Not Another Whisky Podcast

Daz and Mitch are back—slightly dusty, fully loaded with stories, and picking up where they left off.

They kick things off by chatting about the now-legendary two-part Thomson Brothers live episodes (and the ongoing failure to actually sit down and have a proper dram with them like normal human beings).

Then it takes a turn… Mitch’s back garden goes full disaster movie. A neighbour’s shed fire spreads, wipes out half his own setup, melts the hot tub (yes, melted), and leaves about £10k worth of gear gone. It’s equal parts chaos and a public service announcement: check your insurance before your hot tub becomes modern art.
From there, it’s straight back into work mode—hosting guests around Speyside and running Wildmoor experiences at the Fife Arms alongside Aldo Kane and a crew of Taiwanese influencers.

Meanwhile, Daz has been living a completely different life—heading stateside from Savannah to Augusta for the Masters. Think whisky tastings, cigars, house parties, and somehow ending up in rooms with Dave Grohl and Brett Young. Casual.

Back on home turf, there’s Islay, Jura, and a deep dive into the ever-divisive world of wine cask finishes—sweet wines, orange wines, weird experiments… and the occasional accidental success.

They round things out with a look ahead at a stacked Spirit of Speyside lineup—live podcasts, events, questionable decisions—plus plans for Fèis Ìle and the gloriously named “Burning of the Bear” at Lindores Abbey.

Standard service resumes.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Cold open (slightly chaotic, obviously)
00:09 – Back after a month: where have we been?
00:21 – Thomson Brothers live episode recap
01:36 – Mitch’s shed fire disaster (RIP hot tub)
04:08 – Hosting in Speyside & Five Arms Wildmoor experience
05:55 – Daz does the Masters (no phones, all vibes)
08:51 – Augusta afterparty madness
10:48 – Islay, Jura & battling the weather
11:51 – The great wine cask debate begins
14:46 – Weird casks & when port actually works
15:56 – Orange wine casks… seriously
16:20 – Listener poll on wine finishes
16:57 – Recent whisky highlights
18:02 – Highlander side-by-side tasting
18:45 – Listener shoutout (Roy 👏)
19:15 – Spirit of Speyside week preview
19:53 – Live events lineup
22:50 – Opening dinner plans
23:54 – Fèis Ìle plans
24:47 – Laggan Bay milestone
25:07 – Burning of the Bear (yes, really)
26:29 – Laphroaig celebrity collab chat
28:21 – Bottle chat & whisky gifts
29:29 – Wrap up
Hosted by Mitch Bechard and Daz Haldane, this is where the whisky world gets pulled apart properly, with stories, insights, and the occasional bit of chaos along the way.

🥃 New episodes every week(ish)
🎤 Live shows & tastings across Scotland
🎟️ Web: www.notanotherwhiskypodcast.com
📩 Enquiries & partnerships: [email protected]
📲 Follow us on Instagram
Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/not-another-whisky-podcast.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Part two of our live Not Another Whisky Podcast recording with the Thompson Bros at the Craigellachie Hotel picks things up mid-tasting — and it only gets better from here.

We start with a chat on label design, working with artists, and the reality of constant releases, before getting into what life actually looks like running a distillery, a hotel, and everything else… in a whisky market that’s not exactly flying right now.

From there, we get stuck into Sideburn — a 35-year-old Burnside — and unpack some of the wonderfully confusing, slightly ridiculous naming rules that still exist in Scotch whisky.

The conversation drifts (as it should) into world whisky, market pressures, and then lands on the Mystery Malt concept — one of the most talked-about things the Thompson Bros are doing right now. Think scratch-card whisky, full transparency on the breakdown, and bottles that can massively overdeliver on the £65 price point — with a fan credited for the original idea.

Across the episode, we taste:
North British 33, Clynelish 12, Sideburn 35, Glenrothes 20, Glengoyne 27, and a Mystery Malt — before opening it up to the room for a proper audience Q&A.
We cover everything from marketing and ballots to future bottlings and what the Thompson Bros distillery style is really aiming to become.

If you enjoyed part one… this is where it really opens up.

