Whisky Talk

The podcast from The Scotch Malt Whisky Society

About the show

Welcome to Whisky Talk! Hosted by Richard Goslan, editor of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society’s members magazine Unfiltered, we'll be introducing you to some of the people who make whisky, the places it comes from and the characters who bring it to life.

Whisky Talk on social media

Episodes and Blog Entries

  • Episode 24: Irvine Welsh

    Episode  |  11 January 2021  |  54 mins 17 secs
    cask strength whisky, scotch, scotch malt whisky society, single malt whisky, whisky

    His ground-breaking 1993 novel Trainspotting centered on a bunch of heroin addicts in Leith, but these days whisky is more likely to be a plot point in author Irvine Welsh's work. He’s now a member of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, and sat down with Unfiltered editor Richard Goslan at The Vaults over a few drams to discuss his whisky journey, the influence of mind-altering drugs on the work of Robert Burns and why Scotland in general and Leith in particular will always be an exotic location for his fiction.

  •

    Episode 23: Pip Hills and The Vaults

    Episode  |  2 September 2020  |  12 mins 19 secs
    cask strength whisky, scotch, scotch malt whisky society, single malt whisky, whisky

    Pip Hills, the founder of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, tells Whisky Talk the remarkable and unlikely story of how The Vaults in Leith became the Society's spiritual home.

  • Episode 22: Meet the whisky podcasters

    Episode  |  4 August 2020  |  23 mins 7 secs
    cask strength whisky, scotch, scotch malt whisky society, single malt whisky, whisky

    With thousands of whisky podcasts to choose from, we put out a call to our members and the SMWS team to ask them for their top picks. The Society's Mads Schmoll compiled her list and found out more from the top podcasters about who they are and how they started out.

  •

    Episode 21: The English Whisky Company with Andrew Nelstrop

    Episode  |  4 August 2020  |  20 mins 6 secs
    cask strength whisky, scotch, scotch malt whisky society, single malt whisky, whisky

    The first of England's new distilleries to set up was at St George's in Norfolk, where Andrew Nelstrop helped his father realise a long-held dream of opening his own whisky distillery in 2006. He tells Whisky Talk all about it.

  •

    Episode 20: Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery with David Thompson

    Episode  |  15 July 2020  |  20 mins 32 secs
    cask strength whisky, scotch, scotch malt whisky society, single malt whisky, whisky

    Traceability is at the heart of Spirit of Yorkshire distillery's operations, which started distilling in 2016, explains co-founder and crop scientist David Thompson.

  •

    Episode 19: Lakes Distillery with Dhavall Gandhi

    Episode  |  14 July 2020  |  34 mins 41 secs
    cask strength whisky, scotch, scotch malt whisky society, single malt whisky, whisky

    The Lakes Distillery started operations in December 2014 and recruited Dhavall Gandhi in 2016. Since then he has brought a whole world of inspiration and creativity to whisky making and maturation.

  • Episode 18: Bimber Distillery

    Episode  |  24 June 2020  |  21 mins 21 secs
    cask strength whisky, scotch, scotch malt whisky society, single malt whisky, whisky

    Bimber Distillery was founded in London in 2015 and laid down its first casks in May 2016. In this episode of Whisky Talk, we talk to the distillery's Matt McKay about the distillery's origins, what it does differently, and the future of the English whisky scene in general.

  • Episode 17: Cotswolds distillery with Daniel Szor

    Episode  |  16 June 2020  |  39 mins 47 secs
    cask strength whisky, scotch, scotch malt whisky society, single malt whisky, whisky

    Daniel Szor, founder of the Cotswolds distillery, tells Whisky Talk about how he turned his passion for single malt whisky into a radical career change, from working in finance to setting up his own distillery in the English countryside in 2014.

  • Episode 16: Lagg Distillery on Arran

    Episode  |  18 May 2020  |  3 mins 21 secs
    cask strength whisky, scotch, scotch malt whisky society, single malt whisky, whisky

    The SMWS paid a visit in early 2019 to the Isle of Arran to check on the progress of the new Lagg distillery on the south of the island, which will be the 'peated' sister to Lochranza distillery in the north.

