You can have it with water, with ice, in a highball, as a cocktail, frozen, or even with green tea…

Green tea?

“When I travelled through Asia,” Annabel recalls, “people were drinking whisky with green tea, with ice and with water. And, you know, if you’re in a warm, humid climate, that’s a really pleasant way to enjoy it.”

“The most important thing,” she says, “is to drink whisky in the way you like it and what’s appropriate to the occasion.”

By her own admission, Annabel’s been “around the whisky block”. She started in the industry working behind the bar at The Vaults, the Scotch Malt Whisky Society’s original home in Leith.

“It was really by fluke. I’d been working in a delicatessen, and the guys in the deli said: ‘You must go to this place. It’s absolutely fantastic.’ And I walked into The Vaults, and there was this huge, big room with log fires and Chesterfield sofas.

“And I just thought this is my world. But they didn’t really have a job. So I said: ‘Well I can work on the bar.’ And I did a couple of shifts on the bar, and I made sandwiches for the chef who used to buy cheese from me. And that was it.”

From the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, Annabel became a global brand ambassador for Glenmorangie, a whisky that has a special place in her heart.

“My grandfather was a Glenmorangie drinker. And when my father met my mum, that was the first whisky that he drank. It was the first whisky, I hate to say it, that I dipped my finger in when I was a wee nipper.”

Many years on, and Annabel feels “very passionately about getting people to understand whisky, because there’s an awful lot of supposed rules about liking whisky; and you can only drink it in a certain way at a certain time of and day; and you generally have to be a man. There’s a lot of that, which I think you can just sweep out of the way.”

“I feel I almost have a duty to get people to understand and like whisky on their terms,” Annabel continues. “And I take it as a bit of a personal challenge to find a whisky that somebody [who says they don’t like whisky] will like, whether it’s soft and gentle or whether it’s a big smoky, peaty monster. There’s something in there for everybody.”

Join John as Annabel takes him back over her whisky journey and introduces him to three incredible whisky and food pairings:

• Clynelish and Caerphilly cheese
• Glenmorangie and really, dark 85 percent cocoa chocolate
• Ardnamurchan and Kielbasa (this one produced in Portobello by the award-winning East Coast Cured charcuterie company)

And share in a passion that sometimes transcends vocabulary, and can only be expressed in simple three letter utterance: “Mmm, mmm, mmm…”

Slàinte!

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Socials: @C2GWhisky | @JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kinda defeats the purpose, doesn’t it?

But for almost seven years that’s exactly what Jason Waddleton, founder and owner of The Haven Scots bar in Boston, couldn’t do.

“We had a real weird anomaly that people would walk in, ask for a Scotch. We couldn’t serve them, because we had a beer and wine license only for the first six years,” Jason explains. “It was brutal.”

Jason started The Haven in 2010, offering authentic Scottish cuisine, beers, and hosting Scottish events like Burns Suppers and Stonehaven Fireballs.

“Talk about being a salesman and turning a negative into a positive. I had to do that daily,” Jason continues. “I’d be like, well, we don’t have that, but we’ve got great beer. And thankfully at the time, we had the whole Williams Brothers range of beers.”

That all changed in 2017 when Jason got a liquor license. Now his “whole back wall is all single malts”. But he adds: “We eschew the bigger names.”

“We’re not an airport bar. We’re not a downtown hotel bar, where you see those big names. They’re always there, great whiskies, but we can get them anywhere. So we actually don’t even have them on the back block. And that’s not being snobby.

“It’s just that we want to have a different experience with people. We want to talk about what we’ve got. And that’s part of it, creating that experience in the dialogue, communication, and without overthinking it.”

Besides, he adds, “no one’s ever walked out because we didn’t have Macallan.”

Boston is famous for its Irish bars, and The Haven is the city’s only Scottish bar. It’s also the only Scottish bar in Massachusetts, which Jason is very proud of.

And, with 70 days to until the start of the FIFA men’s World Cup, Jason’s gearing up to be the Tartan Army’s home from home.

It’s been 28 years since Scotland last competed in the World Cup. And with two of Scotland’s three games taking place at the Gilette Stadium just 40 minutes away, thousands of Scottish fans - perhaps as many as 40 thousand, Jason surmises - are expected to travel to Boston.

And Jason can’t wait. He was in France in 1998 for Scotland’s last match at the World Cup, when they lost 3-0 to Morocco. So he knows how big a deal it is.

“When that draw came, well when we qualified in November, of course straight away I’m like, ‘Well there’s a one in 12 chance-ish of them being located in Boston.” And then the draw happened.

“I couldn’t believe it! I was just like: ‘Wow! Here we go.’

“And then they did the exact draw the next day on the Saturday to locate the specific games to the specific stadiums. And here we got two games in Boston. Crazy!”

Since then, ESPN has been in touch. Scottish radio stations have been in touch. One’s even planning to base itself at The Haven to record podcasts and programmes.

There’s even something being planned with the Scottish Football Association, which Jason can’t talk about yet.

And he’s got a tie-in with Kilwhang independent bottlers from his hometown of Stonehaven to release a private bottling of cask strength 14-year-old Dailuaine single malt.

So pour yourself a dram and tune in.

As John says: “Every whisky has a story.”

Slàinte!

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Socials: @C2GWhisky | @JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“And then you need to put a really good suit on it. And it’s got to be a suit that complements the whisky. And I think the GlenAllachie 15 does that perfectly.”

GlenAllachie 15 is John’s “banker”; his “go-to”; the one whisky he “would never grow tired of.”

It’s a full-bodied whisky, he says, with “complexity”, which “coupled with the Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez that they have in it, gives it a sweetness and additional notes.

“I just think it’s wonderful.”

John’s been thinking a lot about creating a whisky.

He’s trying to get a new distillery off the ground in Ardrishaig, a coastal village on Loch Gilp on the west coast of Scotland, “at the gateway to Kintyre and the gateway to Islay, the gateway to Campbeltown,” as John describes it.

All this talk of Adrishaig is enough to distract the other John - our John, you know John Beattie - from whisky chat.

“I love Adrishaig!” exclaims JB. “It’s a strange wee, run-down place nowadays. But it’s on the way to Kennacraig, on the way to Islay, on the Crinan Canal.”

“Yeah, it’s a wonderful part of the world,” John Moore responds. “I’ve been going up to that area for all of my life.”

And the two Johns are off.

They’re talking about the views: “Yeah you can look right down the loch, can’t you? See right down the loch. And I remember thinking, what’s that?” JB enthuses. “It’s Arran. It’s the island straight down the middle of the loch.”

They’re talking about the history and the standing stones: “You know the history,” exclaims JM. “I mean, it’s a beautiful, unbelievably beautiful part of the country. But the history that is immersed in the soil up there.”

“I mean,” he continues, “it goes back 10,000 years.”

And that’s the attraction. That’s why John Moore wants to start a distillery in Adrishaig. It’s the spirit of the place. It’s the legacy in every nook and cranny; in every view and vista.

And he wants to give something back; stop the decline.

So the new Adrishaig Distillery - “There used to be a distillery called Glenfyne, which closed in 1936.” - is intended to capture the spirit of the place.

“Our belief is all about place,” John tells John. “We’ve been speaking to Mark Reynier of Bruichladdich fame. And he obviously introduced this sort of really barley focused, terroir driven kind of whisky that they have down there.

“And that’s something I believe in as well.”

For someone who got into the whisky industry “purely by accident… 12 years or so ago”, John’s become a whisky evangelist.

So join the two Johns as they discuss John M’s journey from corporate finance to cask investment to distillery founder.

There are some cautionary tales along the way as John M warns about the risks of investing in casks and offers invaluable advice on how to do it safely.

And find out how he ended up with a rugby ball from Scotland’s 1984 Grand Slam match against France, which John Beattie doesn’t remember signing…

Here’s to the spirit of a place, literal and physical.

Slàinte!

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Socials: @C2GWhisky | @JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Go back 150 years or so to when blending started, Ally argues, and “it was about consistency, quality and flavour combination.”

“I mean, if you take it into the world of wine or cooking, you would think about combining different components, different ingredients, different elements in some way to try and create something that is more than any one of the components.”

That’s why Ally says he and his brother Gordon started Turntable: “To change the way people think about blended whisky. The idea was to turn the table, flip the record, do something different.”

“We both grew up in the world of whisky in some way,” Ally explains. “Our dad Graham, he worked in the industry for 30 years or so. So it was always in us to an extent, and we both joined the industry quite young.”

Out of uni Ally joined BenRiach Distillery, which was then owned by legendary Master Blender Billy Walker and two South African partners.

Billy, he says, “was a great mentor; great person to learn from.” And when Billy sold BenRiach and acquired GlenAllachie from Pernod Ricard, Ally went with him.

“I worked with Billy on the wood management and getting a better understanding of the blending and the strategy on that side of things. But,” he continues, Gordon and I, we’d always wanted to work together… wanted to start our own journey.

“We both had this shared frustration in some ways that all around the whisky world it felt like people had this perception of blends being inferior in quality to single malt. Obviously we didn’t agree.

“So we almost thought when we were starting Turntable, can we try to combine how we see the best of the two categories? Can we go to the original idea of a blending house and the opportunity for creativity, for flavour combination but then combine that with the care to detail that you would usually find in the single malt category today?

“Basically everything we do is small batch blended whisky, natural colour, unchilled filtered, at least 46%. And we try to really differentiate ourselves by focusing on transparency as well. So really drilling into the breakdown as to what is going into the blends, what percentage, what distillery, what cast type.”

Turntable was launched in 2023. But the Stevensons had been acquiring casks from across Scotland since 2019.

Today they own about 1,300 casks “that could be anything from new make spirit through until 40 years old”.

Join John as he and Ally celebrate "the beauty of the blend"; and learn how the Stevenson brothers are collaborating with “New World” distillers like Starward in Australia to produce international blended whiskies in Germany.

Slàinte!

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Socials: @C2GWhisky | @JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Yes oysters.

Straight up? A splash of Tabasco? Or a couple of drops of whisky?

Yes. Whisky!

“I’d always have oysters with whisky rather than Tabasco,” Scottish food writer, broadcaster and 2022 UK MasterChef finalist Sarah Rankin tells John Beattie in this the 50th episode of Cask to Glass.

“I love oysters and Cumbrae oysters are the best oysters there are,” she says. “A couple of drops of Tabasco brings out the sweetness, kind of opens up your tastebuds.”

But Sarah continues, “Switch out the Tabasco for two or three drops of Laphroaig 10, because that’s got that lovely seaweed back note. It’s got a little bit of oiliness because they are quite rich, and your mind will be blown with that instead of Tabasco.

“I would always have them now with whisky rather than with Tabasco. That would be my choice… It works so well with the briny, sort of slightly medicinal hit that you get from it with the liquor that’s, you know, from the oyster.

“It’s knockout!”

Yes. We agree! It’s knockout.

And full disclosure, this episode had us salivating from start to finish. Sarah even had John waxing lyrical about seasonal Scottish Brussel sprouts by the end.

You could say he was eating out of her hand.

After pairing whisky and cheese in Episode 48 with Paul Bock and David Reid, what better way to celebrate the heritage and flavour of Scotland’s national drink and the world’s favourite spirit than pairing it with Scotland’s great cuisine.

And who better than Sarah, author of two great Scottish cookbooks: Kith: Scottish Seasonal Food for Family and Friends (Birlinn, 2024) and Feast: Recipes that Bring Joy (Birlinn, 2025)?

