Richard Goslan
Co-Host of Whisky Talk
Richard Goslan is the editor of Unfiltered, which is The Scotch Malt Whisky Society’s award-winning magazine that members receive four times a year. After a lifetime in journalism covering everything from sports to business to international news in the UK and around the world, he found his calling back home in Scotland writing about whisky, the places it comes from and the characters who bring it to life.
Richard Goslan has hosted 53 Episodes.
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Episode 71: Scotch & Sherry
Episode | 2 May 2024 | 30 mins 56 secs
cask strength whisky, scotch, scotch malt whisky society, single malt whisky, whisky
In this episode we’re going on a special journey across Spain, to tell the story of whisky and sherry and the wonderful synergy between the two worlds when it comes to sherry cask matured whisky.
We travel to the oak forests of Galicia in the far northwest of Spain to take the creation of Spanish oak casks right back to the beginning, in the Cantabrian forest, before heading south to Jerez and the Sherry Triangle, to visit the cooperages and bodegas where the casks are built and then seasoned with different styles of sherry wine. -
Episode 70: Paul John
Episode | 17 April 2024 | 28 mins 32 secs
cask strength whisky, scotch, scotch malt whisky society, single malt whisky, whisky
Regular listeners will know that we are fortunate at The Scotch Malt Whisky Society to welcome representatives from distilleries, who visit us in our Members’ Rooms, share some special samples of their whiskies with our members, and give us their insights and knowledge about their distilleries.
In March we had a visit to the Vaults by Heemanshu Ashar from Paul John, the pioneering Indian distillery based in Goa on the country’s tropical west coast.
Before enjoying the tasting, we took the chance to find out more about Paul John distillery, India’s whisky journey since independence in 1947 and what tropical maturation brings to this spirit. -
Episode 69: Flavour Journey with Kami Newton
Episode | 3 April 2024 | 41 mins 36 secs
cask strength whisky, scotch, scotch malt whisky society, single malt whisky, whisky
In this episode, we’re taking a deep dive into the flavour journey that takes place every time we uncork a bottle of whisky and then nose and taste it. It’s a process that the Tasting Panel at The Scotch Malt Whisky Society goes through with every sample that is presented for possible inclusion in a Society bottling. So we caught up with Tasting Panel chair Kami Newton, to find out more about the different steps on this flavour journey and why we should take time to appreciate the complexities of what’s in our glass.
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Episode 68: Blair Athol
Episode | 28 February 2024 | 40 mins 24 secs
cask strength whisky, scotch, scotch malt whisky society, single malt whisky, whisky
We were fortunate to have a visit from two of the team from Blair Athol distillery to The Vaults in February, for a special tasting of four expressions of Blair Athol whisky, along with a sample of one of the Society’s own single cask offerings. Blair Athol distillery manager Derek Younie was joined by Peter Milne from Diageo’s Whisky Specialist Team to talk members through the samples and provide insight into the history and working of the distillery, what to expect from Blair Athol’s spirit character, and how it works with different casks and forms of maturation.
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Episode 66: Pip's Prague Adventure
Episode | 4 December 2023 | 20 mins 2 secs
cask strength whisky, scotch, scotch malt whisky society, single malt whisky, whisky
The vintage Lagonda belonging to Society founder Pip Hills played an instrumental part in our whisky club’s foundation, carrying the first precious cargo of single casks from Speyside back to his Scotland Street home in Edinburgh to share with friends. In 1990, Pip Hills and his brother-in-law Dick Pountain decided to take a road trip to Prague in the Lagonda, to witness Václav Havel’s inauguration as president of the Czech Republic. The magazine The Classic Motoring Review subsequently commissioned Pip and Dick to write a piece about the journey – and how Society whisky helped to make it a success. We asked Pip and Dick to tell us that story in their own words.
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Episode 64: Val McDermid
Episode | 25 August 2023 | 22 mins 44 secs
cask strength whisky, scotch, scotch malt whisky society, single malt whisky, whisky
Crime writer and whisky enthusiast Val has been a fan of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society since its early days, after receiving an educational journey across the whisky regions from a friend’s father who was something of an aficionado. Whisky Talk caught up with Val in an Edinburgh coffee shop to find out more about her whisky passion, her writing career and who would be her fantasy whisky-drinking companion.
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Episode 63: Maverick - The Founder's Tale with Pip Hills
Episode | 2 August 2023 | 23 mins 47 secs
cask strength whisky, scotch, scotch malt whisky society, single malt whisky, whisky
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society is marking its 40th anniversary with an updated and revised edition of Pip Hills' memoir, "Maverick – The Founder’s Tale", which now includes the story of 'coming in from the cold' after leaving the whisky club in the 1990s. Pip tells Richard Goslan about reconnecting with the Society and what we can expect from the new version of his book.
