Not Another Whisky Podcast

Recorded live at the Craigellachie Hotel, this one’s exactly what you’d hope for from a Not Another Whisky Podcast live show, six drams, zero filter, and the Thomson Brothers in full flow.

Mitch sits down with Phil and Simon for part 1 of a six-dram tasting that quickly turns into a deep dive on value, volatility, and what’s actually going on behind the scenes in whisky right now.

On the tasting table:

North British 33 (…which turns out to be 34 — classic)
A mystery malt
Clynelish Distillery 12
“Sideburn” 35
Glenrothes Distillery 20
Glengoyne Distillery 27

Early doors, the conversation gets into why older grain whisky like North British is suddenly everywhere, and how the Thomson Brothers are managing to put out bottles that don’t require a small bank loan (the North British sits at 40.1% and around £65, make of that what you will).

From there, it opens up into a proper industry chat:
The reality of building a distillery in 2026 (spoiler: it’s not cheap)
Budget overruns, tough decisions, and phased builds in Dornoch
Why margins across the supply chain are under pressure
And how independent bottlers are navigating a cooling market

There’s also a no-holds-barred discussion on whisky tourism — including the impact of decisions by Diageo, the closure of Clynelish’s visitor centre, and the wider shift toward high-end, limited-access experiences.
Somewhere in the middle, there’s a quick detour into upcoming Spirit of Speyside shows (because even in the middle of a tasting, you’ve still got tickets to sell…).
By the final dram, the conversation lands on sherry casks, long-aged whisky, and the realities of keeping things interesting — before cutting off mid-flow with a Glen Garioch 27 discussion and a neat little cliffhanger for Part Two.

TICKETS FOR OUR SHOWS:

THREE BLENDERS WALK INTO A BAR WITH BRIAN KINSMAN, OLVER CHILTON AND SARAH BURGESS

A CLASH OF THE STILLS - THE RETURN OF THE DISTILLERS SHOWDOWN

⏱️ Chapters
00:00 Band Banter
00:28 Live Show Kickoff
01:17 Meet Thomson Brothers
02:05 Six Drams Lineup
02:53 Tasting Format
03:12 North British Grain
04:15 Label Age Mixup
04:41 Pricing And Value
05:16 Yearly Catch Up
05:35 New Distillery Build
06:40 Budget Control Lessons
08:20 Phased Build Plan
09:52 Business Wins And Events
11:36 Blending Approach
13:44 Dram Two And Tourism
16:15 Diageo Decisions Debate
19:03 Tourism At Dornoch
20:18 Value Over Hype
20:54 Castle Bottle Strategy
21:35 Speyside Events Plug
23:14 Clynelish Cask Breakdown
25:50 Closures Hit Communities
27:42 Whisky Boom Bust Math
32:05 Planning For Downturns
33:43 Indie Festival Buzz
38:05 Sherry Cask Debate
38:53 How Many Releases
42:54 Subscribe And 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.

Mitch and Daz kick off their first proper catch-up of the year (with zero planning and maximum hair compliments), swapping updates on travel and work: Daz recaps a Dublin weekend that somehow involved more Guinness than Irish whiskey, while Mitch recounts a hectic run of podcast recordings, a corporate tasting, a long drive to see Bladnoch and the new Galloway Distillery, visits with Charlie MacLean , and his first festival since 2017, the Independent Whisky Festival.

They then rip through whisky news: InchDairnie becomes a certified B Corp; Denmark’s Stauning starts making gin; GlenAllachie releases a 35-year-old; two Karuizawa casks sell for £4.25m; The Dalmore reopens to guests April 27; Bruichladdich marks 25 years since reopening with Old Skool 10-year-old; Glenrothes launches a 56-year-old; Ricky Gervais-backed Ellers Farm debuts Three Ridings (sold via a pricey Evolution Collection); Glen Moray releases Forbidden Fruit Calvados finish; and World Whiskies Awards nod to winners Joel Harrison, Gary Mills, and Bowmore 21 as best whisky in the world, plus talk of a potential live Edinburgh “battle” vs Whisky Stories.

