"Nothing will get between a man and his whisky," insists Fred Maitland of East Coast Whisky.

Fred's a psychotherapist.

But he also provides whisky tastings and runs tours to distilleries around Scotland. And he believes whisky keeps us connected.

"It's about friendship and hobby," he tells John in this episode. "It's an incredible stimulant for conversation, for good feelings, for community, for warmth. And I've seen it time and time again."

But it must be respected, he adds. It's not for "chugging back."

Fred's tasted three to four thousand whiskies over the last ten years. Though he says: "I certainly haven't owned them all. But it's been an amazing adventure."

So what does he recommend? "I always rate a Talisker 10, because I think it tells you everything about whisky."

Of course there's also Highland Park, Glenfiddich, Springbank 10, Clynelish 14, Lindores (featured in episode 12)... And if he can get it Brora. Definitely Brora.

And don't forget, he says, whisky goes well with food: scallops, oysters, venison. "You can pair a whole range of different foods with whisky of different kinds."

So put you feet up. Pour yourself a dram. And tune in.

Slàinte!

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Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Follow The Piper on Facebook to keep up to date about tastings and other events

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

They're all about The Draam at Isle of Raasay Distillery.

It's their signature single malt, based on a six-cask recipe created by founder and Master Distiller, Alasdair Day. It's 80% of what they produce.

"We wanted to make a Hebridean whisky," Alasdair tells John in this episode.

Hebridean?

"Something lightly peated," Alasdair explains. "So not unpeated, not heavily peated. But somewhere in between."

"A rugged windswept island off an island, you need that peaty characteristic," he continues.

But Alasdair and co-founder Bill Dobbie also wanted a "dark fruit character", like Bowmore from the 1960s and early 1970s.

So Alasdair decided to produce both peated and unpeatead spirit, and to mature these individual spirits separately in rye whiskey casks, virgin Chinkapin oak casks and Bordeaux red wine casks and then vat them together. Having designed the whisky, they designed the process to the make it, "and then gave the design to the architect to put the building round the process."

In 2017, the first licensed distillery on Raasay began production.

Establishing a distillery on a tiny island east of the Isle of Skye on Scotland's west coast was far from what Alasdair envisioned when he first went into the whisky business.

"My great grandfather had been a whisky blender in Coldstream," he says.

Now Coldstream's a small town on the Scottish border with England, not known for any whisky tradition. But in 2009, Alasdair inherited his great grandfather's cellar book which contained recipes for blended whisky dating from 1899 to 1916 and he decided to recreate some, buying casks of fully mature whisky to blend together...

But why don't you let Alasdair tell the story himself?

Pour yourself a dram - or Draam - and listen in as Alasdair tells John the story of Isle of Raasay Distillery; explains the different flavours imparted by all the different barrels they use; and extols the beauty of one of Scotland's lesser known islands.

Oh and by the way, Alasdair claims Raasay Distillery has the best distillery view in the world... well maybe. But when you've heard his claim, you can be the judge.

Slàinte!

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Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Follow The Piper on Facebook to keep up to date about tastings and other events

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"I'm a whisky nerd," admits Andrew Symington the owner of Edradour Distillery. "That's how I got involved in the business. I love the different flavours."

Edradour, near Pitlochry in Highland Perthshire, is one of Scotland's smallest distilleries and, Andrew says, Scotland's "last traditional farm distillery".

Andrew's been in the whisky business for almost 40 years, both as the owner of Edradour and as an independent bottler with his Signatory Vintage Scotch Whisky company bottling “single, single, single malt". That's malts produced by a single distillery, from a single distillation and a single cask.

And in this episode he tells John how Edradour, established 200 years ago in 1825, had "illegal origins", when local farmers would create a literal smoke screen by lighting fires to throw off the Government's excisemen looking for for the plume from illicit stills; how the distillery's "very small, short dumpy stills" make a "heavy oily spirit" which goes into Edradour's range of non-peated and heavily peated malt whiskies; how he uses traditional sherry and bourbon casks as well as red wine barrels from Bordeaux, Burgundy and Amarone; and how the Scotch whisky industry is facing "headwinds": the cost of living crisis, the effects of Brexit, over-production and over-pricing, global supply chain issues, the threat of US tariffs, and increasingly international competition.

But he says: "As long as we're not greedy; as long as we keep the heritage there, Scotch whisky still has a good future."

So pour yourself a wee dram and tune in as John and Andrew talk whisky.

Slàinte!

-------

Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Follow The Piper on Facebook to keep up to date about tastings and other events

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next time you're in Spain, "give the oak tree a big hug," implores master blender Max McFarlane. Without the oak, he says, Scotch whisky wouldn't be what it is.

Join John as Max takes him on a tasting journey from new make spirit through the casks and years to learn to recognise the look, nose and palate of several very different whiskies. And he throws in an off-note whisky that's really gone wrong. Along the way they talk about the state of the global whisky market and Max recommends whiskies he thinks are on the up-and-up and others that are overlooked.

So pour yourself a wee dram and tune in.

Slàinte!

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The whiskies (and spirit) tasted in this episode are:

1. Highland Park New Make Spirit
2. Ardgowan Clydebuilt Riveter 15 Year Old Single Grain
3. The Famous Grouse Blended Scotch Whisky
4. Highland Park 12 Year Old Single Malt
5. Laphroaig 10 Year Old Single Malt
6. Craigellachie 11 Year Old Single Malt

Please drink responsibly.