00:00 Part Two Kickoff
00:47 Label Art Pressure
02:52 Busy Life Fundraising
04:31 Dram Four Sideburn
05:02 Teaspoon Naming Games
06:39 Burnside Trademark Lore
09:52 Tasting Notes Distillery Style
11:31 World Whisky Reality Check
14:51 Top Picks And Value
16:56 Dram Five Mystery Malt
19:41 How Mystery Malt Works
23:52 Scaling The Series
24:53 Live Guessing Game
26:44 Breaking Shelf Bias
27:29 Consumer Feedback Wins
28:17 Distilleries Get Competitive
30:29 Big Brands Buy In
32:27 Pricing Proof of Concept
34:34 Final Dram Glenrothes
36:03 Audience Q&A Bourbon Plans
38:15 Organic Marketing Approach
42:13 Favorites and Ballots Return
46:54 Future Spirits and Collabs
52:57 New Make Style Strategy
56:28 Wrap Up and Thanks
Hosted by Mitch Bechard and Daz Haldane, this is where the whisky world gets pulled apart properly, with stories, insights, and the occasional bit of chaos along the way.

🥃 New episodes every week(ish)
🎤 Live shows & tastings across Scotland
🎟️ Web: www.notanotherwhiskypodcast.com
📩 Enquiries & partnerships: [email protected]
📲 Follow us on Instagram
Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/not-another-whisky-podcast.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recorded live at the Craigellachie Hotel, this one’s exactly what you’d hope for from a Not Another Whisky Podcast live show, six drams, zero filter, and the Thomson Brothers in full flow.

Mitch sits down with Phil and Simon for part 1 of a six-dram tasting that quickly turns into a deep dive on value, volatility, and what’s actually going on behind the scenes in whisky right now.

On the tasting table:

North British 33 (…which turns out to be 34 — classic)
A mystery malt
Clynelish Distillery 12
“Sideburn” 35
Glenrothes Distillery 20
Glengoyne Distillery 27

Early doors, the conversation gets into why older grain whisky like North British is suddenly everywhere, and how the Thomson Brothers are managing to put out bottles that don’t require a small bank loan (the North British sits at 40.1% and around £65, make of that what you will).

From there, it opens up into a proper industry chat:
The reality of building a distillery in 2026 (spoiler: it’s not cheap)
Budget overruns, tough decisions, and phased builds in Dornoch
Why margins across the supply chain are under pressure
And how independent bottlers are navigating a cooling market

There’s also a no-holds-barred discussion on whisky tourism — including the impact of decisions by Diageo, the closure of Clynelish’s visitor centre, and the wider shift toward high-end, limited-access experiences.
Somewhere in the middle, there’s a quick detour into upcoming Spirit of Speyside shows (because even in the middle of a tasting, you’ve still got tickets to sell…).
By the final dram, the conversation lands on sherry casks, long-aged whisky, and the realities of keeping things interesting — before cutting off mid-flow with a Glen Garioch 27 discussion and a neat little cliffhanger for Part Two.

TICKETS FOR OUR SHOWS:

THREE BLENDERS WALK INTO A BAR WITH BRIAN KINSMAN, OLVER CHILTON AND SARAH BURGESS

A CLASH OF THE STILLS - THE RETURN OF THE DISTILLERS SHOWDOWN

⏱️ Chapters
00:00 Band Banter
00:28 Live Show Kickoff
01:17 Meet Thomson Brothers
02:05 Six Drams Lineup
02:53 Tasting Format
03:12 North British Grain
04:15 Label Age Mixup
04:41 Pricing And Value
05:16 Yearly Catch Up
05:35 New Distillery Build
06:40 Budget Control Lessons
08:20 Phased Build Plan
09:52 Business Wins And Events
11:36 Blending Approach
13:44 Dram Two And Tourism
16:15 Diageo Decisions Debate
19:03 Tourism At Dornoch
20:18 Value Over Hype
20:54 Castle Bottle Strategy
21:35 Speyside Events Plug
23:14 Clynelish Cask Breakdown
25:50 Closures Hit Communities
27:42 Whisky Boom Bust Math
32:05 Planning For Downturns
33:43 Indie Festival Buzz
38:05 Sherry Cask Debate
38:53 How Many Releases
42:54 Subscribe And Wrap
Hosted by Mitch Bechard and Daz Haldane, this is where the whisky world gets pulled apart properly, with stories, insights, and the occasional bit of chaos along the way.

