Cask to Glass

Go behind the scenes of Douglas Laing & Co. with Fred and Cara Laing as they share 75 years of whisky history, blending secrets, and a few drams along the way. As third and second-generation leads of one of Scotland's most respected independent bottlers and blenders, they bring a wealth of history, humour, and heart to the table.“Fred’s practically kicking me under the table,” complains Cara Laing, the Managing Director of Douglas Laing & Company, the family-owned independent bottlers and blenders based in Glasgow.Cara’s the third generation of her family to work for the company founded by her grandfather Fred Douglas Laing in 1948.You could say whisky’s in her blood.“I live and breathe and love Scotch whisky and I cannot imagine working in anything else,” she says.Cara and her dad Fred are sitting side beside in their Sample Room, which Fred likens to a “1930s New York speakeasy”. But Cara’s just made the mistake of admitting that some "professional people” have dubbed Douglas Laing “entrepreneurial chancers”.“In a good way,” she tries to placate Fred.Established in the aftermath of the Second World War when Fred Sr, or FDL, purchased the King of Scots whisky brand and a few casks of blended whisky for a peppercorn fee, Douglas Laing has had to be “agile” and “quick to respond and react” to changing fortunes in the whisky market.Like now.“It’s really tough just now,” Cara admits. “There’s been a huge reset after Covid. We saw a lot of false high; essentially people at home, drinking at home, investing in whisky. It meant some of the bigger companies felt that would continue, flooded the markets around the world with Scotch whisky.“Consumer, confidence, understandably, against the global backdrop, has taken a huge hit. So people aren’t buying whisky at the same level they were. They’ve traded down.”“Fair to say,” says Fred, “I’ve been through a few recessions since I joined the whisky industry in 1968. And I’ve never felt one as bad as this.“We used to have a compensating market. If the Far East was down, Europe was up, or South America was percolating nicely, particularly through markets like Brazil and Venezuela.“There are currently no compensating markets.“We’ve just got to strive and work; blood, sweat and tears.“It’s not so bad if you’ve always got a back up of a glass in your hand, but it’s a tough show out there, undoubtedly.”That’s where Douglas Laing’s entrepreneurial spirit and agility come in.They’ve just launched a new RTD or ready to drink cocktail onto the Japanese market: Big Peat Crazy Smoky highball in a can.“That’s something we previously wouldn’t have really played with,” Cara admits. “It’s been a real baby for Fred.”Douglas Laing’s new RTD sits alongside the company’s traditional bottlings; its traditional cask strength, Old Particular and Xtra Old Particular single cask bottlings; its regional malts like Big Peat from Islay, Scallywag from Speyside and Timorous Beastie from the Highlands region.Join John as he chats to Cara and Fred about:➡️The heritage and origins of Douglas Laing & Co, from its post-WWII beginnings to global reach➡️The art of blending and the secrets behind Douglas Laing’ iconic regional malts➡️The future of Scotch: navigating market challenges and the rise of RTDs in Japan➡️How to start your own whisky journey if you haven’t already➡️And a love for Scotland#Whisky #ScotchWhisky #DouglasLaing #CaskToGlass #BigPeat #Speyside #HighlandMalt #WhiskyPodcast #IndependentBottlerSlàinte!-------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 should be fun, declares Dawn Davies, outgoing commercial buying director for global whisky retailer The Whisky Exchange.She wants to shatter many of the myths around whisky. Like you can't mix Lagavulin with Coca-Cola. She calls it the "smoky cokey". And "it's absolutely delicious," she says.Then there's the "geeky" stuff."I'm a fermentation geek through and through," she admits, because different yeasts create different flavours. Before that there's the grain: barley, corn or rye... etc. Each gives a different flavour.Then there's the type of still that's used to create the new spirit.And finally the oak."I could talk about oak for at least an hour and a half, minimum," Dawn gushes. "You get so much flavour from the oak. And it's not just about the wood giving the flavour, or what was in the wood before. It's also the interaction of oxygen on the alcohols, which gives you all these incredible characters and wood changes so much."Knowing about the geeky, technical side of whisky production, Dawn insists, can help you understand what whiskies you might like.So settle in for an unconventional take on what makes whisky great from a true whisky aficionado who "thinks about booze all the time".Join John and Dawn as they discuss:➡️Dawn's journey from wine lover to whisky expert.➡️The unsung heroes of flavour: Yeast and Fermentation.➡️How different still shapes and oak types define your dram.➡️The rise of global whisky and what to watch next.➡️Breaking the rules: Whisky cocktails, ice, and pairing with food.➡️How to bring the next generation of drinkers into the category.Whether you're a seasoned whisky drinker or just starting your journey, this conversation is packed with insights to help you understand and enjoy whisky even more.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