-------

Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Follow The Piper on Facebook to keep up to date about tastings and other events

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

They're "fairly geeky" about the spirit at GlenWyvis admits Craig MacRitchie, Distillery Manager at Scotland's first modern day community-owned distillery.

Established in Dingwall at the head the Cromarty Firth in north-east Scotland in 2016, GlenWyvis Distillery is unburdened by a traditional house style. So they do what they like - provided, Craig says, it makes good whisky and complies with the regulations set out by the Scotch Whisky Association.

Such as?

Longer fermentation than other more established distilleries - as much as six days; experimentation with barrels and single cask whiskies; and making classic eastern Highland-style unpeated whisky 11 months of the year and very heavily peated whisky for the remaining month.

And the result?

"A light, easy-going fruity whisky."

"Fruity, malty, maybe a touch grassy with a wee bit of spice in the new make spirit."

This week John chats to Craig and GlenWyvis's Chairman of the Management Committee, David McIntyre, about Dingwall's first legal distillery in over 100 years and the whisky it produces; the 3,800 members who make up the community enterprise behind GlenWyvis; and the community payback that supports among other things the young carers in primary school looking after a parent or the pupil who needs a laptop.

GlenWyvis is about the community and the whisky, David says. It's made with love; "a distillery by the people for the people."

So pour yourself a wee dram and listen in.

Slàinte!

-------

Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Follow The Piper on Facebook to keep up to date about tastings and other events

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The origins of Scotch whisky are lost in the mists of time.

But in the Exchequer Roll of 1494, King James IV bestowed his royal seal of approval on a Tironensian monk and distiller from Lindores Abbey in Fife: "Et per liberacionem factam fratri Johanni Cor per preceptum compotorum rotulatoris, ut asserit, de mandato domini regis ad faciendum aquavite infra hoc compotum, viii bolle brasii."

"To Friar John Cor, 8 bolls of malt, wherewith to make aqua vitae for the King."

It is the earliest written record we have of whisky in Scotland.

Lindores Abbey was founded in 1191 by French monks from Tiron 60 miles south of Paris. But it was abandoned and destroyed during the Reformation in the 16th Century. The land with the abbey ruins became farmland and was eventually bought in 1913 by Drew McKenzie Smith's grandfather.

Fast forward 87 years, and Drew and his family had no idea of the significance of their farm. So much so cattle grazed among the ruins. Then an unexpected visitor knocked on the door of the family home...

But we won't spoil if for you.

Pour yourself a dram as Drew tells John how that chance visit led to the foundation of Lindores Abbey Distillery, rekindling the spirit of 1494, and how in building the new distillery they discovered important archaeological artefacts relating to the earliest days of whisky making in Scotland.

Slàinte!

-------

Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Follow The Piper on Facebook to keep up to date about tastings and other events

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Whisky makers don't make it easy, do they? Bunnahabhain. Glen Garioch. Ledaig.

Even the most popular ones can be hard to get your tongue around. Is it Glenfiddich with an "ick" or with an "itch"? Glenmorangie as in "mow-ran-gee" or "morangie" - like orange with an "M" in front of it?

In last week's episode, John and former Scotland rugby star Chris Cusiter, who's now a whisky importer in LA, discussed how difficult it can be to pronounce the names of some Scotch whiskies.

So we thought we'd put an expert to the test.

Who better, then, than Scotland's Whisky Guru 2024, Gillian Kirkland owner of the award-winning Piper Whisky Bar in Glasgow and the Scottish Bar & Pub Awards Inspirational Woman of the Year 2023?

We've picked 12 whiskies: Laphroaig; Glen Garioch; Dràm Mòr Duich; Bunnahabhain; Glenmorangie; Glenglassaugh; Ledaig; Caol Ila; Torabhaig; Bruichladdich; Allt-A-Bhainne; and Glentauchers.

Can she get them right? Or will she have to take her own advice, and "just point"?

Pour yourself a dram and listen in for some "kks" and "vvs" and "tchs" where you'd least expect them.

Slàinte!

-------

Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Follow The Piper on Facebook to keep up to date about tastings and other events

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nine years ago, former Scotland rugby international Chris Cusiter retired from the professional game and moved out west.

Way out west... California west.

He bought a specialist liquor store in Los Angeles to follow his newfound dream, building bridges between Scotland and California with whisky.

A few years later, after selling his store, Chris became a partner in Alexander Murray & Co importers of Scotch whisky into the United States.

In this episode he talks to John about his love of whisky; the challenges facing the global whisky market; the dangers of "premiumisation" in a market where anything over US$25 is "ultra-premium"; how his sweet tooth draws him to big, heavily sherried whiskies like Glendronach or Glenfarclas; how a thief with "custom-designed trousers" stole thousands of dollars worth of stock from under his nose; the most commonly mispronounced Scotch names; and the best place in the world to drink whisky...

So pour yourself a wee dram and listen in.

Slàinte!

-------

Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes

Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

Guitars: John Beattie

Bass: Alasdair Vann

Drums: Alan Hamilton

Bagpipes: Calum McColl

Accordion: Gary Innes

Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

Special thanks: The Piper Whisky Bar, 57 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Follow The Piper on Facebook to keep up to date about tastings and other events

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.