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It's been a year since we took WhiskyCast to New Zealand for the first time to do the show from Whisky Galore's DramFest in Christchurch just before the Covid-19 pandemic shut down worldwide travel. Since then, more distilleries have come on line in New Zealand, with 19 distilleries now making whisky. Now, the distillers have come together to create a set of standards defining New Zealand whisky - with an eye to both protecting the whisky and the country's indigenous culture. Tash McGill of Distilled Spirits Aotearoa (New Zealand's original name) joins us this week on WhiskyCast In-Depth to share that story. In the news, there's a cease-fire in the trade war between the U.S. and Europe, though American whiskey makers are still taking fire from tariffs on their exports. We'll have that story and much more, including the unique method of an award-winning master blender and March's Whisky Club of the Month.

Silicon Valley is the technology center of the world, but Virag Saksena has made the switch from mashing together code to mashing barley. He's a former software engineer and Oracle executive who founded San Jose's 10th Street Distillery in 2017 with his partner, chemical engineer Vishal Nauri. They're exploring a shared passion for single malt whiskies...especially peated single malts, with the goal of creating a "great" California single malt whisky. We'll meet Virag Saksena on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, help  is getting closer for the U.S. hospitality industry to cope with the economic impact of the pandemic, while Scotch Whisky makers are hoping for help from their government when the new budget is announced this week. New Zealand's whisky makers are joining the rush to define the terms for their whiskies, and the pandemic-delayed Canadian Whisky Awards winners are celebrating. RRRRzCsDDkXm7XiZgmzs

Japan's whiskies have been getting more attention on the world stage. While some "Japanese Whiskies" are rightly winning awards in major competitions, others with the same label are often Scotch or Canadian whiskies imported into Japan - where there's no legal definition for what is a "Japanese Whisky" and what isn't. Now, Japan's whisky makers are stepping in where the government has so far failed to act, creating an industry-wide definition requiring that whiskies labeled as "Japanese Whisky" must actually be distilled in Japan. We'll discuss the new standards with Makiyo Masa of Dekantā, one of the largest online retailers specializing in Japanese whiskies. In the news, Texas distillers are trying to thaw out after winter weather left many of them without utilities for the last week, while Brown-Forman plans to invest $95 million to expand its flagship distillery in Louisville. We'll have details on the week's new whiskies and look at the latest scientific research on terroir in whisky.

Scotland's legendary whisky island is getting yet another new distillery. Local officials have approved the plans for the new Elixir Distillers project just east of Port Ellen, making it the third new distillery to be built on Islay in the last five years and the 11th overall. Elixir Distillers co-founder Sukhinder Singh has been trying to get the project past the planning stage for nearly three years, and gives us his first interview on the distillery in this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. We'll also have reaction from one of the Islay groups that fought against the distillery over its potential impact on the island. In the news, an Australian distiller is in critical condition following a fire at a Tasmanian distillery this past week. We'll also have the latest Scotch Whisky export data that shows a really rough year for the industry with a double whammy from the Covid-19 pandemic and U.S. import tariffs, the week's new whiskies, and why the cocktail of choice for some distillers might just be an "enzyme cockt

Mickey Heads retired recently after 13 years as Ardbeg's distillery manager and four decades of work at distilleries on Islay and Jura. Now, Ardbeg has released a special whisky in Mickey's honor, and the label for Arrrrrrrdbeg features him as a pirate! We'll catch up with Mickey Heads on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth and share tasting notes for his whisky, too. In the news, U.S. tariffs on single malt Scotch whiskies have cost Scotland's distillers £500 million in lost sales, and industry leaders are looking to the Biden Administration for help. There may be help on the way for struggling bar and restaurant owners in the U.S. to cover costs from the Covid-19 pandemic, and on Behind the Label, we'll look at one of whisky's oldest questions: Was whisky invented in Ireland or Scotland?

Hong Kong has become a key center for the world's whisky makers, and we had more evidence of that this week. Gordon & MacPhail's new 72-year-old Glen Grant single malt won't hit the market until the end of March, but one bottle went on the auction block Friday at Bonhams in Hong Kong. We'll talk with Hong Kong whisky importer and retailer John Rhodes about that whisky and the growing role Hong Kong plays in the whisky business on WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival is joining the growing list of spring whisky events either being postponed or cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic, with plans to move this year's festival to November. We'll also have the latest data on how the pandemic and tariffs combined to cut into global whisky sales this year, and why the U.S. market may have been an outlier...and on Behind the Label, some sage advice on how we could all learn a lesson from the help distillers give each other. 

