Latest / Whisky Stories Podcast / A Christmas Cracker - North British Distillery AND some BIG news for 2026!

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A Christmas Cracker - North British Distillery AND some BIG news for 2026! · Whisky Stories Podcast

0:00
We should add Christmas jumpers on the day.
0:03
I reckon we do it all topless instead of Christmas jumpers.
0:08
I'll. Imagine the listeners.
0:09
We all, we all think of tops up. Right, I guess you know what to
0:12
do. Clap us in.
0:16
Welcome to the Whiskey Stories podcast.
0:18
Dear Whiskey Stories podcast, Here's a little gift of
0:21
something. You might recognize Merry
0:24
Christmas. From Royal Mile Whiskey PS Your
0:28
eyes peeled for these bottles on our website in the new year.
0:32
Well, eighteen 85140 years ago, the guy decided to build a
0:36
distillery. Those stills are awesome.
0:38
Like soon. Absolutely crazy to see.
0:41
And what I would say is the only distillery I've been to where I
0:43
can pretty much see my bedroom window.
0:45
So there you go. Merry Christmas from that
0:50
Whiskey Stories podcast. We're back in diggers.
0:52
It's Christmas Day, lads. Merry Christmas.
0:55
Merry. Christmas.
0:56
Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas.
0:58
Well done I guess. We've done it.
1:00
We've made it. It's Christmas Day.
1:01
You pulled, you pulled the cracker, Graham today, pulled
1:04
the cracker this morning. And that was we left the current
1:06
wives at home to head to Diggers for a few drams and to enjoy
1:12
each other's company. Because we can't stay because
1:14
people do think that because we record this podcast together
1:18
that we're we're always together.
1:19
So here we are on Christmas Day. Christmas is about family.
1:23
And I have to warn you lads, it's not a very large room and I
1:25
didn't go, I didn't, I didn't go, I went, didn't go easy on
1:28
the sprouts is. It right?
1:32
Anyway, it's Christmas. All that family.
1:35
Yeah, we're in. We're in our original room where
1:38
it all started. It was the three of us.
1:41
Thank you so much to everybody. It's been listening recently.
1:44
I hope you've enjoyed the content, going to the
1:46
discoveries and having a bit of fun.
1:48
Coda Reynolds coming back on all the rest you might.
1:52
Look at somewhere in the future. Look.
1:54
I predict in a future episode we will speak excellent.
1:56
Episode. But here we are back in the
1:59
Diggers. We've got a couple of drums in
2:00
front of us. Graham, what you on?
2:02
I have the Living Souls 3 year old collaboration with the
2:06
Thompson brothers. Now I've been trying to collab
2:09
whiskey. Collab whiskey.
2:10
They'll never catch on. I've been trying.
2:12
To work out exactly how this is. But my understanding of this is
2:19
living Souls brought a 99 in one, which I believe was a large
2:24
percentage of Lajig 18 and a tiny percent of something else
2:29
which we need to work out what that was.
2:31
I'll be doing Sarapuna. Yeah, a batting error, I think
2:35
it must have been. And then of course, one of a
2:37
real favorite of ours, there's a TB BSW.
2:41
Another batting error. 6 / 6 which is a batting error.
2:43
This is the two of them. The two of these are 99 and one.
2:47
Is it pretty smoky? It's got a bit of smoke, it's
2:49
soft, but I tell you what Angus told me before we started
2:52
recording to get this. The after taste goes on and on
2:57
and on. Tastes like old Lectric.
3:00
Yeah, yeah, fantastic. And what's your second draft?
3:02
£4.50 a bottle, a glass of. That £4.50 in it. 450 in a.
3:06
Bag nice so about 40 odd quid a bottle there.
3:09
Second DRAM is I'm going back to this all the time now since we.
3:13
And I'm mock Glen Care. Isn't a fake Glen Care?
3:16
I'm not impressed by having had Raymond on.
3:18
Sorry Raymond, but we're we we talked about this when we did
3:23
our Edinburgh W2 or Angus with Scott Miller.
3:26
Where Yep. It's a it's a queboken #7 I'm
3:30
having this a lot. I'm having this a lot, right?
3:33
That's, and I've said it, I've said it on a future episode that
3:37
we recorded all that long ago. I also had this on was that I
3:40
really didn't like the Kubokan when we first had it up in the
3:44
command distillery when? We didn't do it was devil dog.
3:46
I believe it translates to. Yeah.
3:48
Is that what it is that the Kubokan?
3:50
Yeah, there's. A different It was an earlier
3:51
one in the series, but it. Tasted like rubber bands.
3:54
Yes, that's exactly. Right, this is like custard the.
3:57
Smell. Rhubarb and custard.
3:59
There's a danger with this that and I'm verging into becoming,
4:04
you know, giving out whiskey notes and sounding like I'm
4:07
doing whiskey to. Music.
4:08
Really. Charles Kenton.
4:09
Yeah, but there's a danger with this where the smell is actually
4:12
almost better than the whiskey. Of course, yeah, that happens a
4:16
lot of things. But.
4:17
Cadem, that would bring up a lot of time.
4:18
The nose is always better on the palate, but it's not a great
4:20
whiskey. But that to me is like rhubarbs
4:23
and custards. Oh, you better smoke.
4:26
Perfect for Christmas Day. For a value peated whiskey, Cuba
4:30
can #7 I believe. It is, yeah.
4:32
Yeah, that's an excellent choice.
4:33
I was annoyed by how much I liked.
4:34
It I really like it, really, really like it.
4:36
And I guess what you got. Me well, I have an owner of Wow.
4:42
Chuck's not joined us today got a lump of cold this morning
4:44
Yeah, it's his birthday tomorrow it's his birthday tomorrow.
4:48
Turkey Curry again. Happy birthday, Chuck.
4:53
Can anyone, everyone who's? Listening to this If it's Boxing
4:56
Day, please, please, please just put up in an Instagram story or
5:00
send me a message to Chuck Kerr, yeah, to say happy birthday.
5:04
Or or even in the weekend drama Roll Call, which will be a
5:07
couple of days the day after this podcast comes out.
5:11
Put your drama in and put happy birthday, Chuck.
5:13
Yeah, just have a nice. Keep wondering, happy birthday
5:15
and if you're listening to this in mid January, set a reminder
5:19
on your phone. For next December, that's.
5:22
True, but that's why it's next in December and say happy.
5:24
Birthday Chuck. So an owner of Chuck, I've gone
5:26
for Glenn Talkers, signatory Glenn Talkers.
5:29
And I predict, I predict I'll have this on a future episode as
5:32
well. But it's a signatory 2012.
5:36
I think 12 or 1320 or yeah 12 year old is.
5:39
It 100 proof or? What?
5:41
Yeah, I think it is. I really should have checked.
5:43
7.1. Percent.
5:44
No, no, it's not. No, maybe not that high.
5:47
I should have checked that before coming on.
5:49
But at a research it's Christmas.
5:51
I think it is 2012. So I think it's about 14 round
5:53
12. 12 year old. Oh, you think it's 12 year old
5:55
you? Had a couple of Baileys
5:57
Christmas. I'm going to blame.
5:58
You. Yeah, by the way, very, very
6:00
nice. It is indeed.
6:01
How much are in gold have you consumed over the last couple of
6:05
days? I didn't go, believe it or not,
6:06
is the reason I am a fat bastard.
6:10
I was. We just wanted to stop 3 packets
6:13
of Christmas. I helped him out.
6:17
I was a living stone before I discovered cream like yours
6:21
about Bailey's Arangot Magnum with Ben Rea.
6:24
Yeah, but Arangot will always be the one if you want to be happy
6:28
in life. By Aaron.
6:29
Gold. Yeah, yeah.
6:30
Not sponsored by them. No, we're not, But.
6:33
By the way, Aaron open for sponsorship.
6:35
Yeah, well, we had. I had a Highland tea a few weeks
6:38
ago. Oh, yes, no, Bailey's Wicks were
6:41
whiskey. Bailey's.
6:42
Bailey's. It was famous grouse, so I think
6:44
we hanged with it. It was famous Bailey's and ice.
6:46
A double Bailey's and Ice with a single of grouses.
6:52
Pretty decent. Oh, very decent the job it was.
6:54
Very, very nice. I like a cream.
6:56
Look here. And I, I've gone again.
6:58
I've, I've joined you, Graham. I've gone for the, the loving
7:02
souls, Thompson brothers, 3 year old.
7:03
I had it when I came in here and when I was trying to pick a
7:06
second drama. What is something smoky?
7:08
And I said, you know what? I'm just going to be trying to
7:11
find someone to replicate that. So I'm just going to go for it
7:14
again because it's an absolute cracker.
7:16
And hopefully I'm well, hopefully.
7:17
That's really impressed me. Hopefully we sent all our wives,
7:20
current wives to last week's episode of Big Cam to listen to
7:25
our Christmas whiskeys so that people get out.
7:27
So. I don't have that.
7:29
Hopefully they've remembered. Yeah, yeah, because I haven't
7:31
opened my presents yet because Diggers was open 12 till 4 on
7:36
Christmas Day. So I decided to pop along and
7:39
see you guys on Christmas Day. What a way to spend a Christmas
7:42
Day. Ross, what about yourself?
