Good Friends and a Dram of Whisky (Episode 763: April 14, 2019)

Lew Bryson and Martin Duffy take their whisky seriously…but not much else! When they joined us at the recent American Whiskey Convention in Philadelphia, the laughter was a perfect complement to serious whisky discussion about the sources of whisky flavor, the growth of craft distilling, and why our discussion was taking place just feet away from valuable Egyptian artifacts in the University of Pennsylvania Museum. OK, that last part wasn’t so serious, but it did help Lew explain how he came to meet legendary whisky writer Michael Jackson for the first time at the Penn Museum. We’ll also talk with Dick Stoll, the veteran Pennsylvania distiller who made one of the Holy Grails for whiskey lovers…the 16-year-old A.H. Hirsch Reserve Bourbon.

In the news, this was a week that won’t go down in history at The Macallan, while Craigellachie is bringing a 51-year-old single malt to New York City – and pour it for free! Four Roses has completed its $55 million expansion project in Kentucky, and Woodford Reserve’s Chris Morris has to figure out how to get a special barrel down from one of the historic spires at Churchill Downs in time for the Kentucky Derby.

Links: The Macallan | Bladnoch | Glenturret | Four Roses | Heaven’s Door | Blade & Bow | Woodford Reserve’s $1K Mint Julep | Craigellachie’s Bar 51 | Highland Park | Douglas Laing & Co. | Glengoyne | Sazerac | Littlemill | The Glenlivet | Compass Box | American Whiskey Convention | Stoll & Wolfe