Inside Glasgow Distillery with Sebastian Bunford-Jones
“People make Glasgow” – that’s the slogan the city of Glasgow selected to show that Glasgow is so much more than what you can see from the outside. And one could argue the same is true for Glasgow Distillery; a distillery totally different from many of those long-established ones you will find all over Scotland – a more modern one, aquite small one, maybe a more industrial one but with a wonderful charm because of so many people who love what they’re doing, who put their hearts into making their single malt, who make this place what it is and who fill it with life: “People make Glasgow Distillery”. One of those people who make Glasgow Distillery is Sebastian Bunford-Jones, their head of marketing, who Miri and Manu met for a chat in the distillery’s beautiful, but to date largely unused tasting room (due to the fact that the distillery is not open to the public as of now). Apart from working at Glasgow Distillery for about 8 years now, Sebastian is a real whisky enthusiast and that’s also why he is already excited to showcase Glasgow Distillery’s first 10-year-old whisky later this year, the journey of which he has accompanied almost from the get-go.Listen in and discover why Glasgow is the place to be when it comes to producing single malt whisky these days. Throughout the episode, get to know Sebastian and the distillery’s special approach to making whisky. And last but not least, find out about how their beautiful tasting room, the place of recording, might be filled with life in the nearer future.
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33:21
Inside The Old Bushmills Distillery with Julie Dixon
Up there in Northern Ireland in the picturesque village of Bushmills and almost directly next to the Giant’s Causeway, you will find The Old Bushmills Distillery, the world's oldest licensed whiskey distillery. And it is certainly no coincidence that the people up there often say that “without the village there would be no whiskey, and without the whiskey there would be no village”.Why that is the case, you might ask – and in steps Julie Dixon.Julie was introduced to us as “the good soul of The Old Bushmills Distillery and an Irish original”, and luckily, she took some time to record this brand new episode in situ.Get to know what happens behind the scenes up there in the small village of Bushmills and listen to Julie’s lovely anecdotes brought to you straight from The Old Bushmills Distillery. Find out about the distillery’s long and eventful past, its promising present and about how the people up there are trying to make sure that Bushmills is well-prepared for the future.We’re sure you will enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed recording it – Julie’s warm-hearted character, her hospitality and her passion for Bushmills make this episode one not to be missed.
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47:39
Inside Springbank 2024 with Findlay Ross
The “Barley to Bottle” tour at Springbank Distillery is probably one of the best experiences you can have when you’re passionate about whisky. It’s an extensive access-all-areas tour and tasting which culminates in having the chance to blend one’s very own bottle of Springbank in their blending lab. “Why are you telling us all of that?”, you might ask. Well, because it is just another thing that makes Springbank Springbank and truly special. Additionally, said blending lab was the place of recording for this very episode. After having done the “Barley to Bottle” tour the day prior (of course), we came back to meet Findlay Ross, Springbank’s director of production and a true professional when it comes to creating whiskies, at the very place of our own amateur attempts of blending a nice bottle of Springbank.After having recorded a Springbank episode with Nicole Lindsay about three years ago, it was about time for a little update and we had a great time discussing all things Springbank once more, this time with the wonderful Findlay Ross. Find out about the last remaining secrets of Springbank Distillery, about Findlay’s rather unconventional path to becoming their director of production and about Findlay’s take on the term “Campbeltown funk”.Last but not least we have to say that we are really happy that Findlay is so much better at making whisky and recording podcasts than his New York Giants are at playing American Football at the moment – but let’s not get into that… (just listen until the very end).
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45:28
Inside Jura Distillery with Kirsty Wright
There are probably not too many places in Europe that one would label as “extremely un-get-at-able” – but that’s exactly how George Orwell once described the Isle of Jura when he spent several years there in the late 1940s to write his masterpiece and final work, 1984.During his time there, Orwell unfortunately did not have the pleasure to enjoy Jura whisky because the distillery fell silent in the early 1900s. It was not until the 1950s that it was rebuilt and expanded. The work was finally finished in 1963 and Jura Distillery has been up and running ever since.But who are we to tell you all that? There are people who know so much more about Jura Distillery and its history than we do.One of them is Kirsty Wright, Jura’s new brand home manager, who luckily took some time to record a podcast episode with us – as usual – in situ, on the beautiful and quite un-get-at-able Isle of Jura. It was just wonderful to experience how passionate Kirsty is about the distillery and the island itself. We had a great time recording this episode with her and roaming the grounds of the distillery.Listen in and get to know JURA from a totally new PERSPECTIVE (No. 01). Learn about how the team on the island and the distillery owners, Whyte and Mackay, are trying to make sure that Jura Distillery is well-prepared for the future without ever forgetting its roots. This new perspective we’ve mentioned above is a perfect example to showcase just that.
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41:34
Inside Pōkeno Distillery with Matt Johns
Almost 20.000km from home – quite the distance to record a podcast in situ, don’t you think?! Well, we did it anyway… We travelled halfway around the globe to meet up with Matt Johns of Pōkeno Whisky in New Zealand to record this episode.Matt founded Pōkeno Distillery together with his wife Celine as a “passion project” just about an hour south auf Auckland in the small village of Pōkeno, to craft “one of the world’s greatest single malts”. Pōkeno is another one of those aspiring and innovative New World Distilleries, and to quote Matt, they completely “threw the rulebook out […] to make a true New Zealand whisky”. With his approach, Matt didn’t want to be inspired by the past too much, but for him it was more about building their own story from the day they decided to start Pōkeno Distillery and onwards.Sit down, pour a dram and join us for some fascinating stories from the other side of the world. Learn about the challenges of starting a distillery in a country where native, endemic timber exists aplenty but coopers are scarce and where a copper work industry is basically non-existent. Find out about what makes Pōkeno Whisky unique and enjoy this episode straight from the Southern Hemisphere. You surely won’t regret it.
Scotland and whisky go together like fish and chips, biscuits and tea or gin and tonic.
On "Inside Whisky - The Barrel Talk" we talk to people working in the whisky industry and listen to their stories - may they be about whisky, their lives or the places they live in.
Our podcast might be a bit geeky from time to time but whisky beginners will also find joy when listening to The Barrel Talk.
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