  •

    Episode 15: Ardmore distillery

    Episode  |  5 May 2020  |  2 mins 50 secs
    cask strength whisky, scotch, scotch malt whisky society, single malt whisky, whisky

    Ardmore distillery is nestled in a remote corner of Aberdeenshire, and isn't usually open to visitors. Thankfully, distillery manager George Forsyth and the team threw wide its doors to the team from Unfiltered on a memorable visit we made in 2018.

  • Episode 14: Raasay distillery and island tour

    Episode  |  28 April 2020  |  33 mins 27 secs
    cask strength whisky, scotch, scotch malt whisky society, single malt whisky, whisky

    Making whisky on the Isle of Raasay is a modern success story that is down to determination and hard work, but it's also bringing new life to an island that has seen more than its share of hardship in the past, as Richard Goslan discovers.

  •

    Episode 13: From filling casks to fighting coronavirus

    Episode  |  15 April 2020  |  25 mins 11 secs
    cask strength whisky, scotch, scotch malt whisky society, single malt whisky, whisky

    With demand for hand-sanitiser outstripping supply, distilleries big and small have been playing a key role in providing frontline care workers with essential supplies. Richard Goslan caught up with the team at the Glasgow Distillery Company to find out about how they’ve been able to help out.

  •

    Episode 12: The birth of Leith's Bonnington Distillery

    Episode  |  8 April 2020  |  54 mins 27 secs
    cask strength whisky, scotch, scotch malt whisky society, single malt whisky, whisky

    Its construction has been delayed because of archeological finds and it finally started distilling as the coronavirus pandemic took hold in the UK. But the stills are running at Bonnington distillery in Leith, and the team are looking to a bright future.

  •

    Episode 11: Charlie MacLean's SMWS whisky masterclass

    Episode  |  18 March 2020  |  21 mins 10 secs
    cask strength whisky, charlie maclean, scotch, scotch malt whisky society, single malt whisky, whisky

    Charlie MacLean is not only a leading authority on all things whisky, he's also a long-standing member of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society's Tasting Panel. In this episode of Whisky Talk, he describes his role on the Society's Tasting Panel and provides a masterclass in the appreciation and evaluation of single malt whisky.

  •

    Episode 10: Masataka and Rita Taketsuru, A Whisky Love Story

    Episode  |  6 February 2020  |  22 mins 13 secs
    cask strength whisky, japan, masataka taketsuru, nikka, rita cowan, scotch, scotch malt whisky society, single malt whisky, whisky, yoichi

    It's 100 years since Rita Cowan fell in love with her family's Japanese lodger, Masataka Taketsuru, when he stayed with her family while studying Organic Chemistry at Glasgow University. They were married in January 1920 and by the end of the year they had spent time at Hazelburn Distillery in Campbeltown before setting sail for Japan, where Rita supported Masataka's dream of creating a little bit of Scotland in Japan. Whisky Talk tells their story, with the help of Scottish Distillers Association chairman Professor Alan Wolstenholme, whisky writer Dave Broom, co-ordinator of Mandarin Chinese at Imperial College London Ruth Herd, chief blender at Nikka Distillery Tadashi Sakuma and Dr Niall Mackenzie from the Adam Smith Business School at the University of Glasgow.

  • Episode 9: Sam Heughan

    Episode  |  7 November 2019  |  6 mins 38 secs
    cask strength whisky, clan lands, sam heughan, scotch, scotch malt whisky society, single malt whisky, whisky

    Whisky Talk travels to Glencoe to catch up with Scottish actor Sam Heughan, otherwise known as Jamie Fraser in the historical time travel series Outlander. We find out about his passion for Scotch, his own new whisky project, as well as the travel and history documentary he’s shooting around Scotland with Outlander co-star Graham McTavish – who plays the role of Dougal McKenzie.