Episode 556: October 4, 2015

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.

Links: Nikka Whisky | Walsh Whiskey | Brown-Forman | Heaven Hill | 1792 Bourbon | The Glenlivet | Glenfiddich | GlenDronach | Port Askaig | Chivas Regal | Teerenpeli | Distilled Spirits Council of the US | Scotch Whisky.com | Wyoming Whiskey | Dalwhinnie | Domaine des Hautes Glaces