Cam Millar of Highland Park and Glenrothes joins Jamie and Mark on the podcast. In the spirit of the holidays, we have a competition. Mark reads out tasting notes, and Jamie and Cam battle out for which whisky was described in that particular way. Someone wins! There is a promise of a prize.
Read MoreWhile recording The Whisky Topic Podcast with Drew Mayville, I found myself in a red room tasting an unknown whisky without any hint to what it might be. I failed. There was coughing. And a reveal!
Read MoreRay Daniel is the head bartender of Char No.5 Whisky Bar at the Delta. We talk about the perks of a hotel bar, the history of the cocktail movement, and some of our favourite drinks!
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This week on The Whisky Topic, we're joined by John Quinn. John Quinn is the Global Brand Ambassador for Tullamore Dew. We speak about the Irish Whiskey industry, through it's recent history (70s to today), and taste a deconstruction of Tullamore Dew as well as something new!
Read MoreIn an interview with Jane Conner, the director of Maker’s Mark Private Select program, whsky.buzz learned additional information around the recently announced program. Maker’s Mark is getting ready to roll out a program where whisky lovers can, literally, choose their own adventure. In this case, there will be a total of 1,001 unique outcomes, and program members will have a preview of some of these different taste profiles.
Read MoreJust around the time the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection comes out, Jamie and I speak with Sazerac Director and Master Blender, Drew Mayville. Drew tells us of his favourite Buffalo Trace Experimental lines, answers the question of “why BTAC?” and talks about his role as the Master Blender. We sipped from the Single Oak Project with their experiment of coarse grain versus light grain. We also took home some the infamous 26-year old [failed experiment].
Read MoreThe Whisky Topic is on its sixteenth episode! I see podcasting as the equivalent to DVD commentary found on many blu-ray and DVD movies (I didn't invent this concept, I think Dan Benjamin may have). This week’s episode is an excellent example. I would rarely write about any of the tastings that I host—it would make for a boring read. I do think, though, it makes for an interesting listen.
This week, Jamie and I are joined by Glenford Jameson to discuss a blind tasting I hosted at my place a few weeks back. I’ve stressed it is important to maintain trust with your audience when doing blind tastings. It insults your audience if you pair two dynamically different whiskies in hopes of ‘tricking’ them. However, I made an exception. I asked a group of friends I regularly drink whisky with to participate in a ‘tricky’ blind tasting. They didn’t know what they were up for, but I broke all the rules. I served them:
The results were fascinating! Have a listen. Plus, we debuted are new theme song in big thanks to Alan Doyle!
This week’s The Whisky Topic is incredibly insightful. Lawyer Glenford Jameson joins me to talk about consumer protection in the whisky industry. In the old days of the whisky world where tobacco and other substances were added to whisky, consumers needed protection from unwanted substances in their drink. The Bottled in Bond Act passed for that reason.
Today, we’re no longer worried about pesticides and poisons being introduced into our whisky. Consumer protection isn’t necessarily a health issue, but a quality and control issue. Companies are spending more money on branding and marketing than they are on their whisky, and that should tell us something. There are loopholes in the definition of whisky that distilleries are taking advantage of.
Despite this serious topic, it’s a fun podcast! Have a listen.
Light whisky? Low-corb anti-oxidiant whisky? Jamie and I discuss the various health claims attributed to whisky. We mostly think it's BS. Plus, we discuss how bars treat men and women differently when ordering drinks, and our favourite manhattan and old fashion recipes. Have a listen! We would love to hear your feedback.
This week on The Whisky Topic, Jamie and I talk about scotch. Undoubtably, the discussion leads to no-age statement whisky and the current state of whisky from Scotland.
When I wrote about this topic originally, I noted that it’s not just about age-statements. It’s about the quality of the barrels used. Just yesterday, Oliver Klimek wrote about how Laphroaig 10 has changed over the years. Stylistically speaking, I’ve always been a far bigger fan of the Laphroaig Quarter Cask and the 18 over the 10. The 10 has always been a touch too mild, and while that can be good, it’s not really the type of drink I want from Laphroaig.
But this brings us back to the point that age-statements are such a small part of the picture when it comes to good whisky. First-fill, second-fill, third-fill, fourth-fill. These aspects of barrel maturation matter far more. That’s not to say all good scotch is made in first-filled barrels. It’s not. It does, however, mean that quality of the barrels matters far more than how long the whisky has been sitting around in those barrels.
The problem with no-age statement whisky isn't the lack of age statement (though that is a part of it). It's an issue of trust and credibility. For the distilleries that are selling NAS whisky, it's an issue they're going to need to address.
Ultimately, it’s about palate and flavour. Check-out the podcast for a deeper explanation. Meanwhile, I’m going to see if I can find myself a Laphroaig 18. It’s an incredible drink!
This week on The Whisky Topic, Glenford Jameson (Food Lawyer) joins me as we explore the Kentucky whisky scene. It involves us tasting a lot of whisky we can't possibly buy because it has all been sold out. The trip to Buffalo Trace was mind-blowing. We tasted fantastic bourbons and ryes, and we talk about some of our favourites. Of most interest, we talk about the selection process Buffalo Trace uses for Blanton's single barrel bourbon and Elmer T. Lee. Somehow, we ended up talking about Maker's Mark cask strength bourbon, and where it sits against similar products.
Fresh off our recent gold mine of Van Winkle products, Jamie and I discuss Pappy Van Winkle. Is it worth the hype? Are whisky drinkers a touch sensitive about Pappy? Is Pappy 15 the perfect Pappy? Plus, Mark went to Panama City.
Jamie and I got together for the second episode of The Whisky Topic. This time we tackle Irish Whiskey, No-Age Statement whisky, and manage to get side-tracked about how much we dislike flavoured spirits.
On the very first episode of The Whisky Topic, Jamie Johnson and I tackle how best to drink whisky. Neat, on ice, or warmed? We run some tests. It's slightly scientific. We also talk about the mash bill controversy, bourbon pricing, and Sex in The City. Have a listen, and please provide feedback.