Ever wondered what it actually takes to break into the whisky industry?John sits down with recruitment specialist Nicola McRedmond, founder of DrinkAbility, to discover the hidden roadmap for your career. From mastering the art of networking to the specific roles in high demand right now, this is your blueprint for landing your dream job in spirits.In this conversation with Nicola, we dive deep into the current state of the whisky job market. From the shifting roles of brand ambassadors to the "incestuous" nature of industry hiring, Nicola shares expert advice on how to stand out and build a career in the world of spirits.Whether you're looking to break into the industry or want to understand the business case for diversity and inclusion in whisky industry, this episode offers a candid look at the people behind the bottles.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

Step into "Scotland's greatest story" and discover one of the 7 Wonders of the Scotch Whisky World - the Diageo Claive Vidiz Scotch Whisky Collection - curtesy of Susan Morrison, CEO of the Scotch Whisky Experience in Edinburgh.Let Susan "dram you" into discovering whisky for the first time or into expanding your whisky journey no matter how experienced you are.Over nearly 40 years the Scotch Whisky Experience, located at the top of Castle Hill right next to Edinburgh's iconic Castle, has played host to over nine million visitors from around the world.Its centrepiece is the legendary Claive Vidiz whisky collection - 3,384 bottles of Scotch whisky amassed by, and named after, the Brazilian businessman and whisky enthusiast.Ranging from the most humble supermarket blends to the rarest single malts ever produced, this priceless collection was once the Guinness Book of Records' largest collection of unopened whisky bottles in the world.The recipient of the 2024 Dr Jim Swan Award for Services to Scotch Whisky, Susan began working at the Scotch Whisky Experience as a university student when it first opened in 1988.Now the Experience's CEO, Susan's the perfect guide to take you on a celebration of Scotland's national drink and the world's favourite spirit.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

How do you market whisky in the 21st century? Or as ex-Diageo marketing guru, Nick Morgan, puts it: How do you get "liquid on lips"? A Keeper of the Quaich and the 48th inductee in the Whisky Hall of Fame, Nick's written the definitive history of Johnnie Walker, the best-selling Scotch whisky in the world: Johnnie Walkder: A Long Stride - The Story of the World's No 1 Scotch Whisky.Red label. Black label. Blue label. Green label. Gold label...For over 200 years Johnnie Walker blended Scotch whisky has been the world's leading whisky brand recognised and enjoyed in over 180 countries. And, as Nick explains, for over a hundred years, Johnnie Walker has stuck to one abiding image and message: the Striding Man.In this episode, Nick explains what works and what doesn't work when it comes to marketing whisky. As a historian, Nick's studied whisky marketing techniques from the late 19th and early 20th century: "There was a lot of marketing [then]. People didn't call it that, but my goodness me, they were doing marketing of the most brilliant kind, some of the early brand owners, big brand owners."I think one of the things then was that everyone really understood their product. They really understood what they were selling. They understood the whole whiskey thing."So join John as he and Nick discuss what works and what doesn't when it comes to marketing whisky; and what some of the new distilleries are getting right and wrong.Discover how sherry had an impact on the explosion of the whisky market in the mid- to late-19th century beyond providing casks.And learn how the prohibition movement in the UK between 1900 and 1935 led to an 80% fall in the consumption of spirits - most of it whisky - and how the how industry found new global markets.Could this provide a template out of the current slump in whisky sales. As Nick puts it, perhaps "some of the new market [for whisky sales] are talking to new consumers in old markets and finding relevant ways of talking to them."Slàinte!#whisky #podcast #interview #WhiskyMarketing #scotchwhisky #NickMorgan #CaskToGlass #johnniewalker-------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

Is whisky ownership the ultimate tangible asset?In this episode of Cask to Glass, we go behind the scenes of the whisky industry with Russell Spratley and Ross Archer from Spiritfilled. From their roots in finance to launching an award-winning independent bottling brand and an HMRC-approved bond, they share what it really takes to navigate the world of casks.We dive deep into:• The reality of whisky as a tangible asset vs. a financial instrument.• How the Braeside Bond is creating a new standard for transparency and "experience-led" storage.• The revolutionary NEOC (New Era of Cask) process that is transforming how spirits are finished.• How Scottish rugby legend Finn Russell became the face of their brand.• The current state of the global whisky market and why "time" is the most valuable ingredient.Whether you're a seasoned collector or just curious about owning your first cask, this conversation offers a rare, honest look at the craft and business of Scotch 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

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