“Whisky has actually always been one of my things, long before it was legal for it to be one of my things,” Sarah confesses. “It was my teenage tipple of choice.”

It soon became Sarah’s USP.

“When I was quite young,” she continues, “I worked as a tour guide, and I used to take tour groups all around Scotland. And I realised quite early on that I was considerably younger than everyone else. So I needed to have something that made me a little bit different.

“So, I thought, well, I know a wee bit about whisky…”

And that was Sarah’s entre into whisky and food.

Today, post-MasterChef, Sarah Rankin is one of Scotland’s best-known foodies and a regular contributor on food and cooking for the BBC.

So tune in as Sarah takes John on a culinary journey that pairs whisky with Scotland’s finest produce, from venison and salmon to chocolate and ice cream.

Whether you’re cooking with whisky or matching it with dishes, there’s plenty to learn.

So raise a glass to great whisky and great food…

Slàinte!

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Socials: @C2GWhisky | @JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Twenty seven years later Fraser is now the host and creator of Whisky Bytes, producing “snackable knowledge whisky videos”. His latest venture is One for the Road, a luxury chauffeur-driven tour and whisky tasting service, which launched earlier this year.

But as an 18-year-old pouring drams in a local pub in Forres in north east Scotland, Fraser says he learnt “the hard way not to pour water for the customer.”

“The first time I poured a whisky for someone, I added their water and drowned it and I had to duck.”

Despite an inauspicious start, Fraser “stuck with bars” as he puts he.

After five years in Australia, where “I fell back in love with Scottish whisky”, and two to three years in Spain, Fraser was offered a job as the global ambassador for Dewar’s Blended Scotch.

Whisky wasn’t on his horizon, but he explains, “When someone says to you, ‘Would you like to travel the world and talk about whisky for a living?’, well it takes you about ten seconds to make your mind up.”

“The thing that really drew me to Dewar’s was the story of Tommy Dewar, who was the son of the original founder John Dewar, who had the shop in Perth back in 1846. And Tommy was a pioneer in advertising, marketing, and kind of the first brand marketer in a lot of ways.

“He invented the first ever advert for a brand, just a few years after a cinematography was invented. There was a black and white movie based on an advert, which was a painting of these three ghosts coming out of a painting to grab a bottle of Dewar’s.

“So they turned that into a live action advert. So he was well ahead of his time. So that's kind of really what landed it for me.”

“I've always had a bit of an entrepreneurial spirit with a lot of things as well,” Fraser continues. “And I think the chance with Dewar’s came at a time when the brand was going through a lot of changes, going from what was perceived as an old man's blended Scotch whisky to a more progressive whisky for younger audiences.

“So it wasn't just the whisky, it was the idea to come in and be part of a change or a pivotal change in that history of that brand,” he concludes.

Join John as he discovers how Fraser went from rookie teenager to whisky polymath.

Listen in as they discuss whisky and regionality. (“It’s bonkers,” Fraser tells John, to suggest that “one massive 10,000 square mile region could produce one style and flavour” of whisky.)

Find out how the colour of whisky packaging can affect our perception of a whisky and how it will taste.

And enjoy a rambling conversation that wanders where it wants, reviving memories of scenic beauty and recalling experiences that can never be repeated.

After all Fraser says, "Whisky is a lot like music and a lot like food. It's about the occasion and who you're with and what you're doing."

Slàinte!

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Socials: @C2GWhisky | @JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s a simple question really: Do they pair well together?

Does a Gorgonzola go well with a smoky Bowmore? Or is it better with a sherry-flavoured Speyside? Say a Glenfarclas or a Tamdhu?

And what should you have with Gruyère?

Since lockdown, photographer Paul Bock and a brand marketer David Reid have been holding regular whisky and cheese soirees at Paul’s studio in Edinburgh.

Up to 70 guests at times. Some are in the industry. Some are just friends. And some don’t even like whisky.

“We invite people to come along, bring a bottle and bring a cheese,” David explains. “All the whisky goes on one table, and all the cheese goes on another.

“We don’t stipulate what kind of whisky it should be. It can be anything, but we try to get people to bring things that are a bit unusual.”

So nothing you’d find in major supermarket.

And then, once “you’ve put your bottle down, you’ve put your cheese down,” David continues, “it’s just a bit of a free for all.”

“It’s really about friendship and meeting new people, and I guess just experimenting and finding out, you know, does gorgonzola go with a Bowmore or does a hard salty cheese go better with a lighter fruitier whisky?

“It’s about people just finding out what works for them and chatting with each other and finding out what others think.”

“We’ve had whiskies,” Paul picks up, “from all over the world. Obviously Japan, Wales. We had some English whiskies recently. And Irish… quite a lot of Irish.”

“We’ve got a very committed attendee,” David adds, “who’s passionate about whisky and she’s also passionate about her home country which is Romania. So she’s now brought two different types of Romanian whisky which is, I must say, excellent.

“It’s called Carpathian Single Malt. And that goes beautifully with, I can’t remember exactly which cheese it goes best with, but I think it was maybe Brie.”

“It wouldn’t have occurred to many people to have cheese [with whisky],” Paul admits. “It’s often chocolate people think of with whisky. But people think, ‘Actually, let’s give it a go.’ And they’re often pleasantly surprised how well it does go.”

Join John as he explores what whiskies go with what cheeses.

Find out if they contrast or complement each other.

And pick up a few pointers from Paul and David, who, by their own admission, aren’t whisky or cheese experts, but who love the subtle combinations of taste and texture which only whisky and cheese can bring out.

Slàinte!

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Socials: @C2GWhisky | @JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Volatility which,” he says, “is partly to do with international trade conditions; partly to do with the domestic situation we find ourselves in.

“And you’ll know that we’ve had 17 percent duty increases; increases in energy costs, general costs of doing business at home, which is really acting as a brake on the industry.

“And then we’ve got tariffs and the US.”

A week ago HMRC, the UK’s tax agency, published the UK’s export statistics for 2025, including whisky which is the UK’s biggest food and drink export product.

“What these figures show,” Mark continues, “is we’re just under one percent down in terms of value across the world last year. And in terms of volume, we’re just over four percent down.”

That doesn’t sound too bad…

But, Mark cautions, “the big thing which sticks out is that since tariffs came into forces in the US, we’re 15 percent down in terms of volume that shipped to the US.”

Things may not have “fallen off a cliff”, as Mark puts it. “But at the moment,” he acknowledges, “we’re going through very choppy seas.”

“You just have to read the papers to see news about job losses, cutbacks in production, maltings which are closing. This is real stuff and this is affecting the Scottish economy and rural communities in particular.

“When I go and meet with farmers, they say: ‘What’s happening with India? What’s happening with the US? Because we’re getting less orders through for the malting barley…’ for example.

“And then you look right through the production chain to the hospitality industry. Hospitality is being hit. Tourism is being hit.”

So what does Mark make of report in the Scotsman newspaper that “almost one in five of all Scotland’s distilleries is in financial distress”?

“I read that; and I can quite believe that anecdotally, because when we speak to our members, they are very concerned and there are real issues.”

And these issues – or “headwinds” as Mark describes them – impact the entire supply chain.

Join John as he explores the state of the Scotch whisky industry with the man at the helm of its trade association.

Find out who’s most at risk.

Discover what Government interventions Mark believes will most help the sector.

And find out why, despite all his concerns, Mark is "still very confident about the long-term potential of the industry."

“I was having a discussion with somebody,” Mark concludes, “and I said, ‘I’m not an optimist. I’m not a pessimist. I’m a realist. And think that’s what we have to be. And we have to say things they are.

“I go back to how we started this. Long term, the potential is still there. We’ve got a great industry. It’s not going to go away. We’re going to see markets continue to grow.

“What we have to do is ensure that we have the support necessary to get to that longer term potential.”

Slàinte!

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Socials: @C2GWhisky | @JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“The longer you can hold onto your whisky,” he told us, “the more valuable it becomes.”

On that premise you’d think that whisky is a sure-fire investment.

Well yes… and no…

As we’ve discussed on several occasions with our good friend Max McFarlane, former Master Blender at Edrington and now himself with Ardgowan, there are a lot of pitfalls when it comes to investing in whisky casks.

Primarily, Max says, because there are a lot of con-artists out there.

It’s an issue that’s been getting a lot of media attention over the last year or so. Most notably in the BBC’s TV documentary and podcast series Hunting the Whisky Bandits by Sam Poling.

Well a week ago, former Scotland and British & Irish Lions rugby international Ryan Grant, who now runs The Caledonian Cask Partnership, posted on LinkedIn that “the whisky cask world has a bit of a problem. It’s unregulated, and there’s a lot of misinformation”.

And he promised to share in coming posts what he’d learnt about:

• Buying casks safely
• What’s genuinely good value (and what isn’t)
• Why honesty still matters in business

We couldn’t wait for his posts.

So, John caught up with Ryan again. (You may remember Ryan and Max McFarlane were part of our oh so impartial Seven Nations Whisky judging panel in Series 1 Episode 21 ahead of the Lions tour to Australia.)

Ultimately, Ryan says, every cask has to end up in a glass.

“Ninety nine percent of people that buy whisky for an investment will need to sell it back to the trade to get their money back because there comes a point where it has to go into a bottle.”

It may sound obvious, but Ryan says: “I see some stuff from companies that email out and they’ll say this cask will be X price and then in 10 years it will be X price. And I find that that’s quite inflated a lot of the time.

“A basic rule of thumb is that if that whisky at 10 years old on the shelf retails for £50, but the value of your cask works out at £70 a bottle, then it’s not a good investment.”

So do your due diligence; do your sums: “If it doesn’t translate from wood to into glass pricewise then it’s not going to happen.”

If in doubt, ask, he says.

Speak to people in the trade: producers or bottlers, “as opposed to someone who’s in a whisky investment company”.

“The whisky industry is so welcoming and everyone’s very friendly,” Ryan continues. “No-one’s going to shy you away from asking a question, ‘Look I’m about to do this. Do you think it’s a good idea?’”

Tune in to this week’s episode find out what Ryan’s red flags are when it comes to investing in whisky casks; what he thinks of the state current state of the whisky industry; and why he finds whisky so alluring.

Slàinte!

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Socials: @C2GWhisky | @JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

And Richie’s had his share of high impact phone calls. The Springboks in 2014. The Miami Dolphins in 2016. Fiji in 2020. And the Philadelphia Eagles in 2023.

He’s the Collision King. A training innovator and coaching entrepreneur whose contact and collision methodologies and training aids are used across world rugby and the NFL. 24 out of 32 NFL teams use his system.

But it’s his passion for whisky now prompting the phone calls. And it’s putting pressure on him to make “some big decisions” this year.

“When’s it going to auction?” his callers are asking. “When’s it going to auction?”

It is a wooden cabinet with inlaid brass linking rugby and whisky, an idea that came to Richie as he and some rugby friends were sitting round the barbecue in France having glass of wine.

“I said,” Richie explains, “You know what? You need to finish with a malt. I’m a Scotsman. A proud Scotsman. Malt whisky has been part of your life. Your old rugby committee men would have a whisky. You were brought up on whisky. Sometimes you had whisky at half-time.

“So I said, I want to create the most collectible rugby malt piece on the planet. And we’re all rolling about laughing and they were all like: ‘What are you gonna do?’

“And it started. It started.”

Richie teamed up with Anthony Wills from Kilchoman Distillery on Islay (featured in Season 1 Episode 8 of Cask to Glass in March 2025).