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Episode 62: The sound of Glen Scotia
Episode | 31 May 2023 | 18 mins 32 secs
cask strength whisky, scotch, scotch malt whisky society, single malt whisky, whisky
How do you capture the sense of sound in a distillery and its location – and then incorporate that into a song? That’s what the team at Glen Scotia set out to do, with a whisky and music collaboration in its Campbeltown home. Whisky Talk caught up with the contributors to find out more.
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Episode 60: Kythe Distillery
Episode | 19 April 2023 | 42 mins 27 secs
cask strength whisky, scotch, scotch malt whisky society, single malt whisky, whisky
With so many new distilleries coming online across Scotland, it’s sometimes hard to keep track. But when Angus MacRaild dropped the news at the start of April about his plans for Kythe distillery, it felt like time to sit up and pay attention. Angus has teamed up with partners Jonny McMillan and Aaron Chan to bring their vision for a new distillery that produces an old-style, traditional Highland style of whisky to life – complete with a fermentation of more than two weeks, a wood-fired wash still and worm-tub condensers. In their own words, efficiency is the enemy of character when it comes to their mission. Richard Goslan caught up with both Angus and Jonny to find out more about their mission.
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Episode 57: Richard Paterson
Episode | 22 March 2023 | 1 hr 32 mins
cask strength whisky, scotch, scotch malt whisky society, single malt whisky, whisky
Our guest on this edition needs little in the way of introduction to any whisky fan. Richard Paterson has been working in the whisky industry for the past 57 years, with more than half a century of his career spent with Whyte & Mackay Distillers.
We were delighted to welcome Richard to the Society’s spiritual home at The Vaults in Leith recently, where one of the whisky industry’s biggest entertainers put on a special show for a room full of lucky members – taking us on a tour that included his stories and memories about Tamnavulin, Fettercairn, Jura and Dalmore.
Whatever’s in your glass…settle back for a 90-minute epic in the company of the one and only Richard Paterson. -
Episode 53: Pip Hills and his whisky epiphany
Episode | 3 January 2023 | 29 mins 57 secs
cask strength whisky, scotch, scotch malt whisky society, single malt whisky, whisky
The origin of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society can be traced back to the founder, Pip Hills, visiting his friends at a farmhouse in deepest rural Aberdeenshire, where he first experienced single cask, cask strength whisky, served up from a lemonade bottle by a neighbouring farmer. Richard Goslan returned with Pip to his friends' farmhouse to hear them tell the story in their own words.
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Episode 52: Iain McAlister
Episode | 26 December 2022 | 1 hr 29 mins
cask strength whisky, scotch, scotch malt whisky society, single malt whisky, whisky
Glen Scotia distillery is a favourite of Society members, and we were delighted in early December to welcome distillery manager and master distiller Iain McAlister to The Vaults in December to present a fantastic selection of cask samples, along with an SMWS bottling from distillery 93. Tune in to Whisky Talk to sip along with Iain and Olaf.
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Episode 51: Brendan McCarron
Episode | 26 December 2022 | 1 hr 32 mins
cask strength whisky, scotch, scotch malt whisky society, single malt whisky, whisky
At The Vaults recently, we welcomed Brendan McCarron, master distiller at Distell’s Bunnahabhain, Deanston and Tobermory distilleries. We recorded Brendan’s tasting, presented in full, with some strong language for good measure alongside strong whisky. Settle down for an illuminating insight into Brendan’s experience, knowledge, and some cracking drams from Deanston, Tobermory and Ledaig.
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Episode 49: Dr Bill Lumsden Part 2
Episode | 27 October 2022 | 51 mins 19 secs
cask strength whisky, scotch, scotch malt whisky society, single malt whisky, whisky
The name Dr Bill Lumsden doesn’t need much of an introduction in the whisky world – the head of distilling and whisky creation at Glenmorangie and Ardbeg has been a constant force of innovation and flavour development over the past 30 years or so. Here's part 2 of Dr Bill's presentation to SMWS members at The Vaults in October.
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Episode 48: Dr Bill Lumsden Part 1
Episode | 27 October 2022 | 1 hr 32 mins
cask strength whisky, scotch, scotch malt whisky society, single malt whisky, whisky
The name Dr Bill Lumsden doesn’t need much of an introduction in the whisky world – the head of distilling and whisky creation at Glenmorangie and Ardbeg has been a constant force of innovation and flavour development over the past 30 years or so.
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Episode 45: Dave Broom and A Sense of Place
Episode | 31 August 2022 | 33 mins 47 secs
cask strength whisky, scotch, scotch malt whisky society, single malt whisky, whisky
Whisky writer Dave Broom has an endless curiosity and fascination for whisky, and in his latest book he has set out to explore the story of Scotland’s whisky history, the spirit’s importance within the country’s culture and the diverse landscapes that it comes from.
In "A Sense of Place" he takes the reader on a journey across the country, with pictures by photographer Christina Kernohan.
Mads Schmoll sat down with Dave to find out more about the book.