Episode 525: March 14, 2015

Anthony Bourdain is many things…a chef, author, journalist, and media personality. At heart, though, he’s a hedonist seeking pleasure from everything he encounters – including whisky. The host of CNN’s “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown” was the lead juror for this year’s American Craft Council Rare Craft Fellowship Awards presented by The Balvenie, and we spent a few minutes discussing whisky at Tuesday’s awards luncheon in New York City. He’ll share his thoughts on the global interest in whisky, along with his take on what defines a “craft” whisky and more on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth.

In the news, a Buffalo Trace employee has been arrested has been made in the theft of five barrels of Bourbon from Wild Turkey, and investigators are looking for any links to the infamous 2013 “Pappygate” theft. Scotch Whisky industry leaders are hoping for a tax cut in this coming week’s UK budget announcement, and a Bourbon brand not sold in the US for two decades is coming back. We’ll also have plenty of feedback on last week’s interview with class-action attorney Abbas Kazerounian on his consumer fraud lawsuits against Jim Beam and Maker’s Mark over their claims of being “hand-made.”

Links: The Balvenie | American Craft Council | Wild Turkey | Johnnie Walker | Scotch Whisky Association | Bushmills | Diageo | William Grant & Sons | Tullamore Dew | Jameson | Armorik | Arran | Kazerouni Law Group | Wood’s High Mountain Distillery | Talisker | Single Pot Stills of Midleton