Now Richie’s never been to Islay.

But he learnt that Anthony’s farm-to-bottle distillery had a sign in one of the fields saying Rugby Park Field, so called Anthony told him, because “that’s where the first ever game of rugby took place on Islay. It was given by the farmer to the rugby club to start their journey as a rugby team.”

Together they came up with Kilchoman RugbyField Malt, a limited-edition 9 year old single cask malt. Just 245 bottles released in 2022.

“And this is like the punch,” Richie says. “I said: ‘I’m willing to do all the work for this and set it up and whatever, but I would like the first 15 bottles, because I’m going to do something with them eventually when I’ve got the time.”

“One thing led to another,” Richie continues. “And on the day we released it, the Wills family from Kilchoman sent me down the first 15. So it sat and it sat there for the last three years, until maybe mid 2025 and I then I thought: ‘Right. Here we go.

“I’d always had this idea in my head,” Richie tells John. “I wanted to create a phenomenal Scottish oak cabinet.

“I wanted Glencairn glasses at the top. I wanted 15 bottles in there, like a team sheet in some ways.

“And I wanted it all done in Scottish Gaelic, you know. A’ Chiad 15.

“The 1st 15.

“And then, I can’t say it in Gaelic, but it’s ‘Where the spirits of the legends come to play.’ Because I always like the Field of Dreams film.”

And just like the movie says: “If you build it, he will come…”

Word’s got out. And Richie’s phone won’t stop ringing.

“The world of malt whisky must bloody move quickly,” he chuckles.

Will he auction it? And how much is it worth?

Richie’s coy on both those counts. But he admit, “The whole thing’s insured for a six-figure sum. And it’s had to be insured for that. And it’s not a low six-figure sum just because we couldn’t come up with a price because you just don’t know…”

Tune in to catch the full story.

Slàinte!

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Socials: @C2GWhisky | @JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Just before Thurso, hang a right east bound onto the A836, follow the road and you can't go wrong. The disitillery's housed in a rennovated 19th century mill built out of Caithness stone - the same stone that was used to refurbish Boston Harbour on the other side of the Atlantic.

But beware.

If you miss the distillery, you'll quickly find yourself heading south again, almost the way you came.

That's because Dunnet Bay is almost as far north as you can get on mainland Britain. Just a little bit past the distillery, there's a left turn that will take you to Dunnet Head the real northernmost part of Britain.

The disitillery is the brainchild of Martin and Claire Murray, Caithness locals who, after years away in Aberdeen, the south of France and west Africa, had a "real yearning to come home."

Martin was an engineer who'd worked for Total and BP in the oil and gas industry. But that yearning for home kept calling. "So," Martin says, "whilst I was working with BP, we set up a gin distillery. The goal at the time back then was to get enough money to pay our bills so that we could move home and bring our kids up in an area that we were brought up and that we loved.

"So really our goal was to create two jobs. One for me. And one for my wife Claire."

That was back in 2013. Though the dream had begun in 2008 when Martin looked at buying the old Castletown Mill, built in 1818, and turning it into a whisky distillery.

"But I couldn't do it," he says. "We were the classic case of no experience, no qualifications, and not enough money."

Six years later the Murrays launched Rock Rose Gin which Martin says, "just flew out the door. We sold our first year's production in 12 weeks. And we were up to 110,000 bottles within five years.

"Then we got the option in 2020 to buy an old mill, the mill I talked about in 2008. And at that point we had the skills, experience and qualifications to do it. So we took it on.

"I had an agreement with Claire, where at any point during the project she asked me to walk away, I would. We decided that we would just take it by milestones. So the agreement was, okay, let's try and get planning permission and walk away at that point. We can walk away with our heads held high because we've done something that nobody else has done before.

"Then it was, can we get a building mooring [ie special permission from the Crown Estate in Scotland]? And then can we get the site structure and services in place? So we did that. We went through all the milestones and then the last one was: do we want to build it?

"And that was actually the easiest one because we'd done all the other milestones. And we started on site with the main project in January [2024]. And we've taken a 200 year old mill that was totally knackered and now we've opened a restaurant a month ago [November 2025]. We've opened our shop. And it's quite incredible. You know it's just an awesome place to come back to life."

But whisky's a long term venture and Martin and Claire are just starting out on their next milestone.

It will be called Stannergill Whisky, from the old Norse for "stone valley."

It's a long way off yet. But the last mile is always the farthest.

Join Martin as he tells John about his milestones along the road to whisky production. They've taken him from oil to gin to vodka to rum and a restaurant.

So here's to Martin and Claire Murray's Caithness spirit...

Slàinte!

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Socials: @C2GWhisky | @JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

That's the concept behind Sip Seekers, the brain child of Victoria Miller, aka Scottish Whisky Girl on Instagram.

"I was up north probably nearly two years ago now," Victoria explains, "and I was sat at breakfast and I thought: 'I want to see a distillery today.' And I started loading different tabs on my phone for different tours even at the same distillery, assessing different kind of tour options; whether I wanted to do the VIP one or the normal...

"And I realised that we're definitely overcomplicating that search process and that booking process. And I thought if it could all be pulled together on one kind of search platform, it would be much more simple and likely get far more bookings fo the distilleries And so many brands and distilleries have invested a lot in their visitor centres and then they were not actually reaching.

"So I was actually horrified to learn 79 percent of overnight visitors don't make it to a distillery tour when they visit Scotland. So my kind of goal is to allow people to come on the platform. They can search by availability, location, rating. We're adding kind of accessibility, child-friendly tours and assess the best options for them."

Sip Seekers launched in the beginning of December and Victoria has signed up 50 distilleries and other alcohol tourism experiences including three distilleries previously featured on Cask to Glass: Raasay, Nc'Nean and Lindores.

Her target customers are those 79 percent of overnight visitors who don't visit a distillery during their visit, and locals - "people who are based in Scotland, who when it's on their doorstep, don't take advantage."

"We want to raise awareness to those people," Victoria continues, "and get them visiting and engaging with distilleries, because the real advantage - and there's talk at the moment of tough times in the industry and things - the real advantage of getting people into distilleries is, you know, they engage with brands and they learn abou the stories and they then go home and tell their friends as well, and often buy a bottle."

Victoria really got into whisky in 2014 when her father Paul, the founder of Eden Mill Distillery near St Andrews in Fife, took the team to Islay. It was her first serious whisky tasting experience and fuelled a love of peaty whiskies.

So what distilleries does Victoria believe are must visit before the summer of 2026?

Raasay!

It's on her bucket list. "I'm ashamed to say I've not been to Raasay and I need to go over. It looks absolutely stunning and it's on our platform. So I'll need to get over there and hopefully on a night that they've got space."

Other distilleries?

In Edinburgh there's Holyrood Distillery and Summerhall "that does Pickering's gin". In Glasgow there's Clydeside. "And then if you want to do a wee road trip, you've got Galloway Distillery, Sam Heughan's new distillery."

And what whisky should you try before the summer?

Ledaig... "It's got a kind of lighter peat; grassier notes. But I had that in a port finish, which was really interesting because you've got that kind of soft peat notes and then you've also got the kind of juicy port finish. And I think it's good for this time of year, for the kind of colder winter night."

So pour yourself a dram and tune in.

Slàinte!

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Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're back after a break because of illness and then Christmas and New Year. And we're raring to go for 2026!

But where is the Scotch and global whisky industry headed in the next year?

Throughout 2025, John heard from various whisky insiders about their concerns for the immediate future of the industry. But there are more and more warnings about the state of the sector. Last month Jim Beam announced it would suspend production of bourbon at its main site in Kentucky for the whole of 2026. Days later the Financial Times reported that "tariffs and cost of living pressures leave undrunk whisky galore" in Scotland.

"Customers," the FT suggested, "are buying less and choosing cheaper brands, risking jobs in [the] Scotch industry."

So in this episode, John speaks to Scottish investigative journalist Ian Fraser, who's been digging around and speaking to industry insiders.

"I think the industry is in trouble," he tells John. " There was a massive boom in whisky which ended in 2022; which was exaggerated by the Covid pandemic when people were staying home and drinking more expensive bottles of Scotch and other whiskies. And I think there was a bit of a lack of realism within the industry. There was a srot of assumption that this golden period that the whisky industry went through was going to last forever. And it clearly hasn't."

Total exports of Scotch whisky, Ian says, are down from £6.2 billion in 2022 to around £5.4 billion in 2024.

"What has caused this downturn," he asks? "It's difficult to really know. But there's certainly been a lack of consumer confidence, which I think evaporated after Covid. There's inflation. There's war in Ukraine, which has closed the Russian market. There are doubts over the Chinese market, which hasn't performed quite as well as people were hoping."

"All the major Scotch whisky companies," Ian continues, "are suffering falls in sales, falls in profits. And the newer ones I think, which established themselves in the last decade or so are perhaps the most vulnerable to these factors and this downturn in the industry."

And while Ian maintains "the margins are very strong in Scotch" and he doesn't think anyone "is actually loss making yet - certainly among the established player", he cautions that the share prices of the large groups have "been in freefall".

They're down 60 and 70 percent in some cases, he says.

"We haven't seen any massive bad news in the industry in terms of companies going bust or distilleries completely closing, or administrations or whatever," Ian says; people in the industry he's spoken to say, "They're on the way."

Join John and Ian as they discuss what 2026 might hold for the Scotch whisky industry:

• Was there an over-exuberance in period to to 2022?
• Have too many distilleries and producers chased premium prices?
• Is there an oversupply of whisky maturing in warehouses?
• Could there be "a race to the bottom" in terms of pricing?
• Are there still some markets holding up?
• What's the optimum price for a bottle of whisky?
• Can the industry pick itself up and move forward?
• And who's best placed to suceed?

Pour yourself a dram, and tune in.

Slàinte!

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Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're very sorry we're unable to bring you this week's episode.

John's on the mend, and he hopes to be back next week.

Thanks for listening to Cask to Glass.

Apologies once again.

Catch you next time.

Slàinte!

-------

Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"I'm often called an accidental distiller," says Kim Cameron, founder of the Bothy Distillery in Glen Prosen in the Scottish Highlands.

Kim started off running a coffee shop and producing jam. World class jam, which 11 years ago won its category in the World Jam Championships. So she launched her Jam Bothy label.

"In Angus," she says, "we grow the most amazing fruit, arguably in the best in the world: raspberry, rhubarb, blueberry, strawberry... And I was making the full seasonal calendar of jam. Now one of the byproducts of making jam was I had some juice and fruit left over. And rather than waste that, we decided to add it to gin."

Next thing Kim knew, people were beating a path up her glen in the north east of Scotland for her gin. "The jam took a bit of a back seat," she continues, " and we focused on the Gin Bothy as a brand."

"That," she explains, "is how my entry into the world of spirit happened. I didn't ever imagine that we would be in a position where we'd be distilling whisky in the glens."

Well Kim's not quite distilling whisky yet.

Her best selling gin is Gunshot Gin.

"I was selling that into the US market, and one of the things that we were always told on feedback was: 'We love the flavour profiles.' So it was cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, spice. Those really rich warming flavours. But we had distilled it with gin. And the biggest thing that the export market wanted was in a whisky. So we flipped the base and called it Gunshot Whisky."

Gunshot was an eight year old blended whisky created for the Kim's export market. "But," she continues, "our customers here, once it followed our gin journey, have always asked me: 'When are you moving into whisky?'"

