Not Another Whisky Podcast

This week, Mitch sits down with whisky industry veteran Kenny Mackay at Ballindalloch Distillery in Speyside.
Kenny has spent nearly 50 years in Scotch whisky, working with names including Peter Thompson’s, Bowmore, Macallan, Carn Mor, Lindores Abbey and Ballindalloch. In this episode, he shares stories from across his career, from missing out on becoming a helicopter pilot to helping launch Black Bowmore and shaping some of Scotland’s best known whisky brands.
We talk about the early days of malt whisky marketing, growing Macallan in Scotland, the birth of whisky collecting, the changing world of independent bottling, and why Ballindalloch’s slow, estate led approach makes it such a special distillery.
Kenny also gives his take on where the Scotch whisky industry is right now, why downturns are nothing new, and why he still sees plenty of reasons to be optimistic.
Expect brilliant stories, sharp industry insight, a few legendary bottles, and one very committed fire alarm.

Timestamps
00:00 Welcome to Ballindalloch Distillery
01:10 Introducing Kenny Mackay
02:20 The Navy’s loss and whisky’s gain
03:00 Starting out at Peter Thompson’s of Perth
04:20 Glen Grant, Macallan and early whisky distribution
06:20 How the industry has changed over 50 years
09:40 The story behind Black Bowmore
12:00 Bowmore 40 Year Old and early luxury whisky
13:50 Independent bottling then and now
14:30 Building Carn Mor
19:40 One of One and raising millions for charity
23:00 Ballindalloch Distillery and the single estate approach
29:00 Vintage releases and the long term family vision
31:30 Kenny’s take on the current Scotch whisky market
38:00 The cashflow reality of growing a single malt brand
39:10 Quick fire questions
44:20 Desert island drams

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: whiskypodcast@gmail.com
📲 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.

Live from Spirit of Speyside, host Daz welcomes three blenders—Brian Kinsman (William Grant & Sons), Ollie Chilton (Elixir/ Tormore), and Sarah Burgess (Head of Whisky Creation at International Beverage, jokingly “banned” from other sessions)—to taste four whiskies and talk careers, process, and mischief. Brian explains his science-to-apprentice path under David Stewart and taking over in 2009; Ollie traces retail-to-cask-buying and acquiring Tormore in 2022; Sarah recounts starting as a Cardhu tour guide, moving through Diageo, becoming a Macallan blender via a sensory/blending interview, then returning to Scotland. They taste a 2023 Tormore “plain spirit”, a 2006–2018 Speyburn single cask, and a Glenfiddich 30 22-year with oloroso and a palo cortado finish, discuss water’s role in blending, sensory blind spots, grain’s value, stock legacy, cask strategy, innovation limits, and shifting whisky audiences toward flavor over age.
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: whiskypodcast@gmail.com
📲 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 in the historic Vaults in Leith, Mitch Bechard is joined by SMWS “chief storyteller” Richard Goslan and Kask Whisky founder Justine Hazlehurst for a deep dive into one of Scotch whisky’s most overlooked powerhouses.

Leith was never just a port. It was a whisky engine room: bonding, brokering, blending, bottling and shipping enormous volumes of Scotch around the world. At one point, the area was home to around 90–100 bonded warehouses, yet its role in shaping the modern industry is often pushed into the background.
Richard brings The Vaults to life, from its ancient origins and long links with the drinks trade to the birth of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society in 1983. He shares how the Society’s single-cask ethos developed, why bottle 1.1 became legendary, how the tasting panel works, and how SMWS bottle names manage to be both brilliant and completely unhinged.

Justine guides us through Leith’s boom-and-bust whisky past, from Pattison’s infamous 1898 crash, to wars, consolidation, the whisky loch, and the stories still hiding in plain sight on the Leith Whisky Trail. There are disputed parrots, a very real pub puma attack, independent bottling chat, festival stories, and a reminder that whisky history is always better when it hasn’t been polished to death.

A proper sense-of-place episode from one of Scotland’s most important whisky rooms.

