, we're sure you will fall in love with Jenny right away because of her sympathetic, humorous, enthusiastic, excited and sometimes a bit positively confused character. We certainly love Jenny and enjoyed our chat with her a lot. And now we hope we can transport a bit of Jenny's excitement and love for Ardnamurchan to your living room.

Pour a dram and tune in - this is an episode definitely not to be missed!

We’re back on the Isle of Arran – we really love this little island! 

And no! Even though we greatly enjoy our chats with Andy Bell of Lochranza Distillery, we don’t have him on the podcast this time – and actually this episode is not even about Lochranza Distillery.

Instead, we will focus on the Isle of Arran’s newest gem: Lagg Distillery (what a beautiful place!!).

We travelled all the way to the south end of Arran, straight into the Scottish Lowlands (wait, really?!) to talk to Lagg’s distillery manager Graham Omand. Of course, we also discussed the Lowlands, Highlands, Islands topic – because things are not as clear-cut for Lagg Distillery as for most other Scottish whisky producers, but Graham will happily tell you more about this topic – listen for yourself.

Furthermore, find out more about Graham – the Islay man on Arran –, about the venture of setting up a new distillery, about Lagg’s inaugural releases and about what Donkey Kong and Super Mario have to do with them. Of course, that’s not all and there is a lot more to learn and discover…

… So pour a dram, lean back, tune in and get to know Graham Omand and Lagg Distillery.

This weekend it's derby time in Edinburgh: Hibs against Hearts. Hibernian Football Club and Heart of Midlothian will face off in the first derby of this (still very young) football season. 

Wait, isn't this a podcast about whisky? So why are we talking about football here? 

Well, we went to Edinburgh to record with Greg Urquhart and John Moffat of the spirits company Gleann Mòr, which is known for their independent bottlings of "Rare Find" whisky in the whisky world. Listen in and Greg and John will happily answer the question why football and the "Hibs" in specific are definitely worth talking about in this episode.

Moreover, you will find out some interesting facts about independent bottling, the casks Greg and John dream about at night and Gleann Mòr's other projects besides whisky.

Tune in, lean back and enjoy the show!