Well that move has begun!

Bothy Distillery is well under way. It's being built in old bothy in Glen Prosen in Cairngorm National Park in the eastern Highlands that in the early 1700s had been an old whisky smuggling room.

The stills are on order from Forsyths, Scotland's go-to still manufacturers. They're about to be installed. And Kim hopes the first new spirit, to be distilled under the supervision of Ron Welsh (the master distiller behind Beam Suntory's Laphroaig and Bowmore, and 140 other expressions of Scotch whisky), will begin to flow in December or January.

So join John as he chats to Kim about her journey from jam to dram.

Slàinte!

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Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With a populaton of 1.4 billion, China's the second most populous country in the world. And last year Scotland exported 30 million 70cl bottles to China at a value of £161 million, making it the 10th largest market for Scotch both in terms of volume and value. But when you consider that Scotland exported the equivalent of 1.7 billion bottles worth £5.4 billion in 2024, it's a small market compared to the size of its population.

So, how do you expand the market?

Since 2014 Chen Li, founder of Magna World Travel and owner of the newly opened Edinburgh Whisky House Hotel, has been running whisky tours for Chinese tourists. She describes the Chinese market as "a big meaty pizza".

"Everybody wants a piece of it," she says."Everybody wants a slice from the pizza. But to do business with China, it's not easy. It's not that straightforwward. There are many barriers."

"China needs patience," Chen continues. "Working with China or doing any business with China needs patience. Consider for you to send some money abroad. Forty, or fifty thousand, just by a blink? We need a relationship to build first. So that's how you should start: build relationships. Do you send them New Year message during Chinese New Year? Do you send them a message on China's national day."

These things matter.

Called 威士忌酒 in Simplified Chinese and pronounced "wēi shì jì jiǔ", Chen says whisky is synonymous with Scotland - or 蘇格蘭 in Traditional Chinese, 苏格兰 in Simplified Chinese and pronounced Sūgélán.

But there are only about 600,000 serious whisky drinkers in China, Chen suggests, "ones who buy the premium brands."

And she cautions: "To be honest there are a lot of people who don't really know much about Scotland. The know England. They know London. Scotland is not very popular yet."

"So our job," Chen continues, "is to create an itinerary.We influence people of where they go; what they do; what they eat; where to stay."

Join John as he talks to Chen about her understanding of the Chinese whisky market; how she provides whisky tours around Scotland; and how she's trying to turn one of Scotland's most famous, ancient houses - Auchenbowie House, once owned by the descendants of Rober the Bruce - into the first Chinese built distillery in Scotland.

Slàinte!

Or 干杯 - which means "empty cup", and's pronounced: Gānbēi!

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Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Released on the 2 October, and already almost entirely sold out...

"More people will have summited Everest this year alone than will ever get to taste this whisky, never mind own it," declares Stephen Rankin, Director of Prestige at Gordon and MacPhail. "There's something like 600, 700 people - maybe more than that - start off to summit Everest and they tend to all do it in the springtime and about 60 or 70 percent of those people will ever actually reach the top."

It's some statistic that puts into context just how special Gordon and MacPhail's 85 year old single malt from Glenlivet Distillery is.

"You're talking about one of the rarest, most historic, scarcest, not just whiskies in the world, but matured spirits in the world," Stephen continues. "I don't know if there's many other spirits - because spirits are matured in the cask that as soon as you take it ouf the cask that's the age stopped. There will be older bottles in the world bu there won't be older matured spirits in the world so it could be the oldest matured spirit in the world as well."

On 3 February 1940, just five months after the start of the Second World War, Stephen's grandfather George Urquhart and great-grandfather John, filled a sherry cask made from American oak with new make spirit from Glenlivet. The cask, Stephen says, "was selected because it was a big sherry transport cask. These casks were very different. They were, one it was made of an American oak because it's a little bit tougher and tighter. The grain is much tighter and the staves were made much, much thicker.

"It was there to withstand the rigmarole of being rolled around quay sides and platforms before going on boats and trains an the like, and ultimately end up in the far north of Scotland."

The barley had come from the last peace-time harvest. And filling the cask, Stephen says, "was an act of hope and optimism."

In this episode John talks to Stephen about why this whisky is so special; how it survived the war years when whisky was in short supply and was monitored over the intervening years before being bottled and released.

Slàinte!

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Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

That's why he and brother Phil are always trying to work out what they "can get away with" at the "lower end" of the price spectrum, because Phil says, "You want to sell out and turn over quickly."

Phil and Simon also own Dornoch Castle Hotel. The hotel has been in the Thompson family for 25 years, and that's where their whisky journey really began.

"Back in the day," Simon explains, "we used to run the family hotel whisky bar. That led to us kind of taking on whisky as a bit of a hobby. We would end up taking it a little bit too seriously; start collecting; start falling in love with older styles of whisky; start going to live auctions, picking up bottles for ourselves and for our bar."

In this episode, Simon and Phil tell John how their hobby quickly led them to research older styles of whisky "trying ot figure out where certain flavours and intensities of flavours that existed in older bottles" came from. They began "reverse engineering old style whisky which then eventually turned into some practical experimentatation, which turned into building a tiny, baby distillery."

At Dornoch Distillery, Phil continues, "we probably have deliberately the most expensive cost of production - even if you're to ignore the small scale."

They only use "heritage varieties" of barely that were in use before the 1960s; brewing strains of yeast instead of modern distillers' yeast; extra long fermentation - "seven days as standard"; and manual cut points.

"We make our cut points based on the sense of smell, sense of taste by whoever's rolling the stills on that particular day," Simon says.

"It allows them," Phil interjects, "to kind of slow down and speed up where required when it's coming towards the cut point."

"Basically everything's geared towards maximising old style quality at great expense of materials, time and lower yield. So yeah, it's one extreme, probably not a scalable model," Simon continues.

The brothers are now building a new distillery - Struie Distillery - which aims to be 100 percent electrified and completely fossil fuel free.

Where "Dornoch is no holds barred;whatever it takes," Simon says, "Struie is trying to find those sweet spots between old style production and modern production."

"We just need to pay for it," Phil concludes.

Slàinte!

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Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

But, Scott also continues, "I'm very very old fashioned. I like a hauf an' a hauf. So I always like to have a beer and whisky at the same time. So it really depends on what beer I've got in my other hand in how I take my whisky."

A beer and a whisky. A half and a half. Or in Scott's Scots venacular, a hauf an' a hauf. It's a traditional way of drinking whisky in many parts of Scotland: a wee dram and half a pint of beer; but perhaps out of fashion now.

Yet, Scott says, InchDairnie isn't an entirely traditional Scotch whisky distillery. Yes they malt the grain. Yes they double distill And yes they mature their spirit in oak barrels.

But they deviate too.

"We don't have a traditional mash tun that all the industry have.," Scott explains. "We're one of only two in Scotland that has a mash filter. And that's important becaus a mash filter enables you to process grains that would otherwise be quite difficult to process in a traditional distillery."

Grain like rye for example; malted of course; matured for five years in virgin American oak barrels sourced from forests in Orzak or the Appalachians. "But," Scott adds, "for the second distillation, we used a Lomond still. And a Lomond still is a pot still with a column still in the neck. And what that gave is a very very light spirit, very flavourful as well."

This is InchDairnie's Ryelaw.

"To look forward, sometimes you have to look backwards," Scott explains. "So there's records from the 1908 Royal Commission and within those records it details what grains were being used in distilling at the the time, and one of them was rye. But there is no definition of rye whisky in Scotland. The regs don't allow it."

Perhaps Ryelaw epitomises InchDairnie's vision. As Scott explains: "The company is basically built on tradition but it's been powered by innovation."

Join John as he chats to Scott about the synergy between the old and the new; InchDairnie's other labels (including KinGlassie Raw and KinGlassie Double Matured); the company's 3Ms philosophy (material, method and maturation); and how Fife's five modern distilleries are putting a the region on the whisky map.

Slàinte!

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Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"But," he adds, "people buy with their eyes."

So the look and the packaging is his starting point. Then it's down to great whisky to follow through on the image.

"I originally came from graphic design. That's what I studied," he tells John in this episode. "I then got into the design world; into print and packaging, which in central Scotland essentially leads you into the spirits and whisky world."

But, Russell continues, "for me, the most important thing is the liquid."

"We only bottle single casks," Russell says. "We bottle everything at cask strength, natural colour, exactly as it should be."

So he seeks out great casks with great whiskies to make up One Cask at a Time's three series: Chronograph, Pendulum and Grandfather, named after time pieces "because time is arguably the most important ingredient in Scotch whisky."

"As an independent bottler," Russell explains, "we can select from any distillery from any region within Scotland."

But, he says, he's looking for is that one cask which will "showcase our brand as well as the distillery." Distilleries like Ben Nevis, Glentauchers, Auchentoshan, Ledaig, Aultmore and Highland Park.

Each bottle contains a "digital passport" embedded in the neck that allows owners to track their bottle's provenance, cask history and tasting notes on their smartphones It's a way of "bridging tradition with technology."

So tune in to John's conversation with Russell, recorded on the eve of company's launch at the start of September.

Slàinte!

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Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

But, Kristiane continues, there's still a misogyny around whisky. "I want to invite people into the whisky industry, but I do sometimes worry that I'm inviting people - particularly under-represented groups - into a space that might not be entirely safe for them."

"I think everywhere there's misogyny," she tells John in this episode. "I think in male dominated industries especially there's misogyny. And I think in whisky, you have that, but you also have the layer of alcohol on top of it, which unfortunately, and it shouldn't do, can mean that filters come off or people behave in ways that they shouldn't because they are drunk or feel enabled in some other way".

As a 37-year-old, openly gay woman, Kristiane says she has "a much easier time of it of late. But," she continues, "younger women in the industry who are maybe brand ambassadors, who are on the front line of events, or other writers will tell me stories of being harassed, being groped and all of this stuff, and I'm like 'No. We need to as an industry collectively work much harder at this."

"It's horrible to say," Kristiane adds, "because I want to invite more women in and more non-binary people, more people from different ethnicities, more working class people..."

That's why she's an advocate of "safe space whisky places" and greater diversity in the industry.

But how did Kristiane get into the industry?

"I was writing for a travel and retail magazine and I wanted to be a fashion and beauty journailst.That was the dream. And I remember my editor saying, 'You've got to go off to Sweden to cover the the Viking Line Whisky Fair.'

"I was 24 and I was like, 'I don't like whisky. It's going to be full of drunk men' (which it was), but I had to go... and I tasted whisky for the first time and I fell in love with it."

In this episode Kristiane tells John about her whisky journey. They discuss the different marketing strategies adopted by Johnnie Walker with Sabrina Carpenter and Glenmorangie with Harrison Ford; how you can improve your olfactory skills to appreciate whisky better; and how enjoying whisky is a "mix of art, science and storytelling."

So pour yourself a dram - as it comes, or with ice or with water, or - as Kristiane recommends - ginger ale or soda or any other mixer - and tune in. After all, whisky is for everyone!

Slàinte!

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Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, after his whirlwind visit last week to meet US President Donald J Trump at the White House, Scotland's First Minister John Swinney joins John Beattie to discuss the prospects of a deal on US tariffs on Scotch whisky.

Ten percent US tariffs are costing the Scotch whisky industry £4 million a week, Mr Swinney says.

But Scotland, he adds, imports $300 million worth of Kentucky bourbon barrels every year. And tariffs are having an impact on that trade too.

