Cask to Glass

What does a 6,000-mile journey from Africa to a Scottish distillery have to do with a rare 30-year-old whisky? John Johnstone shares "The Swallows' Tale", a story of family legacy, natural cycles, and the spirit of Glenkinchie Distillery.From his roots in the mining community of Tranent to his transition from engineering into the heart of the whisky industry, John shares a deeply personal look at the people and history behind the "Lowland Legend."We dive into the arrival of the swallows at the distillery, the craftsmanship behind the legendary 30-year-old release, and how sharing a dram at the visitor center has a unique way of restoring faith in humanity.Slàinte!-------Socials: @C2GWhisky | @JohnRossBeattie Creator & producer: David HolmesArt work & design: Jess Robertson Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)Vocals: Andrea CunninghamGuitars: John BeattieBass: Alasdair VannDrums: Alan HamiltonBagpipes: Calum McCollAccordion: Gary InnesMusic & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John BeattieRecorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

There are a lot of supposed "rules" when it comes to whisky. But for Ann Miller "rules are meant to be broken". AKA The Dram Queen, Ann's been demystifying the flavour and vocabulary of whisky for years, from explaining how a drop of water unlocks the taste of a dram to explaining the science of what goes on in the cask.In this episode of Cask to Glass, John Beattie chats to one of Scotland’s most esteemed whisky educators.With a career spanning from the Scotch Whisky Experience in the 1980s to Chivas Brothers, Ann shares her deep expertise on the heritage, science, and evolving landscape of Scotland's national drink. We dive into the fascinating chemical reaction that occurs when adding water to whisky, the rise of non-age statement expressions, and the innovative cask finishes shaping the market today.Ann also reveals her "Desert Island" whiskies and provides professional tips on how to truly assess and savour a high-end dram. Whether you’re a seasoned connoisseur or just beginning your whisky journey, this conversation is packed with insights to help you appreciate the "water of life" on your own terms.#whisky #scotchwhisky #podcast #DramQueen #WhiskyTasting #CaskToGlass #Speyside #singlemaltscotch Slàinte!-------Socials: @C2GWhisky | @JohnRossBeattie Creator & producer: David HolmesArt work & design: Jess Robertson Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)Vocals: Andrea CunninghamGuitars: John BeattieBass: Alasdair VannDrums: Alan HamiltonBagpipes: Calum McCollAccordion: Gary InnesMusic & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John BeattieRecorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Would you pay £9,000 for a single nip of whisky?Today, we’re inside the legendary Fife Arms Hotel in Braemar, home to one of the world's most exclusive whisky libraries as John Beattie chats to Tom Addy about a whisky distilled in 1833 that was hidden behind a cellar wall for decades.What was his sales pitch to Jimmy Fallon? And did it work?Slàinte!-------Socials: @C2GWhisky | @JohnRossBeattie Creator & producer: David HolmesArt work & design: Jess Robertson Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)Vocals: Andrea CunninghamGuitars: John BeattieBass: Alasdair VannDrums: Alan HamiltonBagpipes: Calum McCollAccordion: Gary InnesMusic & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John BeattieRecorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

