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One of the most-discussed topics at this weekend's Victoria Whisky Festival was a National Post feature on whisky questioning the future of vintage whiskies, and whether the whisky boom has already reached its peak. One of the whiskies mentioned in the story was The Glenlivet's Founders Reserve, which is replacing The Glenlivet 12 in many markets around the world. We'll get the reaction from The Glenlivet's Ian Logan to that article, and what his colleagues at Chivas Brothers are doing to fight that perception on WhiskyCast In-Depth. We'll also look at the impact of international trade deals on whisky exports, new whiskies, and while they're not the same as the ones stolen last September during a New York City whisky show, Simon Brooking of Laphroaig has his green wellies back!

This week, we're on location with the first of two episodes from the Victoria Whisky Festival in Victoria, British Columbia. For the last several years, the Victoria Whisky Festival has had at least one tasting session reserved for women only, and this year's tasting featured Canadian Club's Tish Harcus...one of the pioneers in leading tastings geared to women. We'll talk with Tish and Julia Ritz Toffoli, founder of Women Who Whiskey...one of the fastest-growing whisky clubs for women with chapters in the US, Canada, Europe, and Africa. In the news, Corby's Lot No. 40 has taken top honors as Canadian Whisky of the Year in the Canadian Whisky Awards for the second time in three years...the Nelson brothers have sold a stake in their Green Brier Distillery in Tennessee to Constellation Brands, and we'll have the latest on new whiskies from Japan and Ireland.

America has a love-hate relationship with alcohol, and it's fair to say that drinking has changed the course of American history - for better and for worse. Susan Cheever explored that relationship for her new book "Drinking in America: Our Secret History" and joins us on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, 28 purloined Pappy Van Winkle bottles may not receive the reprieve many Bourbon fans were hoping for once the "Pappygate" case in Kentucky ends, and flooding has closed Scotland's Glencadam Distillery for repairs. We'll also answer a listener's questions on how to prepare for a whisky festival and more on this week's WhiskyCast!

David Stewart will need new business cards soon, though the longtime master blender at William Grant & Sons is far too modest to ask for them. That's because he'll soon be able to add the initials "MBE" to his name, now that he's been named a Member of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth. Stewart was included on the Queen's New Year's Honours List released by Buckingham Palace this week, and he'll tell us how he found out about the honor on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, holiday flooding has hit Scotland and Ireland, a trademark lawsuit has been settled in Bourbon Country, and whiskey lovers found a bargain on Pappy Van Winkle whiskies this week in an unusual place. We'll also hear about some of your New Year's drams and more on the year's first episode of WhiskyCast!

There are a lot of issues facing the world of whisky and spirits these days, and we'll discuss many of them on this week's WhiskyCast. During the recent New Brunswick Spirits Festival in Canada, WhiskyCast's Mark Gillespie moderated a panel discussion with Glenfiddich's Ian Millar, Dr. Kirstie McCallum of Burn Stewart Distillers, Angostura Rum master distiller John Georges, and The Glenlivet's Alan Winchester. We discussed topics ranging from declining whisky sales to the impact of the thaw in diplomatic relations between the US and Cuba and more, and you'll hear the entire discussion on WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, the European Court of Justice rules against - and for - minimum unit pricing on alcohol sales in Scotland and kicks the debate back to Edinburgh, and we'll have a story of how distillers in Scotland teamed up to help an ailing colleague realize his dream.

This week, we'll look at the business behind the whiskies we drink - and investors hope to profit from. More investors are looking seriously at the whisky business...they're not just looking to invest in rare bottles, but something even rarer...the distilleries that make whisky. We'll talk with Frank Lampen, one of the co-founders of Diageo's in-house venture capital unit, Distill Ventures. This week, Distill made its second major whisky investment of the month by taking a minority stake in Australia's Starward Whisky after doing the same thing with Denmark's Stauning Whisky. We'll also hear from Bardstown Bourbon Company CEO David Mandel, who's not only looking for new brands to make whiskey at his distillery when it opens in 2016, but has figured out a way to help them finance the cost of distilling and maturing their whisky. In the news, Islay is mourning the loss of one of Bruichladdich's legendary leaders, the head of William Grant & Sons is stepping down, and we'll look at one of the few places wher

This week, we'll give you a glimpse at something rarely seen...the very first still run at a new distillery. This week, the stills at Ireland's Waterford Distillery came to life - 24 years after they were last used at the old Inverleven Distillery in Scotland. Like a lot of pieces of the Waterford story, those stills spent some time on Islay at Bruichladdich, but like the old Guinness brewery in Waterford that closed two years ago, they found new life in the Irish Whiskey boom. We'll talk with Waterford founder Mark Reynier and some of the brewery team that returned to work at Waterford on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, the new owners of Bushmills have big expansion plans in mind for their distillery, while yet another new Bourbon distillery is being planned in Bardstown, Kentucky. We'll also have details on the week's new whiskies and much more on this week's WhiskyCast!