"I'd also had the fortunate position to meet with one of the cask producers in Kentucky before I met Mr Trump," Mr Swinney explains. "And he was telling me that he was already having orders cancelled from Scottish distilleries. So the real life effect of the tariffs is having an effect in America already."

It's a story that's been picked up by The New York Times, which reported on 15 September 2025 that "if 10 percent tariffs persist, the United States will lose 3,300 jobs and the US hospitality industry would lose $300 million according to the Distilled Spirits Council [of the United States]."

One of the Scottish distilleries The Times mentioned was Kilchoman Distillery on Islay (featured in Episode 8), which imports 60 percent of its barrels from Kentucky.

So a deal, Mr Swinney says, would be "a win-win": "It's also not a deal that causes any other collateral implications because Scotch whisky can only be produced in Scotland. Kentucky bourbon can only be produced in Kentucky. So there's no transfer of trade that can be involved. But there is an economic benefit for both sides of the pond if we get this right."

But what was it like pitching a proposal to the most powerful man on the planet in the most well-known office in the world?

"I had to know my onions about my proposal because he was questioning me. It was a questioning experience."

But in essence, Mr Swinney says, "I was saying, 'Here's a deal which will benefit the Scotch whisky industry, yes, but it'll also benefit the distilling industry in the United States'."

So will there be a deal?

"I think there's an attractive proposition there. The question is, will we pull it off? And well, we'll get an answer to that in due course."

Slàinte!

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Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How much whisky is stored in warehouses across Scotland?

"Nobody really knows," says Martin Purvis of Commercial Spirits Intelligence. He tried to find out from HMRC - the UK's revenue and customs office. But they wouldn't tell him; not even when he used freedom of information legislation to get an answer.

But he fears there's too much stock in too many barrels in too many warehouses: "I joined the trade 20 odd years ago," he says, "and in that time all I've seen is warehouse building."

It's not just a Scottish problem. Whisky or whiskey, it doesn't matter. "Everywhere is struggling," Martn says.

"For most brown spirits that are matured in barrels for a period of time, the biggest challenge right now is that there's too much maturing inventory versus current sales," he tells John Beattie in this episode of Cask to Glass.

Martin and his colleague Duncan MacFadzean analyse the whisky industry. They study HMRC records. And his conclusion?

"Malt whisky has really had a hard time of over the last couple of years. It's 40 percent off the top in terms of volume. And it's 12 percentage down over six months in year-on-year versus last year."

"There's a lot of competition and drinkers are less loyal," he continues. "The trade has really done a good job of premiumisation - certainly single malt."

"But," he adds, "it's still expensive. Ten years ago I would have been drinking the odd bottle of 18 year old single malt. These days I'd probably be given a row if I came home with a bottle of 18 year old single malt given the price point it's at."

But he remains optimistic, concluding: "Good product well positioned and well priced with a good liquid will do well."

Still he suggests, the industry needs a "reset".

Join John and Martin as they discuss the state of the industry; the challenges it faces; the role of casks; and how Martin tries to reduce the Angels' Share...

"I live down the road from a complex which has got probably 10 million barrels. The amount of evaporation that is taking place from that location is really high. If you reduce that by one percent it's a huge number. So incredible commercial value here."

Tune in as Martin tries to predict the future of whisky.

Slàinte!

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Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Slightly offside?

Perhaps Stephen shouldn't be telling John this. But it's too late now. And besides what's done is done.

"We kind of brand ourselves as cask explorers," Stephen explains. "We're not feart to give something a go."

It's Stephen's job to explore and innovate, and try to create something new out of something traditional and simple: "I'm very lucky because I've got the freedom to do that."

But there's a downside, he continues: "We've been in trouble with the SWA a couple of times."

Trouble for what?

Trying to produce whisky in Champagne casks, cider casks and even maple syrup casks.

Why would that upset the Scotch Whisky Association, which regulates what is and isn't Scotch whisky?

Well for starters, Stephen confesses, "You don't actually get a Champagne cask. You only get white wine. It's not Champagne until you put it in a bottle and add yeast. So, into trouble for that. And cider isn't traditionally aged in oak barrels. So we got into trouble with the SWA for that. But we won't do it again."

And maple syrup casks?

"It wasn't whisky... It's a spirit drink. It doesn't say whisky on the bottle, I need to be clear about that... But the spirit was absolutely sublime. You almost get a kind of smoky bacon note to that. The whole piece was to have an American breakfast in a dram glass."

Innovation aside, Stephen's job is to think 30 years ahead, and as he explains to John, work out how to get there.

So join John, Stephen (and Stephen's dog Ron), as Stephen reveals how he and Glen Turner make something magical out of what is basically just water, cereal and a fungus, matured in very special wood.

Slàinte!

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Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Islay? Campbeltown? Speyside? Or, if you want to be more specific, Dufftown? Or Aberlour?

But what about Glasgow?

It's the largest city in Scotland. It's still the country's industrial heartland. So why not the capital of whisky too?

Far-fetched as that may seem, Neill Murphy - who blogs about whisky as A Scot on Scotch - believes there's a barley grain of truth in the idea. "Glasgow," he says, "should be better thought of, really... We have a lot of whisky history in this city that's been forgotten about by most people. I myself included. I'm constantly researching and finding new things I didn't know about."

The first Glasgow distillery - "that we know of" - he says, was founded in 1770. "And between then and 1903, there were something like 27 distilleries operating in the city of Glasgow."

There was the Adelphi Distillery, Yoker Distillery and Dundas Hill, "which was up on the banks of the Forth and Clyde Canal." (In 1887, Alfred Barnard reported that Port Dundas produced "no less than 2,562,000 gallons" of whisky a year and generated £430,000 in duties. That's equivalent to £72 million in today's money.)

"There's just so many," Neill continues. "And that's before you even take into account all the blenders and things. We had Teacher & Sons and Mackie & Co. So the Teacher's Highland Cream was a blend that came from Glasgow. The White Horse Blend came from Glasgow. There's so much history there. And, as I say, even the people of Glasgow have forgotten most of it."

So, in November 2024, Neill and his business partner John McGuire, started Scottish Rogue, to put Glasgow "back on the whisky map." They provides distillery tours, whisky tastings and whisky bar walking tours around the city. They do, however, stretch the outskirts of Glasgow to include the Deanston Distillery in Perthshire. "But," Neill says, "it's only about maybe 45 minutes, 50 minutes away. And I think it's a bit of a hidden gem really."

But, Neill insists, there are two great genuine Glasgow distilleries worth exploring: Clydeside Distillery on the River Clyde and The Glasgow Distillery in Hillington.

Tune in as Neill tells John about his love of whisky, which was sparked at a Highland funeral (where else?) and his thoughts on the state of the industry.

Slàinte!

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Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Growing up, Kenny was known as Coinneach Mòr ("Big Kenny"). He and Viktorija met in the Glasgow pub Òran Mór ("big song") over a dram of Dalmore ("big meadow").

"That whisky has a lot to answer for," Viktorija jokes...

After they'd hitched up, they decided to start a whisky company called Dràm Mòr: Big Dram.

Iniatially they acted as agents for other whisky producers, utilising Viktorija's contacts in her native Lithuania to export uisge beatha to the Baltic states and Ukraine, before expanding elsewhere into Europe.

But before all that - and Viktorija - Kenny had "many different hats". And two jobs. He was a meat inspector for the Food Standards Agency and a nightclub bouncer for 27 years, where he says, "I have seen every form of stupidity the human race has to throw at me."

So how did they get into the whisky industry?

"It was Viktorija's fault," Kenny insists. "Let's be perfectly clear about that. So I came home from work one night and Viktorija said to me: 'Why do you do what you do? You obviously hate it'."

"Well of course I hate it," Kenny says he replied. "It's my job." But, he continues, "Viktorija said, 'Some folk really enjoy what they do.' And you know, to my utter shame, I laughed at her."

But Viktorija, Kenny says, persisted: "What would you love to do?"

And then it dawned on him: "I love whisky."

That's when they decided to start Dràm Mòr. And they eventually went from agents to independent bottlers.

But how did they get there?

In this episode Kenny and Viktorija tell John about their whisky journey; how they started Dràm Mòr; the markets they trade in; their thoughts on the current state of the whisky industry; and how they believe people in Ukraine and the countries neighbouring Russia - like the Lithuania and the other Baltic states - are, as Viktorija puts it, "drinking more of the good stuff because they don't know how long they're going to live."

People in Ukraine, Viktorija tells John, are "living between hope and hell. Literally."

Theirs is a sobering tale about the universality of hope over fear; and the simple pleasure that can be found, even in the worst of times, from a simple dram.

So raise your glass to life, hope and fortitude. If you know your history, it's what Scotch whisky has always stood for.

Slàinte!

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Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Follow The Piper on Facebook to keep up to date about tastings and other events

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In an exclusive interview for 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗚𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀, Mr Swinney reveals details from those discussions as well as his own affection for whisky, especially Aberfeldy and Glenmorangie.

Of his talks with Mr Trump, Mr Swinney says; "I was making the pitch for the Scotch whisky industry and for Scotch whisky to be exempt from tariffs." Adding that he told Mr Trump the United States would also benefit if Scotch was exempted from tariffs because Scotland imports $300 million worth of bourbon barrels every year from the United States.

And Mr Swinney says he reminded Mr Trump that Scotch whisky is like Kentucky bourbon: "Where Kentucky bourbon can only be produced in Kentucky, Scotch whisky can only be produced in Scotland."

So does he think Mr Trump might now exempt Scotch whisky from the current 10% tariff which, according to the Scotch Whisky Association, is costing the industry £4 million a week?

"I think President Trump has this on his radar now. I don't think he had it on his radar before he came to Scotland. I think he came to Scotland thinking that the US-UK trade deal was all concluded and that that was it."

As well as telling John about his discussions with Mr Trump, Mr Swinney reveals that he gave Mr Trump a framed copy of the handwritten entry in a ledger from the parish of Tong on the Isle of Lewis recording the marriage of the President's great grandparents in 1853, along with "an extract from the 1921 census from Stornoway which includes, of course, for the first time in the census record, his mother, Mary MacLeod, at the age of nine."

Aside from telling John about his meeting with Mr Trump, and discussing the significance of whisky to both Scottish identity and the Scottish economy, Mr Swinney, who doesn't drink "an awful lot of alcohol nowadays", admits he does have one or two particular whisky favourites: "I'm very fond of Aberfeldy whisky from my own constituency in North Perthshire. Also, I suppose habitually, I've probably been very fond of Glenmorangie. And that's been very special to me."

So tune in for the whole interview.

Slàinte!

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Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Follow The Piper on Facebook to keep up to date about tastings and other events

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Remember Episode 14, when master blender Max McFarlane gave John what he calls "an off note whisky"?

"Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Max!"

It took John a while to the find words to describe what he was tasting. But he finally got there: "It tastes like... poison!"

Well that was an extreme example. But what else can go wrong with whisky? And how can you spot a bad whisky on the nose before it gets anywhere near your tongue?

In this episode, Max gives John a masterclass in how to spot bad whisky aromas with the aid of a few random samples from the Aroma Academy's Faults Aroma Training Kit. The kit's designed to help people develop "aroma recogntion skills". And, Max says, even master blenders do this kind of training.

So stand by for descriptions like "solvent", "black tea with a peated note", "nail varnish", "your granny's old cupboard", and John's particular favourite "cheesy vomit".

"You may not find all of them in a whisky," Max says, "but you're training your nose."