“If you’re looking to get a quick return on your investment, you don’t do whisky,” chuckles Angus MacMillan founder of Benbecula Distillery."You don’t do salmon farming either, because that I took from egg through to plate,” he says of a previous business venture. “So I'm a bit of glutton for punishment on these things.”Angus joins John in the first week of May from Benbecula, a small island in the Outer Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland, “on a beautiful sunny day.” The Scotch whisky industry has just learned that President Donald Trump is going to abolish tariffs on Scotch whisky imported into the United States, making the outlook even sunnier.“Spring has sprung,” Angus enthuses, “and moving on to summer. So we’re now looking forward to a really busy season ahead of us.”It’s almost two years to the day since Benbecula Distillery, one of the newest in Scotland, first started producing new spirit. It’s been an eight-year journey already and it’ll be another three years before the first whisky is released. But Angus admits he’s like “an excited parent” as he shows off a sample of his early spirit.“I’m not sure if you can see the colour, but it’s starting to take colour. This is cask number six. Pedro Ximénez. This is at 66 percent. And I’m getting all the flavours that I’m really delighted to experience.“There’s a saltiness. There’s the fruitiness. There’s some of the heather infused peaty taste. And the texture is smooth.”Angus can’t call it whisky yet. He’s not allowed to until it’s been in a cask for three years.But he can’t help himself: “Yeah the whisky there after two years, John, is everything that I would expect and want it to be. And can’t wait, obviously, until it’s a single malt as five-year-old being bottled in year six is probably what we’re waiting for. So three years to wait, but I would drink that as it is.”A proud Outer Hebridean, native Gaelic speaker and entrepreneur, Angus began pulling his business plan together in 2018.However, inspiration for the distillery came in 2012 shortly after he sold his salmon farming business, which had employed between 75 and 80 people throughout the Western Isles.He’d kept the processing plant in Gramsdale. But the jobs had gone. “I thought right,” he recalls, “what’s going to happen to this? These jobs can’t just be allowed to disappear.“So I was on a tour to Orkney and I walked into Highland Park, and the archway as you walk in there said, ‘Established 1798’ and that really hit a chord for me and I said: ‘My goodness, if you’re looking at a project that can provide population retention and jobs and families and everything else, then this has got to be it.’“There are not many opportunities, but you know we have water and we have barley because actually in Gaelic Uist is called Eilean an Eòrna, which is Island of the Barley. So then the only other ingredient in making whisky is yeast.“So water, barley and yeast.”But that's only part of the story of Benbecula Distillery as far Angus is concerned. There are two other essentials: place and people. And place and people, he argues, separates Benbecula Distillery from the what you get on the A9 with Speyside distilleries."You know," he says, "you wouldn't from the outside say right I'm going to put a distillery on Raasay" - a distillery he very much admires and wants to emulate - "you wouldn't say I'm going to put a distillery on Benbecula, far from the market, far from travel. But the upside is the story."Join John for the story of Benbecula Distillery: the place and the people. And soon the whisky...Slàinte!-------Socials: @C2GWhisky | @JohnRossBeattie Creator & producer: David HolmesArt work & design: Jess Robertson Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)Vocals: Andrea CunninghamGuitars: John BeattieBass: Alasdair VannDrums: Alan HamiltonBagpipes: Calum McCollAccordion: Gary InnesMusic & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John BeattieRecorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

"Whisky is for stories. Tequila is for jail,” jokes Chris Greta a Texan story hunter and advertising copywriter, who travels the world helping distilleries look past the stills and mash tuns to find the magic, whether it’s in people, the place, the birds, the trees, and the rivers.Chris doesn't just look for tasting notes; he looks for the “Capo d’ Astro bat", that hidden, unique detail that makes a distillery truly special. Whether it's an "inconvenient" distillery at the southern tip of the world, a rock that becomes a holy object, or the legendary "resistance cognac" hidden from the Nazis, Chris shares why the magic of whisky lies far beyond the machinery and process.In this episode, we explore:➡️ The Inconvenient Distillery: How making a weakness your biggest strength can create a powerful brand.➡️The "Whisky Stone": Why the water at McHenry Distillery is like a "vitamin for yeast."➡️ Belgrove’s "Holy St":** The incredible story of Peter Bignell and his homemade, sheep-dung-powered stills.➡️ Tasting History: Chris’s time in Scotland and the discovery of pre-war cognac.➡️ Selling the Sizzle: Why whisky companies often miss the most interesting parts of their own stories.Slàinte!-------Socials: @C2GWhisky | @JohnRossBeattie Creator & producer: David HolmesArt work & design: Jess Robertson Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)Vocals: Andrea CunninghamGuitars: John BeattieBass: Alasdair VannDrums: Alan HamiltonBagpipes: Calum McCollAccordion: Gary InnesMusic & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John BeattieRecorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Founding US President George Washington once said alcohol was a business for "scoundrels." So how'd he end up owning the largest whiskey distillery in the United States?Cue James Anderson, a Scottish farmer and 18th century expat.Join Scottish artist Ian Gray as he takes the whisk(e)y trail from Mount Vernon to Louisville; Lynchburg to Islay; Speyside to Shimamoto.Slàinte!-------Socials: @C2GWhisky | @JohnRossBeattie Creator & producer: David HolmesArt work & design: Jess Robertson Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)Vocals: Andrea CunninghamGuitars: John BeattieBass: Alasdair VannDrums: Alan HamiltonBagpipes: Calum McCollAccordion: Gary InnesMusic & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John BeattieRecorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland