Episode 557: October 10, 2015

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.”

Links: Armagnac Castarède | Sazerac | Glenmorangie | High West | George Washington’s Distillery | Global Alcohol Policy Conference | Scotch Whisky Association | Glenfarclas | Bruichladdich | Hibiki | The Singleton of Glendullan | Neiman Marcus | Orphan Barrel | Mackmyra