Whisky Stories Podcast

Mike McGinty is the Brand Home Manager for John Dewars & Sons. That means a big part of his job is to take people to the distilleries owned by Dewars and tell them the amazing stories about them.
Aberfeldy, Aultmore, Craigallachie, Macduff, and Royal Brackla all fall under his remit. And in this episode he told us the stories behind them all.
Why is Dewars so popular in America? Mike explained how a gift to an American President helped create that popularity.
What makes Dewars Double Double so special?
What distillery has the kinkiest lyne arms?
Mike has so many amazing and fun whisky stories, this was a classic night in the Diggers Cellar enjoying drams and great whisky chat.

We've all seen the labels on bottles and seen brands promoting that they are finalists or winners of whisky awards. But what does that actually mean? And what goes into winning a whisky award?
John Boyle is the man who's job it is to start putting the Scottish Whisky Awards together each year. Getting brands to submit entries, bringing in sponsors, and putting on a MASSIVE tasting session for judges.
This was a great insight into the work that goes into the Scottish Whisky Awards.

What is it that makes Tamnavulin so popular?
To celebrate 60 years of the distillery, we held a birthday party for Tamnavulin and got to try some incredible whisky.
Whisky Maker Kirsty Hodge and Distillery Manager Trevor Milne came down to Diggers Leith for the party and brought along some whisky goodies.
It's not every day you get to try 50. year old whisky, so the final dram of the night was a real treat. But it was the 16 year old sample from what could be something to look forward to in the future that stole the show.
There's so much in this episode to unpack and enjoy.

What does working in an Edinburgh City Centre whisky shop teach you about whisky?
David Agnew is the Manager of The Whisky Shop on Multrees Walk in Edinburgh City Centre. He's also the man who first started teaching Ross Barr about whisky.
This turned into one of my favourite nights recording. David has his own unique way when it comes to talking about whisky. He's seen the trends of new distilleries and launches, to popular styles and flavours, and he's seen the changes in prices and consumer behaviour.
This was a lot of fun to record and there's some great dram chat in this.

I love listening to Alex Thomson talking about history, whisky, and Scottish Hospitality.
And there's plenty of that on this episode.
Since the last time Alex was on the podcast he's since left his role at Glenturret and has set up his own business with a focus on delivering authentic Scottish experiences with a focus on the Perthshire area.
Alex has plenty of amazing whisky stories and is also a member of the Athol Highlanders which is a private Scottish army.
It was great catching up with him again.