Every once in a while, you might want to step outside of your comfort zone and try something besides whisky. A WhiskyCast listener asked for suggestions along those lines after hearing our October episode about Armagnacs, and we turned to Jeff Cioletti for answers. He's the author of the new book "The Year of Drinking Adventurously: 52 Ways To Get Out of Your Comfort Zone" and editor-at-large for Beverage World magazine, and he'll join us for this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Diageo has bought a stake in Denmark's Stauning Distillery, while The Macallan and Glenfiddich are both planning new expansions. Glenfiddich's plans have a local politician concerned about "whisky nutters" crowding the roadside to take pictures. We'll also have details on some of the week's new whiskies, say farewell to one of Speyside's leaders, and taste three whiskies from around the world.

This week, we'll be talking about whisky and education. Not teaching people how to drink whisky, but how to make it! There aren't many university-level programs in distilling, but the University of Kentucky has now started offering a certificate in Distillation, Wine, and Brewing to undergraduate students who complete a series of courses in chemistry, engineering, and other subjects. Dr. Seth DeBolt is one of the program's founders, and joins us to discuss it on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, we'll look at the progress of two proposed distilleries in Scotland, along with plans for next June's Kentucky Bourbon Affair in Louisville - complete with Kentucky's first major whisky festival including whiskies from all over the world. There are also new whiskies coming out of Scotland, along with Italy's first single malt and we'll kick off the holiday season by sampling a whisky-filled Advent calendar!

This week, we're at Canada's oldest whisky festival...the New Brunswick Spirits Festival in Fredericton, New Brunswick. The festival is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and draws visitors from all over Canada and the northeastern United States. This year, festival attendees also celebrated the 2016 Whisky Bible's naming of a Canadian whisky as the World Whisky of the Year. We'll get reaction to Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye's place at the top of the podium, and why it's helping lead a renaissance of classic Canadian rye whisky. We'll also have the latest on the week's new whiskies and much more on this special episode from New Brunswick.

As we begin the 11th year of WhiskyCast, we're taking a look back this week to catch up with some of the friends we've made over the last ten years...people who are now making their own way in the whisky world. We'll hear from a Kentucky sheriff's deputy starting his post-police career as a Bourbon distiller, a couple from New Zealand who gave birth to a whisky distillery and a baby son at the same time, and a Scottish expat who followed his wife to New Jersey and wants to teach his new neighbors about Scotch Whisky. In the news, Scottish environmental officials have released their annual list of industrial polluters with just a handful of whisky-related violations caused by things like excessive rainfall. We'll also get the details on Bonhams' return to whisky auctions in New York City and details on the week's new whiskies...including one that covers the spectrum of woods.

Scotland's Glenturret Distillery celebrated its 240th anniversary this week by gathering 240 people at The Famous Grouse Experience for a toast, and by announcing the debut of the distillery's first range of single malts in many years. Stuart Cassells heads up Glenturret, and was instrumental in making those single malts possible. He'll join us on WhiskyCast In-Depth to discuss the history and the future of Scotland's oldest distillery. We're also celebrating an anniversary this week, though it's just ten years instead of 240. Still, we've packed a lot into this special episode...with the latest on the Compass Box controversy from John Glaser - and some of your opinions as well. We'll also check up on the week's new whiskies, meet the distiller playing David to the University of Kentucky's Goliath in federal court, and American Bartender of the Year Ivy Mix will share a warming cocktail recipe for the holidays - or any cold evening.

Popular, yet controversial in many ways, WhistlePig Farm's distillery has finally opened after a series of lengthy delays and disputes. Founder Raj Peter Bhakta spent around $250,000 in legal fees battling Vermont regulators over whether WhistlePig Farm qualifies as an "agricultural operation" under the state's unique laws protecting farms from commercial development. Even though whiskey distilled from rye grown on the farm is still several years away from being ready for sale, Bhakta claims WhistlePig is one of the leading "grain to glass" distilleries in the United States. We'll challenge that claim as we discuss the distillery's future with Raj Peter Bhakta on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Compass Box is in the middle of a controversy of its own after another Scotch Whisky producer accused it of being too transparent with details on its latest two releases. That's just one of several legal battles within the whisky industry this week, and we'll have all the details, as well as tasting notes