7:45
So we've, by the way, outside of the podcast, I think it's worth
7:48
saying that the three of us, we do some very, very good tastings
7:52
this year. What?
7:53
Haven't. Oh, is this how we plug for you?
7:54
Not. At all, not at all.
7:56
I I've got a Glen going new to the Diggers Glen going PX finish
8:01
and actually we had some fantastic Glen going earlier in
8:05
the year and it's really sold me on the brand.
8:08
Some really interesting stuff, probably of the course Valley of
8:11
the Wild Geese. Wild geese.
8:12
Yeah, please watch the Glen Going episode on YouTube.
8:15
Fantastic, fantastic gift for Gordon.
8:17
And that's some boy. We enjoyed a lovely lobster
8:19
lunch. 6 quid £6 for 35 bills of a Glen going PX.
8:24
It's fantastic. Yeah, you.
8:25
Can't beat. Brilliant distillery, so
8:27
consistent, really enjoy it. And then I've got a wee gifted
8:31
DRAM. In fact, I've got a couple of
8:32
wee gifts for us today. For audio listeners, I am
8:36
showing bottles to the. Camera Santa's been picking.
8:39
Up together just so people get oh, so they sound there'll be
8:42
people driving along they go they sound like a couple of.
8:45
I didn't realize Santa had the distillery up at.
8:47
All it's quite awful somebody a brand comes all Ross have a wee
8:52
drama this yeah and they give me a wee 25 mil sample a couple of
8:56
twit you see Yeah a couple. Of twit, you see, I click them
8:58
together again, unrecognizable. Yeah, you know exactly what
9:02
that's I have. Seen the wishy stories podcast
9:03
so I'm on a Dalmore King Alexander right?
9:07
Which you see Revolutionary whiskey.
9:10
Dalmark, Alexander. Why is the revolutionary?
9:13
Dalmark Alexander changed the whiskey industry.
9:15
Really. It was the first whiskey really
9:18
to look at multiple cask finishes batted together into
9:21
one, right? Let me hope I can get this.
9:24
Out. So this is taking lots of casks,
9:26
finishing them in different ways exactly, and then putting them
9:28
back together. The Dalmore King Alexander is a
9:31
well aged Dalmore I believe. I could be wrong.
9:35
Bourbon, Sherry, Port Merci, Madeira, Marsala, and Cabernet
9:42
Sauvignon. 6 different cast types here.
9:46
And it's soft. It's smooth when you do.
9:48
You know if those are cask finishes or if they're full
9:51
maturation and no. Likely finishes, then batted.
9:54
So what they've done, so it's actually.
9:57
But this was at the time nobody had done it at this but and also
10:00
you'd question if you'd get 6 different casks.
10:03
What's wrong with the whiskey? Actually, this was Richard
10:06
Patterson looking at what can we do?
10:08
What can we create that iconic stag on the bottle?
10:11
The King Alexander for me as. Well, I rather a second rather
10:15
Dalmore. A rather different icon, A
10:17
rather different iconic stag on the glass.
10:20
I have a lymphatic glass that is true.
10:23
Well, I mean. Which it just came from a master
10:25
class we were at recently. Last Friday, yes, so.
10:28
That was all right, Graham. Wasn't it?
10:30
It was. It was OK.
10:31
Yeah. Like, I think there's two.
10:33
There's a leading question in there, Ross.
10:35
Planting a seed. We've had some fantastic
10:37
whiskey, Ross, I have to say. You had us all again giddy like
10:42
little school boys and girls who were all there.
10:45
A master class with Brian Kinsman.
10:47
Yeah. Hosted by Brian.
10:49
I mean some of the just hearing Brian talking about for me.
10:53
I'm pretty really don't know. Brian Kinsman is the malt master
10:56
for William Grant. I'm not even going to, I'm not
11:00
even going to discredit this man by giving them the title that I
11:04
nearly gave him because I was thinking on Friday night, this
11:08
guy would be really good at wanky tasting.
11:11
Yeah, right. But see, when you see, when you
11:14
see, when you hear a master blender who could sit there and
11:20
go. And it was, it was the one where
11:22
he said, and he gave us 2 cast samples and he went, this one
11:25
here I was a virgin oak, 12 year old virgin oak.
11:28
Yeah. And he sat there and he went and
11:31
he smelt it and he went and this is for people listening back
11:34
home. You could almost imagine the
11:35
smell. He said, remember when you were
11:37
at techie at school, right? And the bandsaw had just been
11:40
used and you could almost get that smell of wood coming off
11:44
the bandsaw. I was like, where does your
11:47
brain need to go where you have that kind of, this is the bit I
11:51
really sure I do not. And I feel like I cannot get
11:55
that type of smell recall, like sensory recall where you can sit
11:59
there and smell that and go that.
12:01
It takes me instantly, takes me back to Techie, and by the way,
12:06
with the greatest respect, he still looks good for his age,
12:07
but he's a hell of a lot older than than I am, so it would have
12:09
been a fair bit of things since Brian was last at school.
12:11
And credit, credit to him when I had Brian and I said, oh, Brian,
12:14
how do you want me to introduce you tonight?
12:15
I'm hosting this Scotch club master class at the bum all
12:19
hotel. And I said, Brian, remember your
12:21
title is it malt master? And he says, Ross, introduce me
12:25
as Brian from Bathgate. If you want very self
12:28
deprecating a very normal honest person, every Glenn finish that
12:33
almost all of our listeners have ever had is his responsibility.
12:37
Oh, it's mental. I mean what I was.
12:39
Trying to remember like unbelievable.
12:40
And he's just a normal guy. And you're right because he's
12:44
not as back to techie class in high school.
12:47
I've been there, I've done, I've done woodwork.
12:49
I was a smart boy. I'm sure you've done woodwork.
12:53
It's Angus. Maybe not Angus pretty switched
12:56
on. Actually, he did read.
12:58
Angus did arithmetic and woodwork, so he made rulers.
13:03
But to get even a 12 year old cast sample from him and go,
13:07
that's what I love. And then it followed up with a
13:09
wine. Yes, 12 year old wine cast
13:11
sample. And he said, you know, my
13:12
favorite casks for Glenn Ferrick is wine casks.
13:15
Yeah, we think of Glenn Ferrick. You think of soft, safe whiskey.
13:19
Yeah. Yeah, you think of wine cast.
13:21
We think of inconsistency. Yeah.
13:23
Diversity. So amazing to hear.
13:25
That well, that was funny with Dougal Gordon Dougal Gordon had
13:28
been on the podcast a few months ago.
13:30
He. Got his Scottish A brand
13:31
ambassador. Brand of Whistler and a member
13:32
of the family. But he he sat there and he said
13:35
that, and this is The thing is he said that these are great
13:37
whiskeys to drink them as they are.
13:40
But he said, but that was very interesting about how protective
13:42
they are of the brand, as he said.
13:44
But they just they they are not Glenn Finick taste like they
13:47
don't taste like Glenn Finick that you can get and neglect.
13:49
So they won't ever. No, and that was what was, and
13:52
also what was interesting was he was saying the spirit that comes
13:56
from those casts of virginal, the wine might be used in very,
13:59
very small quantities in a batting, but they can have a
14:02
dramatic effect. The fact the fascinating bit for
14:05
you is just. They can just take something and
14:07
put it in a different. Way getting to ask the guy who's
14:09
responsible and that's this is the we've heard it before on the
14:13
podcast from people who have worked at Johnny Walker and been
14:17
or worked for the Azure have been Brandon Masters Ally
14:20
Reynolds rings true. And he said that everyone was
14:24
once that a lot of master blenders were asked what would
14:27
be the blend that you would make if you could do it and they all
14:31
said Johnny Walker Black right. All the blinders around Scotland
14:34
said Johnny Walker Black for the consistency where it goes and
14:37
stuff like that. When you actually think about
14:40
when you actually think about the the ability to make
14:42
glypharic 12 as consistent as it actually is and for it to travel
14:47
all around the world like it does.
14:48
So I asked him. It was fascinating to get that
14:50
insight saying how many casks do you guys use?
14:53
It was what was it 40,000 casks now barely when there's a good
14:58
few drams consumed on. I'm trying to remember exactly
15:02
what is. But but battings would be yeah,
15:04
10s of thousands of gas, yeah. For a Glenfinic 12, sure.
15:08
Because they've got one point, they've got one point, something
15:10
million litres bats for Glenfinic 12.
15:13
But the fascinating bit about that as well is they're so
15:15
protective of the flavour now. They actually there's two
15:19
tankers loads that head down to their bottling plant and I can't
15:22
remember where their bottling plant was.
15:24
It's in the central belt somewhere, like sort of on that,
15:26
that Kirk and Tillich Livingston, sorry, whatever.
15:29
He said that they'll send the water from Dufton down as well.
15:34
Amazing to hear that. So like they so my.
15:36
Family owned company, yeah, we earn from all sorts of different
15:39
brands and sizes of brands and what they're looking for and he
15:43
was, you know, we're not happy with the water and since.
15:46
The water leaves Glenfiddich on tankers to go to the Central.
15:49
Because Because they believe the water in Dufton as the important
15:54
ingredient to what makes their whiskey that final problem.
15:57
And actually, a lot of people would look at a lymphatic bottle
16:00
and bypass it. Yeah, yeah.
16:02
I think I would be guilty. Well, I got a row because.
16:04
You see everywhere, don't. You.
16:05
I got a row in the night from you.
16:08
Yeah, by walking about with that Glenn Kern that you're drinking
16:10
this now? Because we were gifted as well.
16:12
We had mince pies, by the way. My first mince pie ever that.
16:17
Surprises me. That's fair, it was my first
16:22
mince pie ever. Really Well, but they brought me
16:24
Glenn Fennick and Walker shortbread mince pie.
16:26
But how do you They also gifted us a wee miniature of 12 and I
16:31
got a row. Thank you from you for doing
16:34
this. Because you're like, oh, shock,
16:36
Mr. because you have to call me by my formal name, Mr. Kilgar.
16:39
Shock, Mr. Kilgar. As a paying customer.
16:42
Yeah, already tucked into his gift, that was.
16:44
You're meant to take away with it.
16:45
It was actually. Timothy Walker.
16:47
Tim. Tim double tip and tonic beside
16:50
us there. Who said tell you what will be a
16:52
good one lad. Pour your Glenfiric 12 into the
16:57
Pour your Glenfiric 12 into your glass and have it as a side by
17:00
side and. I did this as.
17:02
Well, and, and seeing the consistency so, so basically
17:05
you've got the you've got the mould of what Glenfiric actually
17:08
is 12 year old and you're being able to drink a wine cast and go
17:11
back and go. I can get that.
17:12
The maltiness of that, the maltiness of that 12 year old
17:16
virginal came through massively, but there was still something
17:19
there where you could say there is a line of distillery
17:21
character that you could see all the way through.
17:24
It was a brilliant taste to try. And we've had plenty of other
17:27
ones, Hammond was. Trying in the 1980s pure malt to
17:32
Gunfinic 34 exclusively for China and Taiwan, which I
17:36
thought was awesome. It was really cool it.
17:38
Was a really nice highlight, but the point is that lad, do you
17:41
know what this year has been a fantastic year for the podcast
17:43
It's. Been tremendous.
17:44
A huge thanks to the listeners for listening, but also it's got
17:48
us into really interesting places.
17:50
How many salaries have we visited this?
17:52
Year. Yeah, you guys have done more
17:53
than me, yes. But we're in about 11.
17:55
I think we're on 11. Which is almost a distillery
17:58
ammo. Nearly, yeah, 1010 or 11
18:00
distillery if you're counting Struy, which was a field.
18:02
I think we. Can first trams on the land on
18:06
the ground of Struy, absolutely, yeah.
18:09
So our most recent distillery visit in North British
18:11
Distillery and our. Overalls, yeah, our overall, our
18:14
overalls got. There hard hats.
18:16
Hard hats. Eventually, I think on the
18:18
fourth attempt, I managed to get myself into.
18:19
It yeah, I think, I think you thought I was winding you up,
18:21
but I mean the. The the scale of so interesting
18:27
and I've I've already done the thing so.
18:29
Lucky. I've already so lucky.
18:31
I've already been driving on the Northwestern Approach Rd. on
18:36
Sunday and I've had the current wife in the.
18:39
Car, I said. Laura, do you see those two
18:42
tanks? Yes, 1,000,001 million litres,
18:46
1,000,000 litres of whiskey, about 96% alcohol.
18:49
I guess I have stopped many numbers of the public and I've
18:53
said and I've said standing outside Jay, I just said, I said
18:57
you heard of North Fetish facility?
18:59
They've got tanks of 1,000,000 litres.
19:02
Yeah, yeah. Yeah, they're filling it 94.4%.
19:06
That is the biggest setting bomb in Edinburgh.
19:11
Yeah, if you're, if you're in the West End of it, if you're in
19:14
the golden area, do not strike them out.
19:17
We've had, we've had this leads me on nicely.
19:19
We've had people literally sending us stuff in and we've
19:21
had this dropped off at the Diggers.
19:25
Oh, a gift, a bottle shaped gift.
19:28
Angus. I'll let Angus read the card.
19:31
OK, I don't let Ross open this, but I'm going to read the card
19:34
first. Thanks.
19:35
You know Alana well. So it's a very nice card
19:38
addressed. In the whiskey.
19:38
Stories Podcast Athletic Arms Who's this?
19:41
Who's this from? Dear Whiskey Stories Podcast
19:44
Here's a little gift of something you might recognize.
19:47
Merry Christmas from Royal Mile Whiskey's PS Keep your eyes
19:52
peeled for these bottles on our website in the new year.
19:56
So. RMW that's always exciting.
20:03
Royal Mail whiskey, I'm doing a. Pretty bad job there.
20:05
I think they thought we were going to be playing faster,
20:07
fast. Right when the music stops.
20:11
That's been wrapped up by Dougie.
20:15
Sorry for the audio lesson. I am really.
20:17
There's no shortage of Sellotape, Royal Mail Whiskey
20:20
Tower. Obviously.
20:23
It's been a good year for RMW, my increased spend.
20:28
There's a bottle in there, or it's just paper.
20:33
It's a wee miniature. There's another two layers.
20:37
Somebody wants to use the whole rule of it?
20:40
Jesus. Never seen them I'm.
20:49
Trying like this approach I'm trying.
20:53
That's more layers. OK, I think it's a bottle of
20:56
whiskey. Well done.
20:58
Right? I'm going to say for the audio
21:00
listeners, it's very clearly a bottle of whiskey.
21:02
I've seen the words rare find here.
21:04
They're fine. Oh, we've seen that before.
21:06
That's not that rare, is it? This one here.
21:11
Wow. The colour of that.
21:13
This 17 year old old Potely that brings up a couple that's a
21:21
couple of whiskey stories that. Rings the wee bell.
21:25
One of 54 bottles. 54 bottles 4. First fill Ruby port octave.
21:32
This is the cask that we selected, Angus.
21:35
Yes, this is. I didn't know whether this was
21:37
good or not. This is the Whiskey Fringe cast.
21:40
This was our Whiskey Fringe cast.
21:43
The half time orange. Half time orange.
21:45
And whiskey. Fringe.
21:48
Holy shit lads. Yeah, pardon my friend.
21:52
No 17 year old old portly, less than 60 bottles ever,
21:56
exclusively for the Wesley Stories podcast.
21:59
Yes. When is this going to be
22:01
available? Well, in the new year, I.
22:04
Can I try it? Yes, let's try it.
22:06
I I can't remember it to be honest, because no.
22:08
Well, I mean for context by half time at whiskey fringe.
22:12
Well we we we went along to to the low end bond and we got a
22:22
chance to annoy Chuck at work. Charles Charles GAT.
22:27
Happy birthday, Charles tomorrow and we've got a chance to annoy
22:30
Chuck and part of that process, the kicker was we got to look
22:33
around a bonded warehouse the size of I'm OK just now.
22:36
I'm going to pour, I'm going to finish this.
22:38
I've got to finish cooking the Turkey later.
22:43
But basically we got to pick and we tried four or five and we
22:48
didn't know what they were. We tried four or five and we
22:51
were actually starting to worry a little bit because some of
22:53
them just weren't working, Some of them just weren't hitting
22:55
right with Angus were. They no, no, no.
22:57
And I mean, it's a big old warehouse.
22:59
We had to go through a lot of. Casts.
23:01
I think to be fair to Gregor, who was there at the time, he
23:06
set up 3 or 4, four or five casts that he knew.
23:09
But we picked this one, Yeah. And there was a bit of funny
23:13
looking going on because we didn't know what we'd picked.
23:17
And it turns out we'd picked and another Pulpney 17.
23:20
But this was the Ruby port. Now if people can remember or
23:24
have listened back or have seen kicked up to the speed rare find
23:28
released Pulpney 17 white port. That's right.
23:33
This cask apparently has sat right beside it, but it's a Ruby
23:37
port cask, very small. Room not White Port at Whiskey
23:41
Fringe, one of quite the accolade and, well, one drama.
23:45
The one drama, The Fringe. So this is this is the Ruby port
23:48
better, but we drew that. But all we heard they literally
23:51
we took a 70 CL bottle. I half expected that I half
23:57
expected that we would probably get a wee bottle to take away.
24:01
It would have sang yes, yes, but literally they drew the cast.
24:05
They put the 70 seal bottle. They drew the bottle from the
24:07
cast 70 CL, put the bung in and then they took it away and then
24:10
that was them. I knew this was potentially
24:14
coming down the line. I didn't think it would be ready
24:16
for this. This will be bottled.
24:18
This has been bottled for us and will be available exclusively
24:21
through Royal Malice Case. I believe the price is sitting
24:24
at 115 lbs retail from that on. That will be available in
24:28
January. They must be said.
24:29
I didn't know it was going to be.
24:30
Ready. I mean, I'm going to take, I'm
24:33
going to take a case of this. Well, straight away it's 50
24:35
that. Is fucking huge.
24:39
It was a massive trend. Totally 1770. 9.
24:42
First show Ruby port Octave less less than 60 bottles.
24:48
I don't have a wee bit of water but it's absolutely massive.
24:52
What we're sitting at, it's 54 point 824.8.
24:55
I did you know for £115 for an octane, totally 17.
