Not Another Whisky Podcast

Mitch kicks off a sold-out Clash of the Drams live recording, making it clear from the start that this is not going to be one of those polite Speyside tastings where everyone nods quietly and pretends to know what quince is.

This year’s brave contenders are Stuart Buchanan from Brown-Forman, Gordon Dundas from Ian Macleod Distillers, Struan Grant Ralph from Glenfiddich, and first-time entrant Charlie Metcalfe from The Balvenie. The audience are given the terrifying responsibility of judging both the drams and the banter, before casting their final vote in the Quaich Bar.

Part one features two outstanding drams. First up is Glenfiddich Snow Phoenix, created after the heavy winter snow of 2010 caused warehouse roofs to collapse, leading Brian Kinsman to vat together a unique selection of rescued casks. The panel talk through the story, the rarity, the price, and why it still holds such a special place for Glenfiddich fans.

Dram two comes from Balvenie, with an 18-year-old finished for seven years in Pineau des Charentes casks. Charlie explains how ambassador-led ideas can help shape whisky projects, while the group get into cask influence, flavour development, market differences, and what happens when ambassadors are allowed anywhere near new liquid.

And because this is Not Another Whisky Podcast, things naturally take a turn. The episode ends with the ambassadors being forced into celebrity-style whisky poems, including Daniel Craig and Jack Nicholson impressions that may never fully leave the room.

Part two is where things get even more unhinged.

00:00 Welcome to Clash
01:37 How the Voting Works
03:11 Meet the Panel
07:16 Festival Banter
10:26 Ambassador Origins
12:47 Dram One: Glenfiddich Snow Phoenix
18:26 The Warehouse Roof Collapse
19:17 Snow Phoenix Price Talk
20:50 Tasting Notes and Vibes
21:54 Dram Two: Pineau des Charentes Cask
25:01 How Ambassadors Shape Whisky
25:38 Signatures and Fingerprints
29:48 Markets and Innovation
32:42 Envelope Impression Game
37:40 Part One Sign Off
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 is joined by Ria McAdam, European Marketing Manager at The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, for a dive into the world of SMWS — who chats about the current chance for members to win an entire Distillery 10 Islay cask.

They get into the origins of the Society, from Pip Hills sharing cask-strength whisky with friends in the 1970s to the founding of SMWS at The Vaults in Leith in 1983, before moving into how it has grown into a global whisky membership community. Ria talks through the monthly outturn model, the coded bottles, the flavour-led approach, and the gloriously odd names that have become part of SMWS folklore.

There’s also plenty on what membership actually gives you, from access to exclusive bottlings and Members’ Rooms to tastings, guest access, content and whisky education. Ria explains the crazy current May promotion where buying a festival bottle or activating a membership gets you into the draw to win a full Distillery 10 cask.

The episode also touches on SMWS’s Scotland football-inspired release, A Belter for America, a 10-year-old Highland single cask bottled to celebrate Scotland’s return to the World Cup.

Links
SMWS website
Join SMWS
Win a cask / festival bottles
Buy A Belter for America (28.118)

00:00 Welcome to SMWS
01:45 Origin story: Pip Hills
03:38 Global membership today
05:06 Ria’s role in marketing
06:27 How outturns work
10:11 Wild bottle names
11:52 What membership offers
13:19 Members’ Rooms and perks
15:14 Staff training and whisky culture
17:59 Ria’s own whisky journey
23:00 Events, outreach and content
25:36 Win a cask giveaway
29:03 A Belter for America
30:42 How to join and buy
33:24 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.

Mitch takes Not Another Whisky Podcast on the road for a live recording at Speyburn, joined by distillery manager Euan Henderson and head of whisky creation Sarah Burgess—two people quietly shaping one of Speyside’s most underrated distilleries.

They dig into Speyburn’s “hidden gem” reputation, what’s changed with the new visitor centre, and how the team balances consistency in new make with the creative chaos of building a modern whisky portfolio.

There’s proper whisky chat too—none of that vague “notes of happiness” nonsense. The lineup starts with the Speyburn 10 Year Old (refill ex-bourbon, 40%), before moving through the range, touching on the 15 and 18 with their increasing sherry influence, plus experiments with rum casks and the slightly geeky (but very cool) world of dechar/rechar cask rejuvenation.

Euan breaks down the distillery’s unusual setup—worm tubs, mixed condensers, and a blend of wooden and stainless steel washbacks—and how those choices shape Speyburn’s crisp, green-apple-driven spirit. There’s also a look at real-world challenges, including water supply issues that actually forced production cuts (because whisky isn’t always as romantic as we pretend it is).

They nose fresh, fruity new make, chat about early peated runs now quietly maturing away, and then… land on something ridiculous:

A 1975 vintage (53.4%), distilled in 1975 and re-vatted in 2017 into sherry-seasoned European oak butts—packed with rich, balanced old-whisky character and, somehow, still talked about as “good value” (which feels illegal).

It’s part distillery deep-dive, part live tasting, part organised chaos—with a proper crowd in the room.

Timestamps

00:00 Welcome & warm-up
00:40 Meet the hosts
02:10 Speyburn: the “hidden gem” conversation
04:07 Who actually does what behind the whisky
08:03 First dram: Speyburn 10
09:12 Range breakdown & cask strategy
12:04 Distillery DNA explained
15:15 Inside Speyburn
16:18 Worm tubs, condensers & water realities
17:18 Drum maltings heritage
18:45 Old stock & shifting flavour profiles
19:56 Expansion vs consistency
20:47 Life as a distillery manager
22:05 Sustainability & water challenges
24:48 New make: green apple and freshness
26:19 Peated experiments & terroir chat
28:51 The 1975 edition story
31:06 Tasting notes & balance
33:46 Age vs flavour debate
36:24 Audience Q&A & 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.

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.