Cask to Glass

• The Accidental Bottlists: Phil & Simon Thompson of Dornoch Distillery

  "You have to offer value at every level" declares Simon Thompson, one half of Thompson Brothers distillers, independent bottlers and founders of Dornoch Distillery, in Dornoch in the north of Scotland, deep in the heart of the Highlands.That's why he and brother Phil are always trying to work out what they "can get away with" at the "lower end" of the price spectrum, because Phil says, "You want to sell out and turn over quickly."Phil and Simon also own Dornoch Castle Hotel. The hotel has been in the Thompson family for 25 years, and that's where their whisky journey really began."Back in the day," Simon explains, "we used to run the family hotel whisky bar. That led to us kind of taking on whisky as a bit of a hobby. We would end up taking it a little bit too seriously; start collecting; start falling in love with older styles of whisky; start going to live auctions, picking up bottles for ourselves and for our bar."In this episode, Simon and Phil tell John how their hobby quickly led them to research older styles of whisky "trying ot figure out where certain flavours and intensities of flavours that existed in older bottles" came from. They began "reverse engineering old style whisky which then eventually turned into some practical experimentatation, which turned into building a tiny, baby distillery."At Dornoch Distillery, Phil continues, "we probably have deliberately the most expensive cost of production - even if you're to ignore the small scale."They only use "heritage varieties" of barely that were in use before the 1960s; brewing strains of yeast instead of modern distillers' yeast; extra long fermentation - "seven days as standard"; and manual cut points."We make our cut points based on the sense of smell, sense of taste by whoever's rolling the stills on that particular day," Simon says."It allows them," Phil interjects, "to kind of slow down and speed up where required when it's coming towards the cut point.""Basically everything's geared towards maximising old style quality at great expense of materials, time and lower yield. So yeah, it's one extreme, probably not a scalable model," Simon continues.The brothers are now building a new distillery - Struie Distillery - which aims to be 100 percent electrified and completely fossil fuel free.Where "Dornoch is no holds barred;whatever it takes," Simon says, "Struie is trying to find those sweet spots between old style production and modern production.""We just need to pay for it," Phil concludes.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, ScotlandSpecial thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• A Hauf an' a Hauf: Scott Sneddon from InchDairnie Distillery

  "I'm very fluid with how I take my whisky," admits Scott Sneddon, the Managing Director of InchDairnie Distillery in Fife in this episode of Cask to Glass. So neat; a little bit of water; some ice; or even as a cocktail.But, Scott also continues, "I'm very very old fashioned. I like a hauf an' a hauf. So I always like to have a beer and whisky at the same time. So it really depends on what beer I've got in my other hand in how I take my whisky."A beer and a whisky. A half and a half. Or in Scott's Scots venacular, a hauf an' a hauf. It's a traditional way of drinking whisky in many parts of Scotland: a wee dram and half a pint of beer; but perhaps out of fashion now.Yet, Scott says, InchDairnie isn't an entirely traditional Scotch whisky distillery. Yes they malt the grain. Yes they double distill And yes they mature their spirit in oak barrels.But they deviate too."We don't have a traditional mash tun that all the industry have.," Scott explains. "We're one of only two in Scotland that has a mash filter. And that's important becaus a mash filter enables you to process grains that would otherwise be quite difficult to process in a traditional distillery."Grain like rye for example; malted of course; matured for five years in virgin American oak barrels sourced from forests in Orzak or the Appalachians. "But," Scott adds, "for the second distillation, we used a Lomond still. And a Lomond still is a pot still with a column still in the neck. And what that gave is a very very light spirit, very flavourful as well."This is InchDairnie's Ryelaw."To look forward, sometimes you have to look backwards," Scott explains. "So there's records from the 1908 Royal Commission and within those records it details what grains were being used in distilling at the the time, and one of them was rye. But there is no definition of rye whisky in Scotland. The regs don't allow it."Perhaps Ryelaw epitomises InchDairnie's vision. As Scott explains: "The company is basically built on tradition but it's been powered by innovation."Join John as he chats to Scott about the synergy between the old and the new; InchDairnie's other labels (including KinGlassie Raw and KinGlassie Double Matured); the company's 3Ms philosophy (material, method and maturation); and how Fife's five modern distilleries are putting a the region on the whisky map.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, ScotlandSpecial thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• Cask 'n' Time: Russell Bradley from One Cask at a Time