25:01
Well, you've got to remember that the thing about this is
25:03
that the Ruby at the white port portly 17 and it's been the
25:06
success of I think they had a number of different.
25:10
I think they have a number of different or had a number of
25:13
different pony casks. I don't know if this is the last
25:15
one that they've bottled or whether it's one of the last.
25:17
Well, it's definitely one of the last.
25:18
Isn't already the last, but this was.
25:25
Well, but all probably 17 itself, I mean when we talk
25:28
about discontinued core release that has been mentioned.
25:33
Has it been a what, several times?
25:35
Certainly Mark Thompson's what? Certainly Mark Thompson's.
25:38
I think Sham Buchan mentioned it as well.
25:40
I think you're right it. Wasn't.
25:41
No, she didn't. If it wasn't her.
25:44
What? I've not got the book with me.
25:45
Yeah, and I mean, we actually had, they got us pretty that did
25:50
have a bottle. I don't know if they still do.
25:52
We had a DRAM with Stuart Baxter.
25:54
It's got spice. It's very.
25:55
Festive. Actually it's.
25:56
Very festive. It really is that Ruby port,
26:00
yeah. Spicy.
26:02
There's not that much coastal influence now after the after
26:05
the Ruby port. I think because of that port
26:07
influence this would be a great drum you could pair with cheese.
26:10
A cheese board, Cheese board drum.
26:12
You can have a cheese. Board, very, very good point.
26:14
I guess I it's Sunday today, a wee bit of element, Christmas
26:21
Day, Christmas Day, Thursday. I have been to the Stockbridge
26:24
market today. All right, Yeah.
26:26
And spent far too much money in IJ Ellis.
26:29
Oh yes, you've got loads of cheese.
26:30
Loads. Of cheese.
26:31
I'm going to make a prediction. Well, on Chuck's birthday, Ross
26:34
has gout too. There's a chance it's not
26:39
happened before. I think you're due it right?
26:43
Big Blue cheeses, Big whiskeys. That's actually Monday.
26:50
But isn't it huge? Very, very tasty that with a a
26:54
Lanark blue or a a Hebridean blue.
26:57
Maybe that's. Really.
26:59
Really. That's salt in there as well.
27:02
Yeah, it's got that sweet salt. You got a Shropshire blue, which
27:05
is an orange cheese, but still mature, right?
27:07
Right. Sorry Graham, I've got gross
27:10
started on the cheeses. Welcome.
27:11
To the cheese stories podcast cheese.
27:14
I'm a I'm a Dunlop fan and Ayrshire cheese.
27:18
It's a hard cheese. I think it really works.
27:22
It's huge. It's it's not too porty, it's
27:25
not too old portly ish. It's 17 years old.
27:28
It's classic, it's cash drive. It's huge.
27:31
What gift? Thank you very much, RMW.
27:33
A big thank you there. Thank you, Rome.
27:35
We've mentioned them enough. Well, that's it.
27:38
Now we've got them. But, well, that's.
27:40
Maybe, but most of this podcast has been Aren't we good pals?
27:45
Here's a free Dalmore, and here is an exciting new product.
27:48
But this is what? Is there any Glen Elgin left?
27:51
There are because. I have just.
27:52
Limited bottles I believe my. First bottle of Glen Elgin.
27:55
Is there are there are bottles behind the bar at the Athletic
27:59
Arms where you can pick them up now, so you can actually buy
28:02
them through the Woods of Edinburgh website or you can
28:04
come to the Athletic Arms and buy it.
28:06
You get bottles available. We're actually working, we're
28:09
looking, speaking to a number of different pubs and bars around
28:12
the country. Well, they want.
28:13
Them maybe take a few, but like like I said in the last episode,
28:17
I think we're doing the last couple of cases.
28:19
So so I had I had Ali Reynolds, yes, Cameron Ewan, yes.
28:24
I'm pretty sure this read it like flat last night.
28:27
Oh, really? I did that.
28:29
Would have been a heavy one it. Was a late night yeah.
28:32
And we we opened a spirit drink Glenelg in 13 Well now.
28:36
You can get yourself whiskey and actually it's actually genuine.
28:39
Whiskey and we've done some serious damage to it.
28:42
I might need to buy another bottle myself if there's still
28:44
1. Available There's a few limited
28:47
bottles. Limited Limited bottles.
28:48
But it was a fantastic night out.
28:51
Good lads. Ali Reynolds is actually the
28:54
person introducing to Glen Elgin.
28:56
Then Eduardo Candita, another episode, he has a fixation with
29:01
Glen. Elgin Well, you tried to do it.
29:02
You, Well, you you did your best impression of him.
29:05
I remember getting the cast sample, but what will be our
29:08
second both line and trying to Glen Elgin, going Glen Elgin.
29:11
Glen Elgin and just hearing this guy who'd run Melroy's in
29:17
Sputtlefield down in London. It's a huge whiskey bar.
29:21
I have this obsession with Glenelg and I was so naive to it
29:26
and now I buy more. Anytime I say Glenelg can I buy
29:29
it? Well, The thing is, Ross right?
29:32
Does this Poultney rare finds Poultney 17?
29:38
Does it find the place in the bar at Scotch now?
29:44
It's definitely good as my director.
29:46
OK, I'm going to say that she didn't listen and my director
29:49
realizes that this portly 17 is technically my bottling.
29:53
There could be a conflict of interest.
29:55
But you're going to shift, aren't you?
29:57
The last portly 17, which was the white port did.
30:00
You have that in the bar I. Wish I bought cases of it.
30:03
Yeah, it sold so fast. It's so tasty.
30:07
I wish I had more of it. And so I look forward to that
30:10
three reports of Portly 17 coming in because it's that
30:12
good. Does that mean that?
30:13
Does this mean right? Always one for the market.
30:17
What are you going to say here? I'm worried.
30:19
Does this mean that this year 2025 we've doubled our out terms
30:26
for releases that we've put out this year?
30:28
Because definitely, definitely. 25 year old blind that we put
30:31
out in 2024, Yep. As Ross has previously
30:35
mentioned, the spirit drink the Glen Elgin 13 that we've put
30:37
out. Yep.
30:38
And now, of course, we have a Poltney 17 in collaboration.
30:42
And by the way, of course. Collaboration we're.
30:43
Fine, by the way, we appreciate. Royal Mail Whiskey.
30:46
We appreciate the support of all our listeners, but to release a
30:49
17 year old Robotney that's a very serious whiskey to release.
30:54
Yeah, that's the that's the high end single cast, single mall
31:00
that we know that our audience and really appreciate, but that
31:04
it's taken a lot of work and effort and also money from
31:07
yourself. No, no, realistically.
31:09
No, no, no. Like genuinely, this is a gift
31:11
from Royal Mail Whiskies. Oh, that's bottlers.
31:13
The out turn of 6. The out turns like the out turn.
31:16
Is a gift from Royal Mail. RNW are taking on.
31:18
They've taken the whole walk. In which case I can tell you
31:21
that RNW who have 4 or 500 on trade accounts in Scotland.
31:26
This could be sold out the week of the podcast release.
31:30
OK, it could be gone already. Well, no, because it doesn't get
31:33
released until January. Until January.
31:35
When? I don't know.
31:37
I'll be putting it out. It will be at some.
31:39
Point keep an eye out on the wiki story Social Socials.
31:42
Yes, it'll be early in January. This will be released.
31:46
Like I said, I didn't know about this.
31:47
What I knew is on the success of the Pulpit 17 that happened with
31:52
the rare finds that was that was keep the right report on the
31:55
back of the success on the back of our student, our content.
31:58
I knew that rare find, the guys that were fine were were
32:01
interested in getting us involved.
32:03
I had a conversation with them. We've talked about it.
32:06
I said let's do it in the new year.
32:10
Yeah. And then that's turned up at
32:11
Diggers today. It's a special whiskey that
32:15
brings you into a question. I want to ask both you boys
32:18
because it's been an amazing year, 2025.
32:20
Yeah, Yeah. Yeah, yeah, that's some.
32:21
Drama. I'm not going to be on the
32:23
podcast with Ali back. Sorry.
32:27
I'm I'm sorry, I'm missing it. Without giving your top drama
32:32
away and that's both ears, what highlighted drama do you want to
32:38
talk about to our audience that have been special to you?
32:40
Maybe the moments in special, maybe the tasting's so special,
32:43
a stand out DRAM. I guess you're someone to start
32:45
off with something that just really worked for you.
32:51
What the Le Freud tasting you went to with me?
32:53
That was superb. That was spectacular.
32:55
Another. We getting sponsors?
32:57
No, no, no, she's a header for Angus, really.
33:00
No, Le Freud woman's very special because I've been to a
33:02
lot you. Didn't make that taste.
33:04
No, it was nice. It was nice.
33:06
I think it was the first Isle of distillery you've probably had
33:08
there at the Scots for a long, long time.
33:10
We've done 196 years of a fraud in six trams.
33:13
We did, and Graham managed to avoid that because Graham does
33:15
pretend to like Pete. Yeah, I was actually managed.
33:18
To avoid it. What what what was so fantastic
33:21
about that tasting was the kind of subtle differences as we
33:26
worked up through the different releases.
33:28
How? How different the?