And as an additional bonus, do you always have to spend £50 or £60 on a nice whisky?

Producer Holmsey stopped by his local Lidl on the way to this recording and picked up two whiskies for under £20.

So tune in to find out how John and Max get on at nosing artificially manufactured unpleasant aromas, and to get Max's verdict on Lidl's Glen Orchy 5 Year Old Blended Malt Whisky and its Balmuir 3 Year Blended Scotch Whisky.

Which one do you think "wants to holiday in your palate", as Max puts it?

Slàinte!

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Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Follow The Piper on Facebook to keep up to date about tastings and other events

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There were no Welsh distilleries.

And yet, says Sean Williams host of the Wisgi Wales Podcast and founder of Wales Whisky Fest and the Welsh Whisky Society, "distilling can allegedly trace its roots to Wales; to north wales; to a little place called Bardsey Island, where the monks - you know, in myth - distilled a distilate which was pretty much aqua vitae or new make spirit."

That was in the fourth century AD.

"So it's been in our culture a long time," Sean adds, even if "we're a nation of beer drinkers historically."

And aside from a distillery started in the late 19h century and closed in early 20th century, Sean says, it wasn't until the establishment of Penderyn Distillery in the 1990s that the Welsh whisky industry began to take shape.

Today there are seven distilleries in Wales with "more in the pipeline." And Welsh whisky, or Whisgi Cymreig, now has its own GI or geographical indicator status.

In this episode, Sean chats to John about the origins of the whisky industry in Wales; some of the distilleries leading the way; what makes Welsh whisky different from other whiskies; the widespread use of wine casks. And he introduces John to three different Welsh whiskies:

Aber Falls Maderia cask - 47%

Penderyn Copperopolis sweet red wine cask - 46% ABV

Anglesey Môn Bourbon cask - 40%

"If you've tried Welsh whisky, they're not seven of the same type. It is very varied and not one is like the other," Sean explains.

But he continues, "They've all got a story to tell. From the stills to the people, they're completely different through Wales."

Slàinte!

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Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Follow The Piper on Facebook to keep up to date about tastings and other events

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

They've gone around the world. Now the world rounds on Scotland to experience them both.

And Hamish Malcolm brings them together..

Aka The Dram Caddy, Hamish combines his role as a golf caddy with that as a whisky guide, providing whisky tastings to golfing tourists. Usually matching five drams to five courses from Dornorch in the north to St Andrews in the east.

But nothing obvious. So no Macallans.

"I'm looking maybe for the dram less travelled. Some of the more underdog group brands. Because there's no point giving the visitors what they can get back home or in Duty Free," Hamish says

By his own admission Hamish is "a bit of a late developer into whisky."

For 38 years he worked in banking. But he gave it up and became a caddy at Castle Stuart, a golf course east of Inverness on the Moray Firth, and for three days a week a sales assistant at the Highland Whisky Shop in Inverness.

"After a few weeks, I stumbled upon maybe I could be quite good at doing the tastings." So he put two and two together - golf and whisky - and started The Dram Caddy.

"I'll never get tired of seeing people either taste whisky for the first time," Hamish says, "or taste peated whisky for the first time."

Join John as he chats to Hamish about his new career, the whiskies he loves, and how he connects whisky and golf for overseas tourists.

Slàinte!

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Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Follow The Piper on Facebook to keep up to date about tastings and other events

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over 500 distilleries profiled; 480 whiskies sampled. No wonder Dave jokes: "I didn't have grey hair when I started."

But why extraordinary?

"Because there's never been such a period in whisky's history where so much has been made in so many different styles in so many different countries," he tells John. "If you think back to whisky's recent history, the last 100 years or so, essentially it's been dominated by Scotch and was dominated until very recently by Scotch blends."

"So the world of whisky essentially belonged to Scotch. And now you have, I would say pretty much every country in the world where distillation is legal, making whisky."

"There's probably too much whisky getting made," he continues. "But if you are a whisky lover, you have never had so much choice."

But all that whisky presents problems for the industry, and Dave cautions, "There will be casualities."

Like in Ireland, where the Waterford Distillery collapsed earlier this year.

"It's this perfect storm, " he explains. "You have low consumer confidence. You have political issues. You've got war. You have a generational shift that's taking place."

Still it's happened before; "essentially every 20 years or so." But while Dave says there's "no magic bullet", he remains optimistic: "Whisky is resilient and whisky always has got out of these problems. And it will take some clever strategies, but it will get out of it."

Sure young people aren't drinking traditional drams. And they're drinking less. But they are drinking highballs and whisky cocktails. Dave's seen it in his own local whisky bar, Cut Your Wolf Loose in Brighton.

So while he admits he "might have been coming over as some sort of doommonger" in this episode, "there's a lot of positives out there," he insists.

And a lot of innovation too. Who'd have thought there would one be at least two whisky distilleries in the Arctic circle or subtropical whiskies from India, China and Taiwan?

That's "the joy of whisky", he concludes. "There is always something new coming through the door. And that keeps you alive and that keeps you interested and that keeps the energy going."

So raise a dram, straight, iced, diluted or mixed, to "Scothland". 

Slàinte!

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Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Follow The Piper on Facebook to keep up to date about tastings and other events

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"That being said," she continues, "more than half of our consumers are still men, which reflects the reality of the whisky industry today."

And while Annabel insists "there's no logical reason" why women shouldn't drink or work in whisky, she's quick to point out there's a lot of "rebalancing to be done"; even "if you look at the industry and who the blenders are in some of the biggest and the smallest companies, [and you see] they're often women."

Women like Diageo's Emma Walker, Master Blender for Johnnie Walker.

Still when Annabel began her Nc'Nean journey in 2012, she "didn't want make a whisky that was traditional and like all the others."

"I wanted to make a whisky," she says "that did something different and attracted a new crowd and could tell a different story." Most importantly she wanted to make a sustainable whisky, that's 100% organic: "Part of our mission, aside from making delicious whisky, is too do good for people and the planet."

So Annabel built Nc'Nean on a parcel of land on the Morvern Peninsula overlooking the Isle of Mull on the west coast of Scotland.

By her own admission, "It's very remote". Incredibly beautiful, but remote: after travelling north for two and half hours from Glasgow, past Loch Lomond and through Glencoe, almost as far as Fort William, "you take the little Corran ferry across the Corran Narrows.

"You're greeted with a double track road to begin with," Annabel continues, "but very shortly that turns into a single track road. And you drive for about an hour on a single track road up to the tip of the Morven Peninsula. And then the road runs out and you drive on a track for a mile and then you get to the distillery. And we have a nice barrel halfway along that track that says: 'Nearly there'."

In this episode, Annabel tells John about:

• the founding principles of Nc'Nean ("be kind to the environment");
• experimenting with different yeasts "not originally designed for whisky distillation";
• breaking into new markets;
• the current business climate and its challenges;
• passing places and the etiquette of driving on single track roads in rural Scotland ("you must wave");
• and of course, Nc'Nean's whiskies like Huntress Lemon Meadow ("just the perfect summer whisky").

Slàinte!

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Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Follow The Piper on Facebook to keep up to date about tastings and other events

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of Gordon's best whisky experiences was at an awards dinner in Edinburgh.

He was sitting beside a colleague from Ian Macleod and his good friend Julian Van Winkle of Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery -- "before Van Winkle had gone really silly pricewise and rarity and scarcity". There was, he says, a bottle of Balblair 38 on the table. "So we poured this Balblair 38. And at that moment in time, prbabaly an hour or so, and the chat, the everything, and that Balblair 38 did not last very long."

A year on, Gordon continues, he was visiting the Van Winkles at their home in Louisville, Kentucky. "I'm sitting on their porch," he recalls, "and out comes a Balblair 38. I think it's the only distillery he'd ever been to in Scotland. It's the only single malt he's really ever drunk and enjoyed... and we go: 'Do you remember that night?'"

"Whisky for me, that's what it's about."

Time. Place. And company.

Beyond that Gordon has no rules when it comes to whisky: "I'm an advocate of cocktails. I'm an advocate of straight. I'm an advocate of ice. I'm an advocate of anything."

"As long as people are drinking whisky in whatever way they want to, I'm very happy."

Single malt or blend... it doesn't matter. "Whisky is just whisky now," Gordon insists.

"Twenty years ago," he says, "a blend was an old man's drink, in a general sense. Single malts were still a discovery for people."

But he reminds us, the diversity in Scotch whisky and the range of single malts exist because of the blended market, which is why he likes to go on the auctions to by blended whisky from the 1970s and 80s.

Listen in as Gordon talks to John about his 20-plus years in the whisky industry, eight of them at Ian Macleod's, a family owned drinks company, famous for its Glengoyne, Tamdhu and Rosebank distileries, and -- dare we say it? -- its gins. And there's a fourth Scottish distillery on its way: Laggan Bay on the Isle of Islay, opening in three months' time.

Ian Macleod also owns Una Distillery in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, in the foothills of the Himalayas, which, Gordon says, will be releasing its first single malt in two years' time.

So settle down, pour yourself a dram -- or with Gordon's permission and encouragement, a highball with with some ginger ale or tonic as its summer in the UK and we need something cold and refreshting -- and tune in.

Slàinte!

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Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Follow The Piper on Facebook to keep up to date about tastings and other events

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

That's a view we've heard from several contributors on the podcast in our previous 21 episodes.

For instance, in Episode 15 Andrew Symington of Edradour Distillery told John the industry was facing "headwinds". Andrew identified the cost of living crisis; the effects of Brexit; global supply chain issues; international competition; and over production and over pricing. Whisky writer Charles Maclean also identified over production in Episode 7. He described it as a "whisky ocean".

And in recent weeks there have been announcements of job losses and investments being postponed. So are we in a slow down?

Perhaps.

But while Graeme acknowledges that "Scotch whisky is under a lot of pressure in the global market place" and some smaller producers are "really struggling right now", he insists there's a "great deal of resilience" in the industry.

There are, he says, over 150 Scottish distilleries producing 22,000 different "expressions of whisky" and exporting them to 168 markets worldwide at the rate of 44 bottles a second. It's a £7 billion plus industry, and £5.4 billion come from exports. Scotch whisky makes up 25 percent of UK food and drink exports. And the industry supports nearly 70,000 jobs.

It's also a long-term game, with producers thinking 10, 20 even 30 years ahead. And with developing markets in India, China and South America to be cracked, Graeme says we might discover we don't have enough whisky to meet demand if we get it right.

Join John as he chats to Graeme about the challenges and opportunities facing the Scotch whisky industry; the SWA's vision for the sector over the next couple of decades; the "symbiotic relationship" between Scotch and American whiskey; and what the UK and Scottish governments can to do to support the industry.

Slàinte!

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Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Follow The Piper on Facebook to keep up to date about tastings and other events

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Including the Welsh," he adds.

Aye! You can pick a Scottish rugby player for the British and Irish Lions, but you can't take away the Home Nations rivalry.

Ryan was on the last Lions tour to Australia, back in 2013. And as the 2025 Lions get set to embark on their latest tour down under, Ryan joins John, who toured with the Lions to South Africa in 1980 and New Zealand in 1983, for a 6 Nations vs Australia whisky tasting under the watchful eye of Master Blender and rugby referee Max McFarlane.

Seven whiskies. One winner. All picked by Max himself.

And the the line up?

