WhiskyCast

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Horse Soldier Bourbon honors the "horse soldiers," Green Berets who led the invasion of Afghanistan after 9/11 and fought the Taliban on horseback. Now, the brand is celebrating the 250th anniversary of the United States with a special 13-year-old Bourbon - representing the 13 original colonies. We'll talk with Horse Soldier co-founder Scott Neil about the whiskey and plans to open the Horse Soldier Distillery with a massive Fourth of July party on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Sazerac is reportedly offering $15 billion for Brown-Forman, while Uncle Nearest's receiver says the company is insolvent and on life support from its lenders.

Sukhinder Singh is a legend in the whisky business…he and his brother founded The Whisky Exchange and turned it into one of the leading whisky retailers in the world. They now run Elixir Distillers, which is reviving Tormore as a single malt and building Islay's Portintruan Distillery, which is on track to open later this year. Sukhinder is also known as one of the world's leading whisky collectors, with a collection of thousands of bottles. We'll get an update from him on the company's distillery projects, as well as his view of the whisky business, on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Gallo has completed its purchase of Kentucky's Four Roses Distillery, and U.S. spirits exports fell by nearly four percent last year.

Louisville's Moonshine University is one of the few providers of distiller education in the United States, and many aspiring craft distillers have taken its courses over the last decade. With the downturn in whisky production, the school has changed its focus to include brand creation and sourcing for those who want to make whisky without owning a distillery. We'll talk with general manager Jason Lawrence and operations manager Clay Smith on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Waterford Distillery has been bought out of receivership, while the twists and turns in the Uncle Nearest receivership included a two-day detour into bankruptcy court this week. We'll have all the details and the rest of the week's news on this episode of WhiskyCast.

Today marks International Women's Day, and it's just a happy coincidence that we have two women who make great whiskies on this week's show. Dr. Emma Walker is the master blender for Johnnie Walker, while Angela D'Orazio is the Creative Director of Whiskymaking for Compass Box. Both have new whiskies out, and we'll hear from both of them on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Sazerac is looking at expanding in Kentucky with a distillery in default, and the Canadian boycott of American whiskies is a year old and having major impacts on whiskey makers in the U.S.

Fred Minnick's latest book "Bottom Shelf: How a Forgotten Brand of Bourbon Saved One Man's Life" is part memoir, part Bourbon history all wrapped up in a single narrative. The former Army photographer once tried to take his own life, but ended up becoming obsessed with the history of Old Crow Bourbon — an obsession that lasted nearly 20 years until he found out the truth about his favorite Bourbon of all time. We'll talk with Fred Minnick on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, President Donald Trump has imposed a 15% tariff on all U.S. imports after the Supreme Court rejected his previous tariff scheme, and that will have an impact on the Scotch Whisky industry. We'll have the details and the rest of the week's whisky news on this week's WhiskyCast.

A critical court hearing is set for Monday in the Uncle Nearest receivership case in Tennessee. Founder Fawn Weaver wants to terminate the receivership and take back control of the company, while the receiver says Uncle Nearest is insolvent and putting it back in Weaver's hands will lead to foreclosure on $108 million in loans. We'll get the latest on the case from Janet Patton, who covers the whiskey industry for the Lexington Herald-Leader and has been tracking the case. In the news, Kirin has agreed to sell Four Roses Bourbon to E&J Gallo for approximately $775 million, and we'll have details of two economic reports on the health of the whiskey business.

Drew Mayville has been Buffalo Trace's master blender for the last 21 years, overseeing legendary whiskies like George T. Stagg, Sazerac Rye, and the Van Winkle whiskies. He started his career at Seagram's in his native Canada, where he spent 23 years learning the blending business from the ground up. Drew Mayville joins us on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, another government shutdown is looming, and the whisky industry could be affected. Ireland's Powerscourt Distillery has been bought out of administration, and Diageo plans to close one of its key distillery visitors centers in Scotland.

Maverick whiskey maker Chip Tate is back after a sabbatical following his acrimonious departure from Balcones Distilling. Now the master distiller for innovation with Foley Family Wines & Spirits, Tate has quietly been working on his first new whiskies in nearly 11 years under the company's Ampersand Spirits label. Dubbed Malus, Vinea, and Opimus, each one is a unique blend that challenges whiskey lovers with new flavors, and they fit perfectly with Tate's unique approach to making whiskey. Chip Tate joins us on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Ontario Premier Doug Ford is planning to make good on his threat to pull the best-selling Canadian Whisky off store shelves if Diageo closes its Crown Royal plant in his province. We'll also have the latest on the Uncle Nearest receivership and a new report showing a decline in Irish whiskey exports in 2025.

On this year-end special episode, we'll take a look back at the events that shaped the whisky industry in 2025. Becky Harris of Virginia's Catoctin Creek Distilling will join us to discuss a troubled year for her colleagues in the craft distilling industry, and we'll offer some predictions for 2026, too.

Single Estate whiskies are made from grain grown at or close to a distillery, and there's a new coalition of distillers joined by the University of Kentucky to promote so-called "estate whiskies." The Estate Whiskey Alliance is made up of farm distilleries all the way up to Maker's Mark, which is growing all of the grain for its Star Hill Farm whiskies on-site. We'll talk with leaders of the Alliance on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, the Jim Beam Distillery in Kentucky will be shut down for all of 2026, leaving some distillery workers in doubt about their jobs heading into the holidays.

The latest collection of American Single Malts from Lost Lantern Whiskey is dubbed the "Scotch Lover's Collection," not because there are any inferred links to Scotland, but because Lost Lantern founders Nora Ganley-Roper and Adam Polonski crafted them to appeal to a Scotch lover's palate. We'll talk with Nora and Adam on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Brown-Forman reports a 14% decline in quarterly profits, while Bourbon industry leaders are getting nervous about the long-term impact of Canada's boycott of American whiskies. We'll also pay tribute to singer-songwriter Robin Laing, who died this weekend at the age of 72.

With no signs of an end to the U.S.-Canadian trade war in sight, the widespread boycott of American whiskies in Canada had an impact on this week's New Brunswick Spirits Festival. No American whiskies on the stands, and no Bourbon master classes. We'll talk with festival organizers and attendees about the impact of the boycott on this week's episode. In the news, Diageo has paused production at its massive Roseisle Maltings in Scotland, while a Scottish distillery has been saved from bankruptcy.