33:31
25. Yeah, 25 starting with the 25.
33:34
And then I think my drama the night was the one you sell
33:37
behind the bar at Scotch. The Is it the 34?
33:40
34, yeah. That was that was a terrific
33:43
jam. I really really.
33:44
Enjoyed. Yeah, 24 year old Lefroy.
33:46
That really that that really hit the sweet spot for a couple
33:48
years ago. I think that's the one.
33:50
I put my hand up a. Couple years ago I see Angus.
33:51
She enjoyed the 34 Lefroy. A.
33:54
Lot Graham paid for it, but seriously, good.
33:58
I was seriously good and you know, it's one of these ones
34:02
where when you go up to the kind of real the last two bottles,
34:06
when it's the it's a kind of silly thing to talk about, but
34:10
where the bottles are engraved, the 36 and the is it the 38 and
34:16
it just really classy bottles. I mean things you would just
34:20
statement pieces. And after all that, that age
34:22
that was very subtle wasn't. It really, really subtle, that
34:25
kind of mentally Ness. The smoke.
34:27
Almost. The whisper.
34:28
And he's had the chance to think about it now, so I'll come back
34:30
to you for bigger drums for the rest of the year.
34:33
Graham, we have to watch that thing.
34:35
What's your standard drums for this?
34:37
I've got the pigs in blankets in the oven.
34:40
What's your standard drums for this year without giving your
34:43
number one away? I mean, there's so many.
34:45
I think one of the things that I've really, really enjoyed, and
34:48
there's a bit of recency bias involved in this situation is
34:53
going round and being at the other end of the scale that Cody
34:56
Reynolds talked about and coming back to it, you know, getting to
35:01
enjoy some fantastic drams. Finn Thompson, some of the
35:05
stuff, he's deep. We tried things that people have
35:09
sent and things that people have brought a lot.
35:11
I mean, we've been lucky enough that on three separate occasions
35:16
or four separate occasions now, I've been lucky enough to try
35:19
the time to 21. I haven't had to pay a bean for
35:21
it, right? So you go like it's ridiculous,
35:25
but at the same time, you know, I come back and you're going to
35:28
go. But there was a time over a year
35:32
ago, a year and a half ago during this podcast, used to
35:35
slag me off because all I'd ever drink was Glenn Kadam because,
35:37
you know, it felt like. Every week I had to.
35:41
Fight myself not to go back. So well priced.
35:44
But at the same time, it's just, it's just nice to come round
35:47
again. But.
35:47
By the way, I still that you 2 have been through that.
35:49
I haven't. Yeah.
35:50
Do you know how much that hurts me?
35:52
Yeah, it's great as a cracking truck.
35:54
You know that I'm a fairly better.
35:55
Yeah, I know that. But I say.
35:56
You know that you 2 boys have been around.
35:58
It I'm sure, I'm sure you'll get there, Ross.
36:01
I mean, it's not. There, I've see, I've see.
36:02
I've tried a lot of stuff. I mean, I spoke last week.
36:07
Cam spoiled me, treated me to some fantastic drums and stuff
36:10
like that. What he does at the Johnny
36:13
Walker Center, his Angus called Johnny Walker experience Johnny
36:17
Walker Center. But I'm going to say it's the
36:19
probably 17 in White Fork. It was just a cracker from the
36:25
moment I tried that, we got to try it and I was excited about
36:28
it. And look, I'm going to lay, it's
36:30
not like me to blow my own trumpet or blow the podcast
36:32
trumpet too much. We took credit for that DRAM
36:36
when they we sold that bottle out.
36:38
They're like, we didn't, yeah, it sold itself out.
36:40
The whiskey did all the work. Gregor Cut picked that whiskey.
36:43
And that is Gregor Cut's legacy through their fine because that
36:46
was an absolute cracker DRAM. And to get an accolade.
36:48
And look, they all have had plenty of accolades.
36:50
Rare find. I've won lots of different
36:52
awards, and Greg Arkat's been part of that.
36:54
But that DRAM made so many people very, very.
36:57
Happy. I'm, I'm, I'm, I've got a good
37:01
DRAM. I'm I was just thinking back.
37:04
Yeah, go on. Glenn Woodridge from White
37:07
Mackay who was on the podcast. You guys went to Loman and Clyde
37:09
Festival has DRAM of the year. It was exactly the same as
37:13
yours. Luxury brand available manager
37:16
for White Mackay and the old portly 17 White port.
37:19
He cannot get over it. I was just thinking back,
37:22
obviously we've done a lot of indie bottle of spotlights on
37:25
the Whiskey Stories podcast, and I was just thinking back to some
37:28
of those and thinking what my favorite drama those were.
37:32
And I was thinking back to the one in the summer with the
37:33
Thompson brothers when they bought their cask sample Dorner.
37:37
Yeah, that was pretty special. I can't remember the cast.
37:39
It's a red wine Sherry. Cast.
37:42
It was superb. It was an absolutely excellent
37:46
drama and really, really special to have a donor on the lineup
37:52
for the Thompson brothers that are tasting at their tasting
37:55
tasting we did together. But like I said, that that was a
37:58
real highlight. Things and blankets are getting
38:00
burnt. So Ross, what about yourself?
38:03
Because you're not going to be on.
38:04
What is your DRAM? You're not going to be on the
38:05
next one. So my drams of the year, I'm a
38:09
lucky bastard and the viewers know already I think Fetter
38:14
Kieran 40 that I've had this year, 89 bottles in the world,
38:18
38 years of real flower bourbon, two years in festival ribbon as
38:22
a fetish and one of the most extraordinary eye opening wishes
38:26
I've had. I've mentioned it before to
38:30
Mountain 36 Batch 11 this year. It's mango, it's papaya.
38:37
It ruins whiskey for you because it's extraordinary, absolutely
38:41
extraordinary. But of any 30 rare managers,
38:45
Yeah, yeah. I hate that the prices got up.
38:48
I love the whiskey. It's so, so good.
38:52
It's so good. But my DRAM of the year have a
39:00
lot of whiskey. Honestly.
39:06
I've been to a few different distillery.
39:08
Interesting stuff. My drama The year is Glencadam
39:11
18. Oh no.
39:14
Glencadam 18 is the most consistently delicious whiskey
39:19
that I've had. It's very easy for Glencadam to
39:22
sell the 15 and 10 year old or even 13 year old whiskeys.
39:26
I actually. I was going to say I prefer.
39:28
And they really, I'm going to say that Glencadam struggled to
39:31
sell the 18 because the 15 is so well priced.
39:35
But the 18, for me, it's Granny's with apples.
39:39
That's what I like. Yeah, it's my thing, right?
39:42
And that is my DRAM of the year 2025.
39:46
Now. I have a wee bolus gram here.
39:50
How about you, Bruce? The bonus?
39:51
The Dalmore Distillery, who also orders with the.
39:54
Sponsor the whiskey tonight. Who?
39:56
Did support us with the King Alexander, which is a
39:58
revolutionary whiskey. Tonight's whiskey is brought to
40:00
you by Dalmore. Dal Dalmore.
40:03
Dalmore cutting that back because I paid for that
40:05
sponsorship is still available for 2020.
40:08
Dalmore has spent over £40 million in distillery visitor
40:11
Center and it still won't be open until next October.
40:15
What we're trying now will be one of the first distillery
40:18
exclusives from the Downward Distillery.
40:20
It's 17 years old, it's wine finished.
40:23
It's cash strength. People don't.
40:25
People don't. You say it's soft, it's cash
40:27
strength. But what's cash strength?
40:29
It doesn't taste like it's not. I think it's about 54% it's.
40:32
Nice. But pretty whiny.
40:34
How often do you eat to try Dalmore?
40:36
Naturally not. That does not taste 54%.
40:39
Doesn't at all. That tastes 34%, Yeah, I mean
40:43
that is. That is delicious.
40:45
I can't wait to visit the celery.
40:47
I already love Fetter Care. Wow.
40:49
And the Dalmore. The Dalmore has proven me wrong
40:51
this year. I was a wee bit arrogant about
40:55
it. Shock.
40:56
Yeah. And the Dalmore whiskey I've had
40:58
this year has been a big slice of humble pie.
41:02
Yeah. Because actually, it's excellent
41:04
spirit. Really, really special.
41:07
So there we go. You'll be having down more of it
41:08
in 22nd. Well done.
41:10
Cheers. Thank you.
41:10
Well lads, we wanted. To end, Merry Christmas.
41:15
Merry Christmas. As a wee Christmas cracker we
41:17
decided we didn't want to. We spend too much time away from
41:21
our current wives and family on Christmas Day.
41:22
Hope you guys are happy for. Yourself, Gray man.
41:26
I hope you guys are having a wonderful Christmas.
41:27
Thank you very much for supporting the podcast.
41:29
And thanks for listening. And watching it, listening and
41:31
everything like that, it's been absolutely fantastic.
41:33
Well done to to everybody who's been involved.
41:36
It's been fantastic. We've had some great experiences
41:39
over the year. We've got another episode coming
41:41
with Ali Baxter for the New Year's and I'm off then there,
41:43
but as a Christmas cracker. Coming up next is our episode
41:49
which we recorded in the boardroom at the North British
41:53
Distillery. Hope you enjoy it.