00:00 Cold Open Banter
00:05 First Catch Up Of Year
00:52 DA Updates And Travel
01:02 Dublin Weekend Recap
02:18 Busy Week In Scotland
03:15 Indie Spirits Festival Highlights
05:34 Whiskey News Roundup Begins
05:55 InchDairnie B Corp Milestone
07:16 Denmark Distillery Goes Gin
08:11 Martinis And Bar Legends
09:02 GlenAllachie 35 Year Release
10:34 Karuizawa Casks Auction Shock
11:52 Auction Buzz and Banter
12:15 Ollie Stories and Podcast Tease
13:34 Dalmore Reopens Visitor Experience
16:10 Bruichladdich Old School Release
17:46 Glenrothes 56 Year Decanter
19:13 Ricky Gervais Celebrity Whisky
24:17 Glen Moray Calvados Finish
25:53 Awards Season Shoutouts
27:13 Live Podcast Battle Plans
28:41 Wrap Up and Listener 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 heads up to the Little Brown Dog HQ to sit down with Managing Director, DR. Andrew Smith for a properly relaxed, no-BS chat about independent bottling—and everything around it.

They get into how Andrew went from hospitality (with a brief detour towards becoming a vet) to co-running one of Scotland’s more quietly interesting bottlers, what actually makes a cask worth bottling in today’s market, and why they’re not just sticking to whisky.

From Scotch to rum to Calvados, this is a conversation about flavour over category—and whether whisky drinkers might need to start looking beyond their own glass.
Andrew also shares the story behind starting Little Brown Dog, where they want to take it next, and how he sees the current state of the industry—especially the realities facing independent bottlers right now.

There’s also an unsuccessful attempt to drag Chris onto the podcast, some rally driving chat, and a crash story that definitely wasn’t meant to be funny… but absolutely is.
A loose, honest conversation with one of the good guys in the industry.
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.

Arthur Motley on Cask Backrooms, Whisky Identity, and the Liquid Antiquarian

Arthur Motley joins Mitch & Daz in Bennet’s Bar for a cracking conversation on cask buying, whisky identity, and what happens when one of the industry’s most experienced retailers decides to go it alone.

From his early days at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society to 21 years at Royal Mile Whiskies — where he worked his way from cask buyer to managing director — Arthur has seen whisky from just about every angle.

He talks about the wild early-2000s cask market, when buying stock was a very different game, and how things gradually shifted from open sampling and relationship-led deals to tighter supply and buying “off paper.” The chat also dives into why he left Royal Mile, what his consultancy work looks like now, and why brand identity and route-to-market matter more than ever.

There’s plenty of whisky geekery too, including early Japanese SMWS bottlings, the rise of world whisky, and Arthur’s brilliant historical project The Liquid Antiquarian with Dave Broom. Expect big thoughts on the 1823 Excise Act, the speed of Scotch’s evolution, and the stories behind the liquid we all bang on about.

00:00 Rolling and intro
00:07 Meet Arthur Motley
02:14 Bennet’s Bar and pubs
02:40 Cornwall pub story
04:38 Joining Royal Mile
05:44 Early whisky scene
08:20 Whisky passion sparked
10:05 Cask buying then
14:19 Single malt boom
18:37 Leaving Royal Mile
22:15 Consultancy focus now
24:53 Identity and history work
27:27 Whisky History Needs Stories
29:50 Brand Identity Done Right
30:43 Bruichladdich Under Remy
34:37 First Japanese Bottlings
36:55 World Whisky Boom
39:36 Scotch as Global Style
42:19 Birth of Liquid Antiquarian
44:38 1823 vs 1494 Debate
47:38 Biggest Research Revelations
51:08 Patreon Plans and Community
56:09 Closing Thoughts and Farewell

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.

Time For Whisky’s Martin Eber on Hong Kong’s Generosity, Japan’s Bar Magic, and Keeping Whiskey Blogs Alive

Daz welcomes Martin Eber of Time For Whisky, an Australian whisky blogger he has known for about 11 years, to discuss his journey from collecting travel-retail bottles in 2008–2009 to starting the Time For Whisky blog in 2012 and moving to Hong Kong in 2014 as the scene rapidly expanded. They highlight Hong Kong’s uniquely generous whisky culture, where rare bottles are opened and shared, and discuss the decline of long-form whisky blogs amid social media and AI-generated content, with Martin aiming to keep authentic writing going. Martin recalls standout moments including a 2018 media trip for The Macallan’s new distillery launch, and hosting an early international Starward tasting. He names Japan as the best place to drink whisky for vintage selections and pricing, then shares updates on returning to Australia, growing Time For Whisky with contributors, and observations on Australia’s booming but crowded distilling scene.

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro
01:37 Whiskey Beginnings in Australia
02:37 Starting the Time for Whiskey Blog
03:51 Moving to Hong Kong Scene
05:17 Hong Kong Generosity and Rare Drams
06:48 Why Blogs Still Matter
09:32 Standout Whiskey Moments
14:37 Japan the Best Place to Drink
17:56 Back in Australia Whats Next
20:21 Australian Whiskey Boom and Challenges
22:58 Tasmanian Highlights and 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.