00:00 Welcome to The Vaults in Leith
00:48 Meet Richard Goslan and Justine Hazlehurst
02:46 Inside the history of The Vaults
05:57 Why Leith matters to Scotch whisky
08:46 The origins of the Leith Whisky Trail
11:06 Wild stories from Leith’s past
12:46 SMWS founding story and bottle labels
16:30 Whisky as a shared community
19:54 Leith’s boom-and-bust whisky timeline
26:02 The whisky loch and SMWS’s first cask
28:11 SMWS codes, flavour profiles and tasting culture
29:42 How the SMWS tasting panel works
30:47 The joy of flamboyant bottle names
31:25 Creators Collection and whisky artwork
32:28 Desert island dram: SMWS 1.1
34:54 Glenfarclas and Leith connections
35:50 The independent bottling boom
38:26 Fife Whisky Festival and modern whisky culture
40:39 Justine’s Pattison crash book
45:19 The Pattison parrots myth
48:01 Finding Pip Hills again
52:07 Vaults legends and wild old days
54:35 Where to find Richard and Justine
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: whiskypodcast@gmail.com
📲 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.

This week, Not Another Whisky Podcast goes live from the Craigellachie Hotel for Battle of the Stills, recorded during the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival.
Daz is joined by three brilliant distillers: Euan Christie from The Cabrach Distillery, Polly Logan from Tormore, and Kristy Lark from Killara Distillery in Tasmania.

Euan shares the story of The Cabrach: an area with deep illicit distilling roots, a shrinking population, and a new community-led distillery using whisky to support local regeneration. He also introduces The Feering, The Cabrach’s first blended malt, created with donated casks from across the industry.

Polly takes us inside Tormore, one of Speyside’s most beautiful distilleries, as it prepares to launch its new core range. She talks about shaping the distillery’s fruity, floral style, the importance of American oak, and working with blender Oliver Chilton.

Kristy brings the Tasmanian perspective, from growing up with a still outside her bedroom door to founding Killara Distillery. She shares how Tasmania’s climate shapes maturation and introduces a wonderfully unusual whisky inspired by a Black Velvet cocktail, finished through sparkling wine and stout casks.

There are audience questions, festival chaos, whisky gossip, and at least one answer involving rum-infused Scottish tea that probably needs a legal disclaimer.

Featured Whiskies and links to where you can find them

The Cabrach – The Feering Early Harvest
A bright, bourbon-led blended malt with gentle peat and a strong community story.

Tormore – Timeless
Fruity, floral and elegant, showing orchard fruit, malt and honeysuckle notes.

Killara – Black Velvet Inspired Single Cask
A rich Tasmanian single cask involving tawny, sparkling wine, stout and glorious madness.

Please subscribe, rate and review Not Another Whisky Podcast wherever you listen. Slàinte!
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: whiskypodcast@gmail.com
📲 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 catch up after a packed festival season, They recap Spirit of Speyside’s, Mitch’s chaotic-but-fun Tormore launch and plans to expand their sold-out “Battle of the Ambassadors” into a winter tournament, “The Road to Speyside,” with heats and a final at the festival.

Daz recounts Fèis Ìle highlights at Laphroaig’s 40th anniversary tastings and Bowmore events, including a boat trip on Loch Indal and a 1969 Bowmore dram.

They taste three whiskies: Chivas Charles Leclerc 16 (40%), Raasay Hungarian Oak (50%), and SMWS “A Belter for America” Tullibardine 10 (61%). They announce being shortlisted for the Scottish Podcast Awards, discuss Tormore’s new releases, the Bon Accord closing, Woven’s new Leith blending experience, and Glen Cairn’s leadership change, then tease upcoming episodes and a giveaway of a Ferrari cap plus whisky samples for reviews.

00:00 Whisky Stories Banter
00:48 New Theme Tune Debate
02:23 Show Intro and Catch Up
03:55 Festival Season Rundown
05:31 Tormore Launch Chaos
08:10 Road to Speyside Plan
12:24 Three Drams Lineup
13:51 Chivas x Leclerc Collab
17:52 Fèis Ìle Highlights
23:57 Feis vs Speyside Vibes
27:33 Raasay Island Escape
29:11 Hungarian Oak Tasting Notes
31:41 Warehouse Night Stories
32:53 Podcast Award Shortlist
34:35 Whisky World News Roundup
36:43 Edinburgh Whisky Experiences Boom
38:32 Glen Cairn Leadership Change
39:40 World Cup Whisky Bottling
44:28 Deep Dives and Cooper Traditions
46:57 Wrap Up and Listener Giveaway

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: whiskypodcast@gmail.com
📲 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.