41:55
Have a wonderful Christmas, SpongeBob cheer.
41:58
Right Angus? You know what to do.
41:59
Clap us in. Welcome along the Whiskey
42:03
Stories podcast, myself, Graeme Cougar we are.
42:05
Well, we're not in our usual place.
42:08
No. We are not.
42:09
And of course, we've got coffees in front of us instead of drams.
42:12
Ross, where are we? We're just in the corner,
42:14
actually. We are.
42:15
We're the closest we've ever been in to record an episode but
42:17
not be at Diggers. We're spitting distance.
42:20
We are. We definitely are.
42:21
We're in, we're in. Technically, we're not far away
42:23
from our spiritual home. We are probably, if we could say
42:26
it, this is our spiritual distillery.
42:31
Very nice here to put it that way.
42:32
Certainly drank a lot of it and spoke a lot about it.
42:34
We are at the North British Single Grain Distillery, sitting
42:38
in an amazing historic boardroom, and we're joined by
42:41
Jerry. Jerry, what do you do here?
42:43
I'm the current business development director.
42:45
I've been in situ for about 3 months, but previous to that I
42:49
ran both sites, both the distillery here and also the
42:52
mural maturation site for a total of 6 1/2 years, so just
42:56
under seven years in total. It's my 10th year in whiskey
42:59
though 'cause I used to do the bottling hall as well.
43:02
Edrington and Rum Chapel, so familiar with the bottling side.
43:06
Made it, sourced it nice, bottled it.
43:09
How do you find no? I'm trying to sell it.
43:10
How? Are your pictures?
43:14
From the wall yet how are you? Finding the new gig, it's
43:16
interesting, it's a new exciting time for us.
43:18
I think we obviously are part of you know a joint ownership,
43:24
joint venture with the Agile in Eddington at the moment in terms
43:28
of what we're doing is we're now trying to expand the business,
43:31
grow the business. We've had fundamental change
43:34
this year in terms of losing a major brand and now we're
43:37
looking to try and grow the business in that sense as.
43:39
Well, well, don't worry. You've done the right thing by
43:40
coming on the whiskey story. That's what I'm going to do.
43:43
You're. Going to have to open those.
43:45
Warehouses again, we will we will collaborate with anybody
43:48
for. People that don't know about
43:50
North British, it is a historic distillery.
43:53
We are somehow in the middle of Edinburgh at the same time.
43:56
So tell us a wee bit about the history of the distillery, just
43:58
to give us a wee. Feel Oh crikey.
43:59
Well eighteen, 85140 years ago, the guys decided to build a
44:03
distillery. Predominantly it was built as a
44:07
cooperative up until 1993. And the reason for that was
44:11
there were quite a lot of small players in the industry.
44:13
You probably see around the room there's a lot of kind of
44:15
pictures of people and the original founding fathers of
44:18
that are recognised and well good known names of Edinburgh
44:22
like Usher, Sanderson, Crabby, et cetera.
44:24
Yeah, because I've been there. When you when you talk about the
44:27
whiskey history, you talk about like the godfathers.
44:29
Really. Oh, yeah.
44:30
These are big names. I mean, you know, John Crabby
44:32
has his name still on a brand of whiskey to this day.
44:36
Usher Hall, you've got Andrew Usher.
44:37
Exactly. Usher.
44:38
Andrew Sanderson. Big and the kind of.
44:40
I would associate him more of kind of the wine important side
44:42
of things, but again, big when it comes to spirits and
44:45
Edinburgh founded 1885, is that right?
44:49
1885 we celebrated 140 years just in September there there's
44:53
a quick a wee video on LinkedIn that Gavin or management
44:56
director presented and we had a few of the colleagues comment on
45:00
what N British meant to them. There's a fantastic, you've got
45:04
a fantastic we put with history on your website.
45:06
I went through it really, really interesting that this site when
45:09
you first took hold of it, the annual rent was 50 lbs.
45:16
Do you think you'll be able to rent this site for £50?
45:18
Today I wish, I wish we still do have long term agreements, but
45:21
we can't really go into them for I can.
45:23
Understand more than £50 I take. It well, we've we've we've just
45:27
finished our tour. David Hurst took us round.
45:30
We've seen everything guys. We've seen this will be a vlog
45:34
that goes out. We've seen from the very start,
45:36
we went through the very start of the process with the, with
45:38
the, with the materials arriving.
45:40
Even just the fact that because it is me's that is used as a
45:44
predominant grain source for the single grain, you still use
45:48
malted barley as well that comes in at the same time.
45:51
So just even seeing like remnants of corn on the floor,
45:56
Chuck, it was something that we kind of, yeah, you know, just
45:59
seeing that and just it's it doesn't look normal, if you know
46:03
what I mean, when you're in a distillery.
46:04
Yeah, when you're so used to seeing bits of barley and all
46:07
that side of things, it's different type of grain is just
46:10
a bit it's. Quite surreal, really.
46:12
Just really it's a bit straight. Doesn't quite compute with the
46:14
mind you know it. Just looks like the corn you'd
46:15
get on your corner of the cob. Yeah, it's the same stuff.
46:19
That's even for me getting my head around that.
46:22
It's tricky because as we went through the different phases of
46:25
the trucks sense of smell and smell association has become
46:31
quite famous for the podcast. His tasting notes are very good,
46:35
but the fact that you went from this It smells like Wheatabix to
46:37
this smells like shredded wheat to this smells like corn soup.
46:41
It was, it was fantastic just going round with the siller
46:44
because it was a real assault on the senses.
46:45
I mean, the sounds, little clunks and creaks and whirring
46:49
noises that you were hearing when you were going round.
46:53
Really, really fascinating. And all the smells as well.
46:55
Like there was one point it smelled of vinegar.
46:57
There's one point it smelled already wheat.
46:59
There's another point it just smelled of like popcorn.
47:01
Just incredible. I have to say from me what going
47:05
around this distillery more than anything any other ever been to
47:09
really felt a lot like when I was back on the farm and looking
47:12
at dryer machinery and seeing the elevators there.
47:15
It might be because our farm was a smorgasbord of stuff going
47:21
back 100 years as well. But just to see obviously your
47:24
massive malt bins and seeing things on on an industrial
47:28
scale, there is, I mean, I think you we'll have been to loads of
47:32
distilleries where it's very much romanticized the whole
47:34
process. But to see something like
47:37
industrial and unabashed be like, well, this is done for
47:41
efficiency. This is done so we can get the
47:43
job done and make as good a product as possible.
47:45
It was there is so much beauty in that and to see a real mix of
47:50
buildings and why. Heard you call it a Frankenstein
47:53
distillerate 1. Point, yeah.
47:56
But but at the same time like the even like the interior, but
48:01
one minute you're in a building that you can tell is over 100
48:03
years old and then the interior inside, what was it?
48:06
The room that we went into where it was like the tiles, like a.
48:08
19 the mass Yeah, the Max. Tiles were like a kind of
48:12
Soviets women build. And then there's the triangular
48:15
the. Triangular staircase, Yeah,
48:16
then. And then the still room roster.
48:18
You gave her the, you gave the wowsers.
48:21
I mean, I think it. Was the wash backs for you the.
48:23
Wash backs was just an incredible thing to say.
48:26
We've been to lots of facilities and you'll have been to a lot of
48:28
studies nowadays, like to see something on that scale.
48:33
Absolutely unbelievable just to even learn about the
48:39
consistencies between grain and malt distillery.
48:41
As much as we talk about it, you don't often get access to see
48:43
these grain distilleries and it is an industrial site, but it's
48:47
an you're. Not you're not going to be
48:48
opening tours to the public anytime.
48:50
No, no, no. That's not something that's on
48:52
your agenda. No.
48:53
The whiskey industry and it's really interesting to see it and
48:56
to see those continuous stills, coffee stills, unbelievable in
48:59
the spirit safe. Yeah, I just find, you know,
49:04
north for us, Jerry, you know what what the the concept and
49:08
the breakdown of the podcast is Angus and I are not whiskey
49:11
people. OK, we like drinking whiskey.
49:13
We met Ross, we asked loads of other people to come and Co host
49:16
the podcast with us. They all said no.
49:18
What will the last Ross said yes.
49:20
And but Ross knows this stuff about whiskey.
49:22
We didn't, you know, for context, you know, this year,
49:26
last year was maybe the first time I'd ever done a distillery
49:29
tour. And now we're sort of this is
49:31
our, I mean, when we do this, I think this is our 11th
49:33
distillery tour this year. Then it comes down to drinking
49:38
grain whiskey. If you'd asked me about drinking
49:40
grape, I mean, I'd tried grain whiskey before on the when we
49:44
did the Johnnie Walker experience, they give you a
49:48
breakdown and there's a Cameron Bridge and you're going.
49:51
It's just that that's. Two years ago, Graham, you were,
49:54
you were a single malt or nothing.
49:56
Yeah, yeah, kind of guy. And now the most prominent
49:58
distillery in your personal collection at home actually is
50:01
not. And we've got both we, we, we,
50:03
we knew because again, going back to the business side of
50:06
things, as you've mentioned, Jenny, this is a factory for
50:09
production of, of spirit. Yes, you don't sell like people
50:13
can't go out into the shops or go online and buy a N British
50:17
distillery bottling unless it's a special edition like you've
50:20
done in the past. Yeah, we, we tend not, not to do
50:23
bottlings as such. We tend to obviously give our
50:26
whiskey to people who know that side of the business, you know,
50:29
whiskey business better than what we do.
