Episode 489: July 25, 2014

Tasmania’s distillers have been making some unusual and incredible whiskies in recent years, but many of them are flying under the radar of whisky lovers. Belgrove Distillery is one of those underrated distilleries, but when WhiskyCast listener Matt Wooler told us we had to check it out, we did. Peter Bignell built the distillery from the ground up on his farm, where he grows his own grain, makes his own whisky, and even fills and labels each bottle by hand. He’s also making what may well be one of the few peated rye whiskies in the world, and shares his story with us on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth.

In the news, Kentucky’s stocks of maturing Bourbon have reached the five million barrel mark for the first time since 1977, we’ll get the latest on commemorative bottlings from Maker’s Mark and The Famous Grouse, and Woodford Reserve mourns the death of a longtime family member…Elijah, the distillery cat.

Links: Belgrove Distillery | University of Tasmania | Bonhams | McTear’s | Kentucky Distillers Association | Maker’s Mark | The Famous Grouse | Glasgow 2014 | William Grant & Sons | Glenglassaugh | Laphroaig | Wemyss Malts | Woodford Reserve | King of Scots