Inside Whisky

“People make Glasgow” – that’s the slogan the city of Glasgow selected to show that Glasgow is so much more than what you can see from the outside. And one could argue the same is true for Glasgow Distillery; a distillery totally different from many of those long-established ones you will find all over Scotland – a more modern one, aquite small one, maybe a more industrial one but with a wonderful charm because of so many people who love what they’re doing, who put their hearts into making their single malt, who make this place what it is and who fill it with life: “People make Glasgow Distillery”. One of those people who make Glasgow Distillery is Sebastian Bunford-Jones, their head of marketing, who Miri and Manu met for a chat in the distillery’s beautiful, but to date largely unused tasting room (due to the fact that the distillery is not open to the public as of now). Apart from working at Glasgow Distillery for about 8 years now, Sebastian is a real whisky enthusiast and that’s also why he is already excited to showcase Glasgow Distillery’s first 10-year-old whisky later this year, the journey of which he has accompanied almost from the get-go.Listen in and discover why Glasgow is the place to be when it comes to producing single malt whisky these days. Throughout the episode, get to know Sebastian and the distillery’s special approach to making whisky. And last but not least, find out about how their beautiful tasting room, the place of recording, might be filled with life in the nearer future.

The “Barley to Bottle” tour at Springbank Distillery is probably one of the best experiences you can have when you’re passionate about whisky. It’s an extensive access-all-areas tour and tasting which culminates in having the chance to blend one’s very own bottle of Springbank in their blending lab. “Why are you telling us all of that?”, you might ask. Well, because it is just another thing that makes Springbank Springbank and truly special. Additionally, said blending lab was the place of recording for this very episode. After having done the “Barley to Bottle” tour the day prior (of course), we came back to meet Findlay Ross, Springbank’s director of production and a true professional when it comes to creating whiskies, at the very place of our own amateur attempts of blending a nice bottle of Springbank.After having recorded a Springbank episode with Nicole Lindsay about three years ago, it was about time for a little update and we had a great time discussing all things Springbank once more, this time with the wonderful Findlay Ross. Find out about the last remaining secrets of Springbank Distillery, about Findlay’s rather unconventional path to becoming their director of production and about Findlay’s take on the term “Campbeltown funk”.Last but not least we have to say that we are really happy that Findlay is so much better at making whisky and recording podcasts than his New York Giants are at playing American Football at the moment – but let’s not get into that… (just listen until the very end).

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.

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.

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!

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. 

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. 

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!