For the second straight year, Islay's biggest party of the year has been cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Fèis Ile, the Islay Festival of Malt & Music, will be replaced this May by a series of virtual events because of the uncertainty created by the pandemic and travel restrictions within the United Kingdom. We'll talk with Ben Shakespeare of Islay's Fèis Committee about the decision to cancel five months before festival week, along with the threat going ahead with the festival could pose to the island's residents. In the news, MGP is buying Lux Row Distillers owner Luxco and all of its spirits brands for $475 million, while business leaders from both the U.S. and Europe are calling on the Biden Administration and European Union leaders to end their trade disputes. Finally, January 25th is celebrated worldwide as Burns Night honoring the Scottish poet Robert Burns, and we'll take a look at how he might have fit into today's world on Behind the Label.

It's been a little more than three years since Billy Walker and his partners acquired Scotland's Glenallachie Distillery from Chivas Brothers. What had previously been single malts destined for blending use are now on store shelves and bars around the world...with Walker's own unique touch honed by years of making and blending whiskies. Now, the GlenAllachie team is turning to two legacy brands that were part of the distillery deal, McNair's and White Heather, with plans to make them relevant once again. We'll talk with Billy Walker on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth.  In the news, whisky industry leaders are hoping the change in U.S. administrations will lead to a removal of tariffs on whiskies and other spirits, along with economic help targeting the nation's hard-hit bars and restaurants. A Virginia distillery and its founder are facing felony charges after being indicted by a grand jury for allegedly dumping distillery waste water into a stream following a two-year investigation, and on Behind the Label,

Irish Whiskey makers once dominated the world with their single pot still whiskies, but the collapse of Ireland's whiskey industry a century ago   closed dozens of distilleries and consigned their unique recipes to history. Irish Whiskey historian Fionnán O'Connor has been working with Boann Distillery in County Meath to produce spirit using many of the recipes he's uncovered as part of his doctoral degree research at Dublin's Trinity College. Those recipes will be put to the test in the coming weeks in blind tastings with today's Irish Whiskey distillers, as Fionnán tells us on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. We'll also have the week's whisky news, tasting notes, and some of your unique ways to describe your favorite whiskies, too!

Welcome to a new year, fans of the Water of Life! That's exactly what we'll be talking about on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. "The Water of Life" is a new Scotch Whisky documentary film that will debut later this month online after having its premiere delayed because of the pandemic. Director Greg Swartz joins us to discuss plans for the premiere, including tasting kits geared to specific parts of the film. In the news, 2020 ended with a busy week whisky-wise as the U.S. Food & Drug Administration tried to hit distillers who produced hand sanitizer during the pandemic with a $14,000 fee - only to get slapped down by the Trump Administration...while the TTB opened up the U.S. whisky market by allowing imports of Europe's standard 700m whiskies for the first time. We'll have all of the news, including a royal honor for "The Nose."

2020 will not be remembered well by many people, but there have been a few bright spots for whisky lovers. One is the arrival of the first official distillery bottling from Kentucky's Castle & Key Distillery, the 3-year-old Restoration Rye. The historic Old Taylor Distillery had been closed since 1972 and left to fall into ruins when Will Arvin and Wes Murry bought the 113-acre site in 2014. Six years, millions of dollars, and a new name later, one of the early landmarks of Kentucky Bourbon is back. We'll talk with Wes Murry and Will Arvin, along with Brett Connors and Jon Brown from the distillery team on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, U.S. President Donald Trump has now signed a massive federal spending and Covid-19 relief package into law, including a permanent reduction in federal excise taxes for small-scale distillers. We'll have the details and the rest of the week's whisky news, including the passing of a Scotch Whisky icon.

We have breaking news heading into the holiday week, as it appears the U.S. Congress will make a federal excise tax break for distillers permanent. The details are still tentative, and we have the latest as of air time. On this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth, Dr. Nick Morgan joins us to discuss his new book on the 200-year history of Johnnie Walker, "A Long Stride." We'll also have tasting notes and the answer to a trivia question - which country has more whisky distilleries: Ireland or France!

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!