50:31
We obviously now you know, from, from this point of view people
50:35
like Woody Tan and they were those guys as as well all the
50:38
way through to Johnny Walker. You've got that kind of a sense
50:41
of North British being involved in that.
50:43
But we happily collaborate with people in terms of the
50:46
expressions they want to produce.
50:48
We, we don't own any casks. So the, the, the owners can
50:52
actually buy their own casks. They fill them up themselves
50:55
with the North British grain. They can actually make the
50:57
flavours themselves and a lot of them do do that living for many
51:01
years. And then obviously, you know,
51:03
from that point of view, they sell it on etcetera.
51:06
Would they like to be part of that?
51:07
So people that don't realise it, you will drag N British if
51:11
you've had service legal, if you've had Johnny Black as
51:13
you've had Famous Grouse, yeah, you all had N British.
51:16
Grain, well, that's it. I, I would have always
51:18
associated single grain distilleries as just what goes
51:22
into bulk out blended whiskey, right.
51:25
So it wasn't until the last two years of doing the podcast,
51:29
suddenly an independent bottler. So I've got in front of us the
51:31
Woodrows of Edinburgh N British Distillery, aged 46 years second
51:35
fellow Hogs Head, you know, put into wood the 15th of December,
51:41
not far 1972 days ago as we recorded 48 years ago.
51:46
But but but this is The thing is from the people that we've tried
51:50
in Tricara North Bridge 33. Then there was a Thalry milk 16
51:54
year old N British and. Fragrant drops Fragrant.
51:57
Drops is under Finn Thompson the Finn.
51:59
Thompson, 16 year old one. I mean, for context, that was a
52:02
tasting that you put on and there was a 50 year old in
52:05
Vergorden and a 50 year old Glenn Livet on those tastings
52:08
heading and tailing it, but the one in the middle was a 16 year
52:11
old. The 26.
52:12
Year old 26 or 26 year old N British stole the show and.
52:17
Greg Greg Urquhart, he was obviously at the Times parent
52:20
manager for for Glenmore Spinach, said it's the best
52:23
she's ever had. But there's also even just
52:26
seeing the production today and their commitment to maize.
52:30
For example, a lot of people know of single grain whiskey but
52:32
don't necessarily know what the single grain is.
52:35
Almost always wheat. Isn't that a Jerry?
52:37
But then for you. We, we are solely maize as is
52:40
what we do. That's, that's our uniqueness
52:43
surrounding what the green we produce.
52:45
We have experimented with wheat in rye in the past, but I think
52:48
they actually they still set up better for maize and that's what
52:51
we've always went towards so. It's very much the case of
52:54
because you're set up for wheat, you can only really use wheat or
52:57
maize. Maize.
52:58
Sorry, begging my. Pardon.
53:01
Pretty much. It's it's, it's what?
53:02
It's what again, sets us apart from everybody else, you know,
53:06
so and. That was, it was Mark Thompson
53:08
did a tasting a good few years ago at Scotch and he mentioned
53:12
to me mentioned doing a tasting about old.
53:15
It was actually Old Ballentine's when that's what set me off and
53:18
looking for Old Ballentine's. He said that the Dumbarton
53:20
Distillery back in the day again similarly was only set up for
53:24
using maize, which is why. But then he said you could get
53:27
new and old Valentine's together.
53:30
He said that the maze gives you that different buttery popcorn
53:33
made style flavour than what you'd get from wheat.
53:36
But so, so for you guys to predominantly use that, I
53:38
suppose that's exactly why it's so.
53:40
I'm I was going to settle my own blended whiskey brand.
53:43
I've become straight to North British.
53:45
Yeah, because of that, because of that maze, because of that
53:47
sweetness. Yeah, we had it as well.
53:49
I'm thinking the Caledonian distillery, which is just along
53:52
the road effectively that when we tried the 1969 at Wood at at
53:59
Woodrows, he gave us a woody, gave us a sample and again you
54:03
really got a sense of that sweet popcorn, a Maisy taste because
54:07
that again was maze production. There's a lot of companies out
54:09
there. They're now using N British as
54:11
the base for their they're grain whiskey, which is really nice to
54:13
see brave new spirits. They see all and a couple that
54:16
spring to mind. And then of course, the guys at
54:18
Port Lisa have a very lovely table whiskey.
54:20
Table whiskey. Yeah, it's North British as
54:21
well. So they're certainly out there
54:23
and they're certainly. Well, that the, the, the table,
54:25
ironically, when you're talking about table whiskey with the
54:28
North British, that was our first distillery tour of the
54:31
year. That was, yeah.
54:33
And it was, that was the drink. That was the drink that that we,
54:37
we got. And, and now here we are a year
54:38
late, well, 12 months later. But when you look at the we, we
54:44
spoke to, we spoke to people who talked about the history of
54:47
whiskey. And this is the bit that people
54:49
often, and myself included, can't wrap my head around us,
54:53
you know, in the early stages of whiskey in the, in the early 20,
54:56
the early 1900s all the way to the sort of 50s and 60s, all
55:01
distilleries were doing what N British were doing back then
55:03
where they were literally just producing spirit.
55:05
It was up to the bottlers, the blenders to send their casks up
55:08
to the distillery, get them filled, and then they could do
55:11
as of what they wanted to do with them.
55:13
And over time, single malt becomes more popular, so every
55:17
distillery can then start creating their own bottlings.
55:19
So really, you know, North British is and and the other
55:22
maybe grain distilleries are doing similar are probably still
55:26
doing exactly that because you'll, you'll even make your
55:28
spirit to to specifications well on strength and strength and
55:33
stuff like that as well. Yeah.
55:35
We've got a very straightforward standard.
55:36
We we do in fact every day when we produce spirit, we've got a
55:41
set, if you want to call it a team who will go in and knows
55:45
and make sure that we'll, you know, produce some real good
55:47
quality to whiskey to the processes that we've set in
55:50
place for many, many years. We don't intend to to variate in
55:54
in any way. We know it's good.
55:56
We know it's a good high quality we've got.
55:59
We've got obviously many brands and many collaborations that
56:01
we've got. We're producing this year, for
56:04
example, 45,000,000. 45. Million.
56:07
Million. Litres of of alcohol.
56:09
Of alcohol? Yep, that will go to various
56:11
companies. Obviously jazz will be the
56:14
biggest one for ourselves, but certainly in in that sense when
56:18
we we literally have the range of millions of litres down to 30
56:22
thousands or it's kind of smallest customer.
56:24
Yeah, 'cause I mean if for people who are listening, we, if
56:28
we were, if we go away to diggers for our lunch later on
56:31
and put our heads together and say right lads, let's
56:33
collaborate with N British a buy in, you'd be looking at what if
56:36
we suddenly said we want to? You can't.
56:38
You're not just buying by the cask, are you?
56:40
No, no. But there has been cast sales,
56:43
sales before. Again looking at single casks
56:46
etcetera. What we're trying to do, we're
56:48
trying to look at the kind of wider piece, looking at kind of
56:51
minimal order quantities in that sense, but literally maybe start
56:55
with 100 casks in that sense, trying to move towards that,
56:59
trying to move towards that model, yeah.
57:01
This is a bit like the time you were phoning up the seller he's
57:03
asking to buy. Someone offered me a tanker.
57:06
Someone offered you a tanker you're trying to buy.
57:10
But I mean, 'cause that's the thing.
57:11
I mean we are, we have, we've got a quarter, we've got some of
57:14
1/4 cask that we're still shifting 100 cars might be a
57:19
stretch. But listen, you're going to
57:22
India in January, all right? So go out your market and hat
57:25
on. I'll take my notebook.
57:28
Passes over. So when you look at, because
57:31
this is the thing. So when you're selling the
57:33
Spirit, then what will happen is one of the companies that you
57:37
work with that buys your spirit off you.
57:38
So they'll arrange all their wood management programmes.
57:41
They'll, they'll. So like when we went up to
57:42
Gordon Macphail and as they'll say, right, we'll, we'll, we'll
57:45
source the casks, We'll bring the casks down to you or you can
57:49
bring the spirit up to us and fill them.
57:51
Yeah, but but you do. But you'd also store on, well,
57:55
not on site because we've, we've just seen the last casks coming
57:57
out today. Yeah.
57:59
But you do have a big storage facility as well where you do
58:01
store for for customers. Yeah, we've 17 external
58:04
warehouses, Addiwell in your hall just down the roads.
58:09
That's where we store pretty much all our customers cast.
58:12
Some customers prefer to store elsewhere, but literally what
58:16
they'll do is they'll select the wood that they want to fill
58:18
into. We provide the grain, we'll fill
58:20
it at our site. That's an, you know, service we
58:23
provide. We store it on site if they so
58:25
wish. We we tend to store it either in
58:27
rack and tear and or palletised. The old donnage warehousing is
58:31
kind of something we don't do anymore.
