Cask to Glass

“I really enjoy my whisky,” Jamie Muir says.

He ought to.

Raised on Jura, schooled on Islay and now Distillery Manager at Tomatin Distillery near Inverness, you’d say something had gone horribly wrong if he didn’t enjoy his whisky.

Drill deeper and he admits: “I think a lot of what I enjoy about whisky is situational. Drinking it in a warehouse, yep, there’s something incredibly special about that. Drinking it with someone who really enjoys it, I get probably more gratification from that now as well.

“Again in the middle of the winter here at Tomatin, when it’s snowing, you’ve got the fire on, nothing nicer than just sitting there with your feet up with a dram.”

But ultimately, Jamie says, “It’s the company I’m with at the time that enamours me to want to have a drink.”

“My memories of whisky,” he continues, “are, you know, being out flyfishing with my dad, my brothers, out on the hill. At the end of the day, you open a bottle. Whatever it was. Predominantly it would have been Jura. But more often, Famous Grouse, Whyte and MacKay. You would crack open the cap, punch it up, throw it away, and you would pass the bottle around.

“I probably didn’t enjoy the whisky itself, but I enjoyed being part of the camaraderie of it. You were every bit as important - whether you’re a young boy or not, or a young lad or not - you still got that bottle passed to you. And it felt like a bit of a rite of way.”

Fast forward 20 or 30 years, and Jamie now has access to a lot of whisky.

Tomatin Distillery was established in 1897 and primarily produced whisky that went into blends. By the 1980s, Tomatin was the biggest distillery in the world - “for a very small period of time,” Jamie’s quick to concede - producing 12 million litres a year.

Today, Jamie adds, “We’re probably a five, six million litre distillery. We don’t hit that capacity.”

“I guess what attracted me to Tomatin in the first place was the size of it, the scale of it. It’s a, I don’t like using the word, a sleeping giant. But it is a big site from the past. And you see a lot of the history of it still here.”

And a lot of that history has left a legacy maturing in casks, in the warehouses on site.

“We have a lot of old stock. And that is a byproduct of a lot of bulk production back in the eighties. Our oldest cask right now is about to turn sixty years old next year… But what’s more impressive is the depth of the forty, fifty year olds.”

And that brings Jamie to 1977. “1977 is the dream year for a lot of people in this distillery,” he says. And he includes himself. It’s the best whisky, he says, he’s ever tasted: “The tropical notes are incredible for the edge of it. It's so vibrant, it's so unique. The depth of it's fantastic. The balance to it's incredible.”

“Yep,” he concludes, “the Tomatin 1977's pretty, pretty special to me. And every time I try it, it's usually a Warehouse Six. In the most beautiful surrounding, it's usually cold.

“There's just something amazing about it. Every time I smell it, I know exactly what I'm smelling. I know that smell distinctly well. And it just brings me back every time to the same you know, that first time I smelled it.”

And the price tag? “Probably near ten grand,” he says off the top of his head.

Join John as he chats to Jamie about his inevitable career path, his love of whisky and his new Tomatin home, and discover how:

➡️Tomatin’s wood management keeps its old stock fresh;
➡️the core Tomatin line of 10- 12- & 18-year-old whiskies are complimented by its Cù Bòcan “experimental” range;
➡️Tomatin partners with its Japanese owners;
➡️“over-aging” could become more common.

Slàinte!
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Socials: @C2GWhisky | @JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes
Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)
Vocals: Andrea Cunningham
Guitars: John Beattie
Bass: Alasdair Vann
Drums: Alan Hamilton
Bagpipes: Calum McColl
Accordion: Gary Innes
Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie
Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Go behind the scenes of Douglas Laing & Co. with Fred and Cara Laing as they share 75 years of whisky history, blending secrets, and a few drams along the way. As third and second-generation leads of one of Scotland's most respected independent bottlers and blenders, they bring a wealth of history, humour, and heart to the table.

“Fred’s practically kicking me under the table,” complains Cara Laing, the Managing Director of Douglas Laing & Company, the family-owned independent bottlers and blenders based in Glasgow.

Cara’s the third generation of her family to work for the company founded by her grandfather Fred Douglas Laing in 1948.

You could say whisky’s in her blood.

“I live and breathe and love Scotch whisky and I cannot imagine working in anything else,” she says.

Cara and her dad Fred are sitting side by side in their Sample Room, which Fred likens to a “1930s New York speakeasy”. But Cara’s just made the mistake of admitting that some "professional people” have dubbed Douglas Laing “entrepreneurial chancers”.

“In a good way,” she tries to placate Fred.

Established in the aftermath of the Second World War when Fred Sr, or FDL, purchased the King of Scots whisky brand and a few casks of blended whisky for a peppercorn fee, Douglas Laing has had to be “agile” and “quick to respond and react” to changing fortunes in the whisky market.

Like now.

“It’s really tough just now,” Cara admits. “There’s been a huge reset after Covid. We saw a lot of false high; essentially people at home, drinking at home, investing in whisky. It meant some of the bigger companies felt that would continue, flooded the markets around the world with Scotch whisky.

“Consumer, confidence, understandably, against the global backdrop, has taken a huge hit. So people aren’t buying whisky at the same level they were. They’ve traded down.”

“Fair to say,” says Fred, “I’ve been through a few recessions since I joined the whisky industry in 1968. And I’ve never felt one as bad as this.

“We used to have a compensating market. If the Far East was down, Europe was up, or South America was percolating nicely, particularly through markets like Brazil and Venezuela.

“There are currently no compensating markets.

“We’ve just got to strive and work; blood, sweat and tears.

“It’s not so bad if you’ve always got a back up of a glass in your hand, but it’s a tough show out there, undoubtedly.”