1. Coperies Single Malt French Whisky
2. Punic 4 Year Old 2012 Italian Blended Whisky
3. Pendyren Madeira Finish Welsh Whisky
4. Starwood Nova Australian Whisky
5. East London Liquor Company London Rye English Whisky
6. Tullamore D.E.W Irish Whiskey
7. The Famous Grouse Gold Reserve 12 Year Old Deluxe Scotch Whisky

But what order will they finish in?

Settle down with your favourite dram, and prepare yourself for descriptions like butterscotch, cream soda, Drumstick Squash Ems, fresh tar, damp tent, and popcorn; as well as a bit of rugby chat along the way.

Slàinte!

PS: No national rivalries influenced the making of this podcast. At least none that we are conscious or unconscious of. Honest!

-------

Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Follow The Piper on Facebook to keep up to date about tastings and other events

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For over 25 years, Max was the Master Blender and later Keeper of the Quaich at Edrington. As such his nose provided the quality control for some of the best selling whiskies in the world: Famous Grouse, Highland Park, Cutty Stark, Bunnahabhain, and The Glenrothes. He's now the Master Blender for Ardgowan Distillery which officially opens on 20 June 2025.

But is his whisky knowledge a match for his nose?

In this episode John challenges Max to answer some of the most commonly Googled questions about whisky:

• When was whisky invented?
• What is whisky made from?
• What's the difference between whisky and whiskey?
• Where was Whisky Galore filmed?
• What's the best whisky for an Old Fashioned?
• Can you make whisky ice cubes?
• What should you take with your whisky?
• Which whisky is best for summer?
• And a few others to boot...

Spoiler alert: you might want to ignore some of Max's answers and look them up yourself, especially when he tells John: "You can take your whisky standing on your head."

But there are some top tips as John and Max try to outmatch Google.

Somehow along the way they end up celebrating the Isle of Arran - "Scotland in miniature" - off the west coast of Scotland in the Firth of Clyde.

In the nineteenth century there were at least 53 illicit stills in operation on Scotland's seventh largest island. Today there are two very legal, licensed distilleries. And the island is now populated with "honesty boxes" rather than moonshiners and bootleggers.

So pour yourself a dram, tune in and match your wits against those of John and Max.

Slàinte!

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Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Follow The Piper on Facebook to keep up to date about tastings and other events

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The retired sports psychologist and self-styled "whisky dramalista" had always "liked a drop". But then one Christmas, after he'd "prepped the veg", he unwrapped the present his wife had bought for him.

It was a bottle of Port Ellen third edition.

"I could feel it in my toes when I sipped it," he tells John in this episode. "It was just something else. I didn't know whether to sniff it or drink some more."

A passion was ignited.

And today some 20 years on, Dave now has more than 200 bottles in his "downstairs collection" - from "sherried drams" to Islays; to bourbons and Irish and Japanese whiskies.

For him whisky's about friendship, connection, grounding, sharing, and being around other passionate people.

Listen in as he and John talk about the psychology of whisky; whisky and memory; the power of passion; the price and value of whisky; the application of performance techniques to the role of whisky ambassadors; and why Dave spoilt himself with a Glen Grant 1958.

Slàinte!

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Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Follow The Piper on Facebook to keep up to date about tastings and other events

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For her 21st birthday, she and her mother backpacked around Scotland. (Both sides of her family came from here way back when.) But something about that whisky in one of Scotland's oldest distilleries in Highland Perthshire (featured in Episode 15), ignited a spark.

"I can't say that I sat there with that dram and thought that I'm gonna open a whisky distillery one day. But that is certainly where the seed was sown," Desiree tells John in this episode.

Had something in her bloodline been awoken?

Maybe. For as Desiree admits, her great, great, great grandfather had been an illicit whisky producer in Applecross, historically an isolated peninsula in north west Scotland that looks out onto the Isle of Raasay and beyond that Skye.

However Desiree didn't know that at the time.

Fast forward several years, and Desiree, now a very successful diary farmer, was looking for a career change, and... well it's her story. So lets let her tell it.

But suffice it to say she, with the help of her teetotal parents, founded Cardrona, an award-winning distillery 600 metres above sea level producing traditional single malt whisky ("our three year old was rated as one of the top 50 malts that Whisky Magazine had ever reviewed"), vodka, gin and liqueurs.

Along the way Desiree was mentored by Dave Pickerell, the founding father of American craft distilling and the master blender behind rock band Metallica's Blackened Whiskey.

Today Cardrona is part of the International Beverage Group, owners of Old Pulteney, Speyburn and Balblair.

So pour yourself a dram and tune in.

Slàinte!

-------

Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Follow The Piper on Facebook to keep up to date about tastings and other events

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fred's a psychotherapist.

But he also provides whisky tastings and runs tours to distilleries around Scotland. And he believes whisky keeps us connected.

"It's about friendship and hobby," he tells John in this episode. "It's an incredible stimulant for conversation, for good feelings, for community, for warmth. And I've seen it time and time again."

But it must be respected, he adds. It's not for "chugging back."

Fred's tasted three to four thousand whiskies over the last ten years. Though he says: "I certainly haven't owned them all. But it's been an amazing adventure."

So what does he recommend? "I always rate a Talisker 10, because I think it tells you everything about whisky."

Of course there's also Highland Park, Glenfiddich, Springbank 10, Clynelish 14, Lindores (featured in episode 12)... And if he can get it Brora. Definitely Brora.

And don't forget, he says, whisky goes well with food: scallops, oysters, venison. "You can pair a whole range of different foods with whisky of different kinds."

So put you feet up. Pour yourself a dram. And tune in.

Slàinte!

-------

Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Follow The Piper on Facebook to keep up to date about tastings and other events

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's their signature single malt, based on a six-cask recipe created by founder and Master Distiller, Alasdair Day. It's 80% of what they produce.

"We wanted to make a Hebridean whisky," Alasdair tells John in this episode.

Hebridean?

"Something lightly peated," Alasdair explains. "So not unpeated, not heavily peated. But somewhere in between."

"A rugged windswept island off an island, you need that peaty characteristic," he continues.

But Alasdair and co-founder Bill Dobbie also wanted a "dark fruit character", like Bowmore from the 1960s and early 1970s.

So Alasdair decided to produce both peated and unpeatead spirit, and to mature these individual spirits separately in rye whiskey casks, virgin Chinkapin oak casks and Bordeaux red wine casks and then vat them together. Having designed the whisky, they designed the process to the make it, "and then gave the design to the architect to put the building round the process."

In 2017, the first licensed distillery on Raasay began production.

Establishing a distillery on a tiny island east of the Isle of Skye on Scotland's west coast was far from what Alasdair envisioned when he first went into the whisky business.

"My great grandfather had been a whisky blender in Coldstream," he says.

Now Coldstream's a small town on the Scottish border with England, not known for any whisky tradition. But in 2009, Alasdair inherited his great grandfather's cellar book which contained recipes for blended whisky dating from 1899 to 1916 and he decided to recreate some, buying casks of fully mature whisky to blend together...

But why don't you let Alasdair tell the story himself?

Pour yourself a dram - or Draam - and listen in as Alasdair tells John the story of Isle of Raasay Distillery; explains the different flavours imparted by all the different barrels they use; and extols the beauty of one of Scotland's lesser known islands.

Oh and by the way, Alasdair claims Raasay Distillery has the best distillery view in the world... well maybe. But when you've heard his claim, you can be the judge.

Slàinte!

-------

Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Follow The Piper on Facebook to keep up to date about tastings and other events

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Edradour, near Pitlochry in Highland Perthshire, is one of Scotland's smallest distilleries and, Andrew says, Scotland's "last traditional farm distillery".

Andrew's been in the whisky business for almost 40 years, both as the owner of Edradour and as an independent bottler with his Signatory Vintage Scotch Whisky company bottling “single, single, single malt". That's malts produced by a single distillery, from a single distillation and a single cask.

And in this episode he tells John how Edradour, established 200 years ago in 1825, had "illegal origins", when local farmers would create a literal smoke screen by lighting fires to throw off the Government's excisemen looking for for the plume from illicit stills; how the distillery's "very small, short dumpy stills" make a "heavy oily spirit" which goes into Edradour's range of non-peated and heavily peated malt whiskies; how he uses traditional sherry and bourbon casks as well as red wine barrels from Bordeaux, Burgundy and Amarone; and how the Scotch whisky industry is facing "headwinds": the cost of living crisis, the effects of Brexit, over-production and over-pricing, global supply chain issues, the threat of US tariffs, and increasingly international competition.

But he says: "As long as we're not greedy; as long as we keep the heritage there, Scotch whisky still has a good future."

So pour yourself a wee dram and tune in as John and Andrew talk whisky.

Slàinte!

-------

Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Follow The Piper on Facebook to keep up to date about tastings and other events

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join John as Max takes him on a tasting journey from new make spirit through the casks and years to learn to recognise the look, nose and palate of several very different whiskies. And he throws in an off-note whisky that's really gone wrong. Along the way they talk about the state of the global whisky market and Max recommends whiskies he thinks are on the up-and-up and others that are overlooked.

So pour yourself a wee dram and tune in.

Slàinte!

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The whiskies (and spirit) tasted in this episode are:

1. Highland Park New Make Spirit
2. Ardgowan Clydebuilt Riveter 15 Year Old Single Grain
3. The Famous Grouse Blended Scotch Whisky
4. Highland Park 12 Year Old Single Malt
5. Laphroaig 10 Year Old Single Malt
6. Craigellachie 11 Year Old Single Malt

Please drink responsibly.

-------

Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Follow The Piper on Facebook to keep up to date about tastings and other events

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Established in Dingwall at the head the Cromarty Firth in north-east Scotland in 2016, GlenWyvis Distillery is unburdened by a traditional house style. So they do what they like - provided, Craig says, it makes good whisky and complies with the regulations set out by the Scotch Whisky Association.

Such as?

Longer fermentation than other more established distilleries - as much as six days; experimentation with barrels and single cask whiskies; and making classic eastern Highland-style unpeated whisky 11 months of the year and very heavily peated whisky for the remaining month.

And the result?

"A light, easy-going fruity whisky."

"Fruity, malty, maybe a touch grassy with a wee bit of spice in the new make spirit."

This week John chats to Craig and GlenWyvis's Chairman of the Management Committee, David McIntyre, about Dingwall's first legal distillery in over 100 years and the whisky it produces; the 3,800 members who make up the community enterprise behind GlenWyvis; and the community payback that supports among other things the young carers in primary school looking after a parent or the pupil who needs a laptop.

GlenWyvis is about the community and the whisky, David says. It's made with love; "a distillery by the people for the people."

So pour yourself a wee dram and listen in.

Slàinte!

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Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Follow The Piper on Facebook to keep up to date about tastings and other events

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

But in the Exchequer Roll of 1494, King James IV bestowed his royal seal of approval on a Tironensian monk and distiller from Lindores Abbey in Fife: "Et per liberacionem factam fratri Johanni Cor per preceptum compotorum rotulatoris, ut asserit, de mandato domini regis ad faciendum aquavite infra hoc compotum, viii bolle brasii."

"To Friar John Cor, 8 bolls of malt, wherewith to make aqua vitae for the King."

It is the earliest written record we have of whisky in Scotland.

Lindores Abbey was founded in 1191 by French monks from Tiron 60 miles south of Paris. But it was abandoned and destroyed during the Reformation in the 16th Century. The land with the abbey ruins became farmland and was eventually bought in 1913 by Drew McKenzie Smith's grandfather.

Fast forward 87 years, and Drew and his family had no idea of the significance of their farm. So much so cattle grazed among the ruins. Then an unexpected visitor knocked on the door of the family home...

