Mitch takes Not Another Whisky Podcast on the road for a live recording at Speyburn, joined by distillery manager Euan Henderson and head of whisky creation Sarah Burgess—two people quietly shaping one of Speyside’s most underrated distilleries.
They dig into Speyburn’s “hidden gem” reputation, what’s changed with the new visitor centre, and how the team balances consistency in new make with the creative chaos of building a modern whisky portfolio.
There’s proper whisky chat too—none of that vague “notes of happiness” nonsense. The lineup starts with the Speyburn 10 Year Old (refill ex-bourbon, 40%), before moving through the range, touching on the 15 and 18 with their increasing sherry influence, plus experiments with rum casks and the slightly geeky (but very cool) world of dechar/rechar cask rejuvenation.
Euan breaks down the distillery’s unusual setup—worm tubs, mixed condensers, and a blend of wooden and stainless steel washbacks—and how those choices shape Speyburn’s crisp, green-apple-driven spirit. There’s also a look at real-world challenges, including water supply issues that actually forced production cuts (because whisky isn’t always as romantic as we pretend it is).
They nose fresh, fruity new make, chat about early peated runs now quietly maturing away, and then… land on something ridiculous:
A 1975 vintage (53.4%), distilled in 1975 and re-vatted in 2017 into sherry-seasoned European oak butts—packed with rich, balanced old-whisky character and, somehow, still talked about as “good value” (which feels illegal).
It’s part distillery deep-dive, part live tasting, part organised chaos—with a proper crowd in the room.
00:00 Welcome & warm-up
00:40 Meet the hosts
02:10 Speyburn: the “hidden gem” conversation
04:07 Who actually does what behind the whisky
08:03 First dram: Speyburn 10
09:12 Range breakdown & cask strategy
12:04 Distillery DNA explained
15:15 Inside Speyburn
16:18 Worm tubs, condensers & water realities
17:18 Drum maltings heritage
18:45 Old stock & shifting flavour profiles
19:56 Expansion vs consistency
20:47 Life as a distillery manager
22:05 Sustainability & water challenges
24:48 New make: green apple and freshness
26:19 Peated experiments & terroir chat
28:51 The 1975 edition story
31:06 Tasting notes & balance
33:46 Age vs flavour debate
36:24 Audience Q&A & wrap
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