Andy Cant has been a Scotch Whisky nomad for nearly four decades, working at distilleries and maltings all over Scotland. He's done everything from making grain whisky for blends to running a maltings and multiple malt whisky distilleries from Islay to the Highlands. These days, you'll find him at Cardhu Distillery in Speyside, but we caught up with him recently at Mount Vernon in Virginia, where he was part of a team from Scotland making single malt whisky at George Washington's Distillery. He shares some stories of the distilleries and the people he's worked with along the way on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. Travel retail releases dominate the news this week, with a bunch of new whiskies being unveiled at the travel retail industry's annual showcase in Cannes. We'll also have the details on Diageo's 2015 Special Releases from Scotland, this year's Masters Collection release from Woodford Reserve, and tales of lawyers on the loose in Kentucky!

George Washington's Scottish distiller never made single malt whisky at Mount Vernon in the 18th Century, but Scottish distillers John Campbell, Bill Lumsden, and Andy Cant did in the spring of 2012. They returned to Virginia this week to bottle that whisky for charity, and the first set of two bottles sold at the Spirit of Mount Vernon gala for $26,000. We'll hear from the distillers on the challenge of making whisky the "old school" way on WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Pappy Van Winkle shortages will be even worse than usual this year, another rare Bourbon is making a comeback, and Irish Whiskey experts honor this year's crop of whiskies in the Irish Whiskey Awards.

It's rare that we talk about spirits other than whiskies on WhiskyCast, but with many people complaining that rising prices for single malts are forcing them to seek alternatives, it's a good time to take another look at Armagnacs. We first looked at the French spirit back in 2007, and while whisky prices have been rising sharply, prices for vintage Armagnacs have been rising much more slowly. Florence Castarède is the sixth generation of her family to manage Armagnac Castarède, and we'll discuss Armagnacs with her on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Sazerac plans to revive the Michael Collins Irish Whiskey brand - just in time for the centennial of the Irish revolutionary's rise to prominence during the Irish Civil War. Shakespeare asked "what's in a name" -- and two whisky makers are asking that after winding up with the same name on their whiskies...and Neiman Marcus has the $125,000 answer to the question "what to give a whisky lover who has everything."

Earlier this year, Japan's Nikka Whisky announced plans to replace many of its age-statement single malts with new no-age-statement versions. The company's past projections of estimated demand couldn't have forecast the current boom in Japanese whisky sales, and Nikka didn't lay down enough whisky to meet today's demand. We'll discuss the situation with Nikka's chief blender, Tadashi Sakuma, on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Brown-Forman has started construction of its new distillery at Ireland's Slane Castle, and the popularity of flavored whiskies may lead to a sale of its Southern Comfort whiskey liqueur. Heaven Hill's warehouses have yielded a treasure from the old Stitzel-Weller Distillery, and we now know what The Glenlivet's Alan Winchester had in mind when he hinted earlier this year that he'd been experimenting with peat.

In this special bonus episode from Whisky Live Paris, we'll have more highlights from one of Europe's top whisky festivals. We'll look at the recent controversy over a legal definition of France's Breton Whisky, and hear from an American making single malt whisky in England...the very idea might make some heads explode in Scotland! In the news, Taiwan's award-winning King Car Distillery is starting a massive expansion project -- not just doubling production capacity, but boosting it by five times as much! There's also more news on new whiskies from around the world, along with tasting notes and much more...

This time around, we're in Paris for the first of two episodes this weekend from Whisky Live Paris! Each year, Whisky Live Paris draws whisky fans and whisky makers from all over the world, and this year, that includes a record number of American distillers as Europeans discover a taste for US-made craft whiskies as well as their larger counterparts. We'll talk with several US distillers who made the trip to Paris as part of WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, one of Ireland's newest distilleries is already kicking off an expansion program, while construction at one of Kentucky's newest distilleries is well underway with a goal of opening next June. We'll also check on some of the new whiskies being introduced this weekend in Paris, and taste some, too!

Sam Mead is a fifth-generation rancher, but never had any interest in distilling...until he came back home to work at Wyoming Whiskey, the distillery his parents founded in 2006. He started at the bottom milling grain, and eventually discovered the distilling bug within him. After a series of changes at the distillery, he wound up being the head distiller (and won't allow people to call him a "master distiller"). We're on the trail in Wyoming this week, and we'll hear from Sam Mead on WhiskyCast In-Depth. We'll also have coverage of this week's Kentucky Bourbon Festival, including a rare interview with Parker Beam after he received the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame's first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award Wednesday.