But we won't spoil if for you.

Pour yourself a dram as Drew tells John how that chance visit led to the foundation of Lindores Abbey Distillery, rekindling the spirit of 1494, and how in building the new distillery they discovered important archaeological artefacts relating to the earliest days of whisky making in Scotland.

Slàinte!

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Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Follow The Piper on Facebook to keep up to date about tastings and other events

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Even the most popular ones can be hard to get your tongue around. Is it Glenfiddich with an "ick" or with an "itch"? Glenmorangie as in "mow-ran-gee" or "morangie" - like orange with an "M" in front of it?

In last week's episode, John and former Scotland rugby star Chris Cusiter, who's now a whisky importer in LA, discussed how difficult it can be to pronounce the names of some Scotch whiskies.

So we thought we'd put an expert to the test.

Who better, then, than Scotland's Whisky Guru 2024, Gillian Kirkland owner of the award-winning Piper Whisky Bar in Glasgow and the Scottish Bar & Pub Awards Inspirational Woman of the Year 2023?

We've picked 12 whiskies: Laphroaig; Glen Garioch; Dràm Mòr Duich; Bunnahabhain; Glenmorangie; Glenglassaugh; Ledaig; Caol Ila; Torabhaig; Bruichladdich; Allt-A-Bhainne; and Glentauchers.

Can she get them right? Or will she have to take her own advice, and "just point"?

Pour yourself a dram and listen in for some "kks" and "vvs" and "tchs" where you'd least expect them.

Slàinte!

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Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Follow The Piper on Facebook to keep up to date about tastings and other events

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Way out west... California west.

He bought a specialist liquor store in Los Angeles to follow his newfound dream, building bridges between Scotland and California with whisky.

A few years later, after selling his store, Chris became a partner in Alexander Murray & Co importers of Scotch whisky into the United States.

In this episode he talks to John about his love of whisky; the challenges facing the global whisky market; the dangers of "premiumisation" in a market where anything over US$25 is "ultra-premium"; how his sweet tooth draws him to big, heavily sherried whiskies like Glendronach or Glenfarclas; how a thief with "custom-designed trousers" stole thousands of dollars worth of stock from under his nose; the most commonly mispronounced Scotch names; and the best place in the world to drink whisky...

So pour yourself a wee dram and listen in.

Slàinte!

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Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Follow The Piper on Facebook to keep up to date about tastings and other events

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

So much more than just a dram..."

For almost 30 years Robin Laing, "The Whisky Bard", has been trying to capture the "poetic essence" of Scotland's national drink and the world's favourite spirit in his songs and poetry.

His lines above from "More Than Just A Dram" adorn the walls of Clynelish Distillery near Bora in Sutherland.

Robin's a well kent face on the global whisky scene, performing his music at whisky tasings and Burns Nighs across Europe and America. And he's been on the tasting panel of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society for 27 years.

In this episode of Cask to Glass he joins John to discuss his passion for uisge beatha - the water of life - or as he calls it "the cure for which there's no disease"; his love of stories and storytelling; and the whiskies that get his "mojo pumping".

Robin also performs a verse and chorus or two from his song "Building Bridges" and Robert Burns' "Willie Brewed a Peck O Maut".

So pour yourself a wee dram and listen in.

Slàinte!

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Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Follow The Piper on Facebook to keep up to date about tastings and other events

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With seven distilleries already on the island, he says the feeling was “there’s no room for another one.”

Besides he continues: “All these others had this long heritage.”

But Anthony and wife Kathy pressed ahead. And in December 2005 Kilchoman Distillery began production – the first new distillery on “Whisky Isle” in 125 years.

Today there are nine distilleries on Islay and four more on the way.

But Kilchoman stands out because they grow their own barley; malt it themselves; dig their own peat; and when the whisky’s ready, bottle it too… some 600,000 litres a year now. And all on Islay.

In this episode Peter joins John to talk about his family’s distillery; traditional farm distilling; the influence of sea air and peat and yeast; how Sauternes casks produce different flavours from traditional bourbon and sherry barrels; the visitor from Myanmar who knew more about Islay whisky than they did; and much, much more.

Slàinte!

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Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Follow The Piper on Facebook to keep up to date about tastings and other events

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

No we're not talking about the whisky... but the actual glass your whisky's in.

Why?

Well in earlier episodes John heard from Master Blender, Max McFarlane of Ardgowan Distillery, Gary Mills of Loch Lomond Whiskies, and Deanston Whisky Guru of the Year 2024, Gillian Kirkland owner of The Piper Whisky Bar in Glasgow; all three stressed the importance of the right whisky glass for evaluation and optimum appreciation.

And what do they use? The Glencairn Glass.

So who better to speak to than Raymond Davidson founder of Glencairn Crystal and the inventor of the Glencairn Glass, and the renowned whisky writer Charles Maclean, author of multiple books on whisky?

Raymond started Glencairn Crystal in 1981 and released his patented, award-winning Glencairn Glass, with its wide crystal bowl and tapering rim, in 2001. Today Raymond sells over five million Glencairn Glasses around the world every year. No wonder he calls it the "the world's favourite whisky glass".

So join John as Raymond and Charles explain to him how the Glencairn Glass captures a whisky's aromas on the nose to heighten its flavour; what glasses they use for enjoyment; their go to dram for simple pleasure; their thoughts on the future of the global whisky market; how "a half and a half" set them on their whisky journey; and how you can get started on yours...

"Take it to your nose a minimum of five times before you sip it," says Raymond.

"Try it in a cocktail," says Charles.

But be rest assured, because both agree, whisky is an acquired taste. But with hundreds - if not thousands - of whiskies out there, each with a different taste and flavour, there's bound to be one for you.

After all, they concur, "Whisky is so much more than liquor in a bottle."

Slàinte!

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Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Follow The Piper on Facebook to keep up to date about tastings and other events

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Two years later, Gillian turned The Piper into a whisky bar. She knew nothing about whisky, so decided to learn.

And did she!

In 2024 Gillian was crowned Deanston Whisky Guru of the Year at the Scottish Bar & Pub Awards 2024 and The Piper Whisky Bar once again won Benromach Whisky Bar of the Year. An incredible double. And just a year after Gillian had been named Inspirational Woman of the Year at the same awards.

Join John as he speaks to Gillian about her whisky journey from a know-nothing to being able to pick out, not just the obvious flavours in a whisky like vanilla and dark cherries, but obscure flavours like frazzles... yes bacon fries. Find out what whiskies and styles Gillian recommends you try to start your whisky journey, and how she persuades her friends to give whisky a go.

"Whisky's quite tough to get into," Gillian admits. "But give it a chance."

"A lot of people say they don't like whisky," she continues. "I bet they do. They just haven't had a whisky they like."

Slàinte!

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Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Follow The Piper on Facebook to keep up to date about tastings and other events

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

No wonder two of the biggest names in the Scotch whisky industry told Martin McAdam, CEO of Ardgowan Distillery, "Just don't start!" when he first asked them for advice on building a new distillery.

Nestling beneath a volcanic rock near Inverkip on the south bank of the Firth of Clyde on the west coast of Scotland, Martin says Ardgowan is "at the nexus of Highland, Lowland and Island whiskies". Its first mashing is scheduled for March 2025. So we'll have to wait seven or eight years at least before we'll know...

But until then we can always try their award-winning Clydebuilt and Inverdaracht private bottlings, crafted by Ardgowan's Whisky Maker Max McFarlane, former Master Blender and Keeper of the Quaich at Edrington. Max has been shaping the whisky industry since 1974, contributing to iconic brands like The Famous Grouse, Highland Park, and The Glenrothes (producer Holmsey's particular favourite).

Join John as he speaks to Martin and Max about building a new distillery and establishing a brand; their infinity cask and sloping roof; and how they plan to break into a global market.

"Get good product. Get it it out there. Win a few awards. And bang!" says Max.

"Get a new pair of shoes," says Martin; advice he got from The Macallan's legendary Willie Phillips.

Simple really. So could the new, eco-friendly Ardgowan Distillery bring a slice of Speyside to Inverclyde?

Listen to find out.

Slàinte!

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Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios,

Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Strathduie Bar, Black Friars Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join John as he and Master Blender Max McFarlane chat with Loch Lomond Whiskies' Gary Mills about Loch Lomond Distillery's three - or is it four? - very different stills, and the role of the distillery's onsite De-char / Re-char cooperage.

Oh and find out what Tintin - yes Herge's Tintin - has to do with it all.

Visit Loch Lomond Whiskies' online store at www.lochlomondwhiskies.com and get 10% off with our discount code revealed in this episode. Terms and conditions apply*.

Slàinte!

*Terms & Conditions

10% off all Loch Lomond Whiskies products (up to 18 yr old) on Loch Lomond Whiskies site only.

Expiry date: 31 March 2025.

One time use per customer.

This offer can't be combined with any other discount code.

Limited to the first 100 users.

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Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios,

Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Strathduie Bar, Black Friars Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

That’s right. Popcorn.

As the former Keeper of the Quaich at Edrington, Master Blender Max McFarlane has worked with some of the most famous whisky brands in the world, including The Famous Grouse, The Macallan and Highland Park.

He reckons he can persuade anyone to enjoy whisky.

And he says it all comes down to popcorn...

Now with Ardgowan Distillery and the nose behind Ardgowan’s Clydebuilt range of private bottlings, Max explains to John the best way to drink whisky: when to have ice; when to have water; what glass to use; and finally how to nose and sip your dram.

“The sweet receptors are at the front of your tongue,” Max says. “So don’t throw your whisky back. Bring it right round your mouth; bring it to the front of your tongue. Make it almost romantic and let it slip down gently.”

So join John and Max as they celebrate the heritage and flavour of Scotland's national drink and the world's favourite spirit.

Slàinte!

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Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios,

Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Strathduie Bar, Black Friars Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

But why and how do they go together?

In this episode John Beattie speaks to Burns scholar and Scotland’s preeminent political commentator, Brian Taylor, about Burns, his work and legacy, and how whisky is rooted in a place that’s both Scottish and international.

Slàinte!

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Twitter:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Producer: David Holmes

Graphic Design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Strathduie Bar, Black Friars Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

So how does she take a dram? And what does she take?

And if she loves whisky so much, why did Val create a leading character who enjoys gin when she personally hates it?

Join John Beattie as he and Val discuss “morning whiskies”, imposter syndrome and Scotland’s national bard, Robert Burns.

And if you’re new to Scotland’s national drink and want to know where to start, Val has a recommendation.

Slàinte!

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Twitter:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Producer: David Holmes

Graphic Design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Strathduie Bar, Black Friars Street, Glasgow, ScotlandIce is for cocktails..."

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Neat? Splash of water? Block of ice? Or even a mixer?

However you take it, join John Beattie, former Scotland rugby international and semi-retired radio and TV news presenter, as he celebrates the heritage and flavour of Scotland's national drink and the world's favourite spirit.

Whether you call it whisky, whiskey, uisge beatha, aqua vitae, or the water of life... there's a story behind every dram; a craftsman behind every drop; an aroma with every nose; and a flavour in every sip.

This is the spirit of Scotland: distilled in a place; shared around the world.

What makes it so special? Why is it so loved? And who are the people that make it, and the aficionados who drink it?

Join John every Thursday as he explores the alchemy that takes place from cask to glass.

Slàinte!

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Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Producer: David Holmes

Graphic Design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Strathduie Bar, Black Friars Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.