🥃 New episodes every week(ish)
🎤 Live shows & tastings across Scotland
🎟️ Web: www.notanotherwhiskypodcast.com
📩 Enquiries & partnerships: [email protected]
📲 Follow us on Instagram
Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/not-another-whisky-podcast.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mitch and Daz kick off their first proper catch-up of the year (with zero planning and maximum hair compliments), swapping updates on travel and work: Daz recaps a Dublin weekend that somehow involved more Guinness than Irish whiskey, while Mitch recounts a hectic run of podcast recordings, a corporate tasting, a long drive to see Bladnoch and the new Galloway Distillery, visits with Charlie MacLean , and his first festival since 2017, the Independent Whisky Festival.

They then rip through whisky news: InchDairnie becomes a certified B Corp; Denmark’s Stauning starts making gin; GlenAllachie releases a 35-year-old; two Karuizawa casks sell for £4.25m; The Dalmore reopens to guests April 27; Bruichladdich marks 25 years since reopening with Old Skool 10-year-old; Glenrothes launches a 56-year-old; Ricky Gervais-backed Ellers Farm debuts Three Ridings (sold via a pricey Evolution Collection); Glen Moray releases Forbidden Fruit Calvados finish; and World Whiskies Awards nod to winners Joel Harrison, Gary Mills, and Bowmore 21 as best whisky in the world, plus talk of a potential live Edinburgh “battle” vs Whisky Stories.

00:00 Cold Open Banter
00:05 First Catch Up Of Year
00:52 DA Updates And Travel
01:02 Dublin Weekend Recap
02:18 Busy Week In Scotland
03:15 Indie Spirits Festival Highlights
05:34 Whiskey News Roundup Begins
05:55 InchDairnie B Corp Milestone
07:16 Denmark Distillery Goes Gin
08:11 Martinis And Bar Legends
09:02 GlenAllachie 35 Year Release
10:34 Karuizawa Casks Auction Shock
11:52 Auction Buzz and Banter
12:15 Ollie Stories and Podcast Tease
13:34 Dalmore Reopens Visitor Experience
16:10 Bruichladdich Old School Release
17:46 Glenrothes 56 Year Decanter
19:13 Ricky Gervais Celebrity Whisky
24:17 Glen Moray Calvados Finish
25:53 Awards Season Shoutouts
27:13 Live Podcast Battle Plans
28:41 Wrap Up and Listener Thanks

Hosted by Mitch Bechard and Daz Haldane, this is where the whisky world gets pulled apart properly, with stories, insights, and the occasional bit of chaos along the way.

🥃 New episodes every week(ish)
🎤 Live shows & tastings across Scotland
🎟️ Web: www.notanotherwhiskypodcast.com
📩 Enquiries & partnerships: [email protected]
📲 Follow us on Instagram
Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/not-another-whisky-podcast.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mitch heads up to the Little Brown Dog HQ to sit down with Managing Director, DR. Andrew Smith for a properly relaxed, no-BS chat about independent bottling—and everything around it.

They get into how Andrew went from hospitality (with a brief detour towards becoming a vet) to co-running one of Scotland’s more quietly interesting bottlers, what actually makes a cask worth bottling in today’s market, and why they’re not just sticking to whisky.

From Scotch to rum to Calvados, this is a conversation about flavour over category—and whether whisky drinkers might need to start looking beyond their own glass.
Andrew also shares the story behind starting Little Brown Dog, where they want to take it next, and how he sees the current state of the industry—especially the realities facing independent bottlers right now.

There’s also an unsuccessful attempt to drag Chris onto the podcast, some rally driving chat, and a crash story that definitely wasn’t meant to be funny… but absolutely is.
A loose, honest conversation with one of the good guys in the industry.
Hosted by Mitch Bechard and Daz Haldane, this is where the whisky world gets pulled apart properly, with stories, insights, and the occasional bit of chaos along the way.

🥃 New episodes every week(ish)
🎤 Live shows & tastings across Scotland
🎟️ Web: www.notanotherwhiskypodcast.com
📩 Enquiries & partnerships: [email protected]
📲 Follow us on Instagram
Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/not-another-whisky-podcast.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.