That’s where Douglas Laing’s entrepreneurial spirit and agility come in.

They’ve just launched a new RTD or ready to drink cocktail onto the Japanese market: Big Peat Crazy Smoky highball in a can.

“That’s something we previously wouldn’t have really played with,” Cara admits. “It’s been a real baby for Fred.”

Douglas Laing’s new RTD sits alongside the company’s traditional bottlings; its traditional cask strength, Old Particular and Xtra Old Particular single cask bottlings; its regional malts like Big Peat from Islay, Scallywag from Speyside and Timorous Beastie from the Highlands region.

Join John as he chats to Cara and Fred about:

➡️The heritage and origins of Douglas Laing & Co, from its post-WWII beginnings to global reach
➡️The art of blending and the secrets behind Douglas Laing’ iconic regional malts
➡️The future of Scotch: navigating market challenges and the rise of RTDs in Japan
➡️How to start your own whisky journey if you haven’t already
➡️And a love for Scotland

#Whisky #ScotchWhisky #DouglasLaing #CaskToGlass #BigPeat #Speyside #HighlandMalt #WhiskyPodcast #IndependentBottler

Slàinte!
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Socials: @C2GWhisky | @JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes
Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)
Vocals: Andrea Cunningham
Guitars: John Beattie
Bass: Alasdair Vann
Drums: Alan Hamilton
Bagpipes: Calum McColl
Accordion: Gary Innes
Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie
Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Whisky should be fun, declares Dawn Davies, outgoing commercial buying director for global whisky retailer The Whisky Exchange.

She wants to shatter many of the myths around whisky. Like you can't mix Lagavulin with Coca-Cola. She calls it the "smoky cokey". And "it's absolutely delicious," she says.

Then there's the "geeky" stuff.

"I'm a fermentation geek through and through," she admits, because different yeasts create different flavours. Before that there's the grain: barley, corn or rye... etc. Each gives a different flavour.

Then there's the type of still that's used to create the new spirit.

And finally the oak.

"I could talk about oak for at least an hour and a half, minimum," Dawn gushes. "You get so much flavour from the oak. And it's not just about the wood giving the flavour, or what was in the wood before. It's also the interaction of oxygen on the alcohols, which gives you all these incredible characters and wood changes so much."

Knowing about the geeky, technical side of whisky production, Dawn insists, can help you understand what whiskies you might like.

So settle in for an unconventional take on what makes whisky great from a true whisky aficionado who "thinks about booze all the time".

Join John and Dawn as they discuss:

➡️Dawn's journey from wine lover to whisky expert.
➡️The unsung heroes of flavour: Yeast and Fermentation.
➡️How different still shapes and oak types define your dram.
➡️The rise of global whisky and what to watch next.
➡️Breaking the rules: Whisky cocktails, ice, and pairing with food.
➡️How to bring the next generation of drinkers into the category.

Whether you're a seasoned whisky drinker or just starting your journey, this conversation is packed with insights to help you understand and enjoy whisky even more.

Slàinte!
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Socials: @C2GWhisky | @JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes
Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)
Vocals: Andrea Cunningham
Guitars: John Beattie
Bass: Alasdair Vann
Drums: Alan Hamilton
Bagpipes: Calum McColl
Accordion: Gary Innes
Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie
Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ever wondered what it actually takes to break into the whisky industry?

John sits down with recruitment specialist Nicola McRedmond, founder of DrinkAbility, to discover the hidden roadmap for your career. From mastering the art of networking to the specific roles in high demand right now, this is your blueprint for landing your dream job in spirits.

In this conversation with Nicola, we dive deep into the current state of the whisky job market. From the shifting roles of brand ambassadors to the "incestuous" nature of industry hiring, Nicola shares expert advice on how to stand out and build a career in the world of spirits.

Whether you're looking to break into the industry or want to understand the business case for diversity and inclusion in whisky industry, this episode offers a candid look at the people behind the bottles.

Slàinte!
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Socials: @C2GWhisky | @JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes
Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)
Vocals: Andrea Cunningham
Guitars: John Beattie
Bass: Alasdair Vann
Drums: Alan Hamilton
Bagpipes: Calum McColl
Accordion: Gary Innes
Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie
Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Step into "Scotland's greatest story" and discover one of the 7 Wonders of the Scotch Whisky World - the Diageo Claive Vidiz Scotch Whisky Collection - curtesy of Susan Morrison, CEO of the Scotch Whisky Experience in Edinburgh.

Let Susan "dram you" into discovering whisky for the first time or into expanding your whisky journey no matter how experienced you are.

Over nearly 40 years the Scotch Whisky Experience, located at the top of Castle Hill right next to Edinburgh's iconic Castle, has played host to over nine million visitors from around the world.

Its centrepiece is the legendary Claive Vidiz whisky collection - 3,384 bottles of Scotch whisky amassed by, and named after, the Brazilian businessman and whisky enthusiast.

Ranging from the most humble supermarket blends to the rarest single malts ever produced, this priceless collection was once the Guinness Book of Records' largest collection of unopened whisky bottles in the world.

The recipient of the 2024 Dr Jim Swan Award for Services to Scotch Whisky, Susan began working at the Scotch Whisky Experience as a university student when it first opened in 1988.

Now the Experience's CEO, Susan's the perfect guide to take you on a celebration of Scotland's national drink and the world's favourite spirit.

Slàinte!
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Socials: @C2GWhisky | @JohnRossBeattie

Creator & producer: David Holmes
Art work & design: Jess Robertson

Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)
Vocals: Andrea Cunningham
Guitars: John Beattie
Bass: Alasdair Vann
Drums: Alan Hamilton
Bagpipes: Calum McColl
Accordion: Gary Innes
Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie
Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.