  "Whisky is distilled and matured to be enjoyed," declares Russell Bradley, Head of Brand Development at newly launched independent bottlers One Cask at a Time."But," he adds, "people buy with their eyes."So the look and the packaging is his starting point. Then it's down to great whisky to follow through on the image."I originally came from graphic design. That's what I studied," he tells John in this episode. "I then got into the design world; into print and packaging, which in central Scotland essentially leads you into the spirits and whisky world."But, Russell continues, "for me, the most important thing is the liquid.""We only bottle single casks," Russell says. "We bottle everything at cask strength, natural colour, exactly as it should be."So he seeks out great casks with great whiskies to make up One Cask at a Time's three series: Chronograph, Pendulum and Grandfather, named after time pieces "because time is arguably the most important ingredient in Scotch whisky.""As an independent bottler," Russell explains, "we can select from any distillery from any region within Scotland."But, he says, he's looking for is that one cask which will "showcase our brand as well as the distillery." Distilleries like Ben Nevis, Glentauchers, Auchentoshan, Ledaig, Aultmore and Highland Park.Each bottle contains a "digital passport" embedded in the neck that allows owners to track their bottle's provenance, cask history and tasting notes on their smartphones It's a way of "bridging tradition with technology."So tune in to John's conversation with Russell, recorded on the eve of company's launch at the start of September.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, ScotlandSpecial thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• Safe Space Whisky with Kristiane Westray

  "Whisky is for everyone," declares Kristiane Westray, whisky writer, educator and judge. Her book Savour: A guide to tasting and exploring whiskies of the world, published by Bloomsbury, is out next month.But, Kristiane continues, there's still a misogyny around whisky. "I want to invite people into the whisky industry, but I do sometimes worry that I'm inviting people - particularly under-represented groups - into a space that might not be entirely safe for them.""I think everywhere there's misogyny," she tells John in this episode. "I think in male dominated industries especially there's misogyny. And I think in whisky, you have that, but you also have the layer of alcohol on top of it, which unfortunately, and it shouldn't do, can mean that filters come off or people behave in ways that they shouldn't because they are drunk or feel enabled in some other way".As a 37-year-old, openly gay woman, Kristiane says she has "a much easier time of it of late. But," she continues, "younger women in the industry who are maybe brand ambassadors, who are on the front line of events, or other writers will tell me stories of being harassed, being groped and all of this stuff, and I'm like 'No. We need to as an industry collectively work much harder at this.""It's horrible to say," Kristiane adds, "because I want to invite more women in and more non-binary people, more people from different ethnicities, more working class people..."That's why she's an advocate of "safe space whisky places" and greater diversity in the industry.But how did Kristiane get into the industry?"I was writing for a travel and retail magazine and I wanted to be a fashion and beauty journailst.That was the dream. And I remember my editor saying, 'You've got to go off to Sweden to cover the the Viking Line Whisky Fair.'"I was 24 and I was like, 'I don't like whisky. It's going to be full of drunk men' (which it was), but I had to go... and I tasted whisky for the first time and I fell in love with it."In this episode Kristiane tells John about her whisky journey. They discuss the different marketing strategies adopted by Johnnie Walker with Sabrina Carpenter and Glenmorangie with Harrison Ford; how you can improve your olfactory skills to appreciate whisky better; and how enjoying whisky is a "mix of art, science and storytelling."So pour yourself a dram - as it comes, or with ice or with water, or - as Kristiane recommends - ginger ale or soda or any other mixer - and tune in. After all, whisky is for everyone!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, ScotlandSpecial thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• Here's A Deal: Scottish First Minister John Swinney on talks with US President Donald J Trump

  Could Scotch whisky be exempted from US tariffs?In this episode, after his whirlwind visit last week to meet US President Donald J Trump at the White House, Scotland's First Minister John Swinney joins John Beattie to discuss the prospects of a deal on US tariffs on Scotch whisky.Ten percent US tariffs are costing the Scotch whisky industry £4 million a week, Mr Swinney says.But Scotland, he adds, imports $300 million worth of Kentucky bourbon barrels every year. And tariffs are having an impact on that trade too."I'd also had the fortunate position to meet with one of the cask producers in Kentucky before I met Mr Trump," Mr Swinney explains. "And he was telling me that he was already having orders cancelled from Scottish distilleries. So the real life effect of the tariffs is having an effect in America already."It's a story that's been picked up by The New York Times, which reported on 15 September 2025 that "if 10 percent tariffs persist, the United States will lose 3,300 jobs and the US hospitality industry would lose $300 million according to the Distilled Spirits Council [of the United States]."One of the Scottish distilleries The Times mentioned was Kilchoman Distillery on Islay (featured in Episode 8), which imports 60 percent of its barrels from Kentucky.So a deal, Mr Swinney says, would be "a win-win": "It's also not a deal that causes any other collateral implications because Scotch whisky can only be produced in Scotland. Kentucky bourbon can only be produced in Kentucky. So there's no transfer of trade that can be involved. But there is an economic benefit for both sides of the pond if we get this right."But what was it like pitching a proposal to the most powerful man on the planet in the most well-known office in the world?"I had to know my onions about my proposal because he was questioning me. It was a questioning experience."But in essence, Mr Swinney says, "I was saying, 'Here's a deal which will benefit the Scotch whisky industry, yes, but it'll also benefit the distilling industry in the United States'."So will there be a deal?"I think there's an attractive proposition there. The question is, will we pull it off? And well, we'll get an answer to that in due course."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, ScotlandSpecial thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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