58:33
It's more romanticizing the malt guys and what nice, you know the
58:36
kind of romantic side of things look like, but we're looking at
58:39
space efficiency etcetera, but maintaining that quality product
58:42
as well. As you're taking a lot of steps
58:44
to be more environmental and actually almost half of the site
58:51
is for you, it's not the Farming Stories podcast, which we've
58:54
nearly got into the commitment to the amount of feed that
58:58
you're producing as well for farms and then how energy
59:02
efficient you're becoming. So what changes have you been
59:04
making? You know, made a few, I mean
59:06
you've probably seen some of them in terms of just even in
59:08
the intake, in terms of the bins themselves.
59:11
But on on top of that, the, one of the kind of biggest things
59:13
we'd done last year was obviously take our dryers out.
59:15
We moved from a a kind of solid pellet farm food to a literally
59:21
a liquidised farm farm feed that itself took approximately 15,000
59:27
tons of carbon out. Put that in prospectus.
59:29
That's about taking 6 1/2 thousand cars off through the
59:31
year. How many?
59:32
6 1/2 thousand. Really, 'cause that 'cause this
59:35
is The thing is, yeah, this isn't just a factory for
59:37
producing spirit as you said, Ross and and it's it's the
59:42
other, it's the other sides of the business, I mean in terms.
59:45
Of which I actually said in the two said this must generate a
59:48
decent amount of revenue like these people don't think about
59:52
it. No.
59:52
When you're receiving grain, you're taking, you're creating
59:55
spirit, and then you're giving the grain back.
59:57
Out. It's very much.
59:59
We worked very closely with all the suppliers.
1:00:02
How do we make the whole process sustainable?
1:00:03
So literally from buying the product.
1:00:06
You know, how how's it, how's it basically growing?
1:00:08
How does it then get to our site?
1:00:10
How does it then process then where does the byproducts go to?
1:00:13
And you know, one of the kind of big projects, projects we've got
1:00:16
for next year is re establishing an anaerobic digester and
1:00:19
literally looking at what we can do regarding further reductions
1:00:22
in energy. And again, we're very conscious
1:00:25
of where we are. We're in middle Edinburgh.
1:00:27
We were criticized before about the smell of it, of North
1:00:30
British. With the changes we've made in
1:00:32
terms of the dryers, you've certainly noticed a big change.
1:00:34
Many of the people upset and people are upset.
1:00:38
About it, really. OK.
1:00:39
We've just been joined by distillery manager Tom Hanneman.
1:00:42
How? Are you Tom?
1:00:42
I'm good, thank you. How are you?
1:00:44
We're we're great. We're absolutely been tired.
1:00:46
It's been an. Eye opening morning, hasn't it?
1:00:49
We've just been taken around a distillery.
1:00:50
Like what? A distillery?
1:00:52
We've been into the control rooms.
1:00:53
We've seen it all. How do you manage running a
1:00:56
place like this? It has its challenges.
1:00:59
It's as you've seen, it's, it's this probably compared to other
1:01:03
distilleries, it's the scale my background before joining N
1:01:08
British was in petrochemical industries.
1:01:11
So use this kind of scales of this similarity.
1:01:14
Doesn't taste is nicer, does it? No, no, it.
1:01:16
Wouldn't have drank it, wouldn't have drank anything from those
1:01:19
industries. But yeah, it's, it has, it's
1:01:22
good. It's there's a lot of
1:01:25
differences with this industry to where I've worked previously
1:01:27
a lot. So were you attracted this
1:01:29
because you're a whiskey drinker or just completely?
1:01:31
Yeah, right. Yeah.
1:01:33
Yeah, you can probably tell from my accent I'm not Scottish.
1:01:36
I'm originally born originally from Liverpool, but my my wife
1:01:42
is Scottish, which brought me up here and her dad got me into
1:01:46
whiskey probably about five years ago when I moved up.
1:01:49
So big fan. But it's just, I think industry
1:01:52
moving in. In the country as a whole,
1:01:55
whiskey is one of the last bastions of manufacturing.
1:01:58
Jerry, Jenny was mentioning obviously 45,000,000 litres a
1:02:01
year as a target and that's also your goal to maintain for the
1:02:05
next couple of years as well. Such a massive facility, a lot
1:02:08
of pressure to meet that capacity I'm sure, and it'd be
1:02:13
great as we don't get on like a sweep to a distillery manager of
1:02:15
a green site. I've never met a distillery
1:02:17
manager, yeah, site before. But we're talking a real focus
1:02:20
on your commitment to maize. For example, where do you get
1:02:23
the maize from? Because we don't grow out here
1:02:25
in Scotland. No.
1:02:27
So we bring in between 20. So Monday to Friday, we bring in
1:02:32
kind of 20 to 30 maze bulkers. So they're 30 tons each per day.
1:02:37
So that so that's fine. Yeah.
1:02:39
So we're looking, it's about 1 bulka per mash.
1:02:43
So we use around 30 tonnes per mash and we're targeting a full
1:02:47
running about 100 mashes a week. So you can kind of do the math
1:02:51
on the scale there. Moose Swami's is imported from
1:02:55
Europe, so we use a variety of destinations quite a lot.
1:03:00
Since I've joined, it's been primarily Polish and Ukrainian
1:03:03
maze. We'll like a bit French maize,
1:03:07
but I think it's, it's very much, you know, like, like any
1:03:09
croppets based on the harvest. So we, we, we go through a grain
1:03:13
matcher and, and every year we'll have an annual meeting
1:03:16
with them and they'll kind of say, you know, these are the
1:03:19
areas where they've had a good harvest, etcetera.
1:03:21
This is where we're likely to get.
1:03:23
We want the biggest, the best, obviously the stuff with the
1:03:25
most starch, yeah. But yeah, we're kind of a whim
1:03:29
because of the volume we use and.
1:03:30
Fermentation times then, because we went in the fermentation
1:03:33
tanks and everything like that. It's just incredible.
1:03:36
Wash backs. Wash backs.
1:03:37
Just unbelievable. It's just why?
1:03:38
Why are they painted gold? So.
1:03:42
I thought that was an amazing detail.
1:03:44
I was like you, surely taken with the gold.
1:03:46
I really. Thought I really thought for
1:03:47
such a. Huge, Ross is thinking.
1:03:50
He opened. His own distillery.
1:03:52
Somebody's painted the top of them.
1:03:54
I thought, that's awfully fancy for a green distillery and all
1:03:57
reality, you know, that's my workhorse and somebody's
1:04:00
painting it gold. We had the colour charts out and
1:04:02
everybody else was saying what colour do you want?
1:04:05
Right. So first question, fermentation
1:04:07
times. Second question, why are they
1:04:09
gold? So I mean, I'm not sure of the
1:04:11
colour. We're actually kind of the
1:04:13
operators during our last outage periods spent a lot of time
1:04:17
doing that. So we basically revamped.
1:04:19
So it looked a bit tatty. Found a lot of gold paint like
1:04:21
that. Must be what was on offer.
1:04:25
No sure of the colour scheme, but it's a vast improvement,
1:04:28
like even six months ago. I think, I think the kind of
1:04:30
natural one would be amazes gold and therefore.
1:04:35
So we kind of assumed that it'd be a shorter fermentation time
1:04:40
because of the production you're trying to meet.
1:04:42
How long is fermentation time for?
1:04:44
It's around 3 days. That's pretty.
1:04:46
Long, actually, that's industry standards.
1:04:49
About two days, right? 48 hours ish.
1:04:52
Yeah, a little bit more so 48 to 60 hours.
1:04:55
So you're still getting loads of flavour build up there.
1:04:58
Liquid yeast as well. Yes, Yeah, always like with
1:05:01
these gestures for convenience. Yeah.
1:05:03
And then we went into the still house.
1:05:05
We've been to a lot of distilleries, Chuck.
1:05:07
All right, those stills are awesome.
1:05:10
Like, so it's absolutely crazy to see.
1:05:13
It's awesome. And they are.
1:05:14
Coffee stills aren't. They yeah, one thing that David
1:05:18
was just taking her incentives is that's still #4 that's the
1:05:21
workhorse. So why does one of your stills
1:05:24
work much harder than the rest? I think it's the youngest, I
1:05:28
mean not particularly young, I'm not sure exact age, but it's
1:05:32
slightly bigger capacity. So we we have 4 stills, we only
1:05:37
operate 3 a time currently with basically the steam we can
1:05:41
produce on site. So we've got 225 ton ton boilers
1:05:46
and we can you know, with that and other steam demand on site,
1:05:50
we can only, you know, we can only basically bring enough
1:05:53
energy to run free stills because that's the biggest it
1:05:58
you know, it's easier to run that one and two others.
1:06:00
Yeah. So that tends.
1:06:02
To and The thing is, as well as with the age of the distillery
1:06:06
and with all the production that's going on, I suppose
1:06:08
there'll always be work going on you and that must be really
1:06:11
tricky when for yourself where you're managing, you know,
1:06:14
what's a shutdown at the moment to direct production through
1:06:18
that area. So you can.
1:06:19
So like you say, having three of the four stills running at once
1:06:22
means that you always have a chat, an opportunity to be doing
1:06:25
maintenance work, clean outs and stuff like that on other on
1:06:27
other machinery as well. Yeah, Yeah.
1:06:30
I think we have a bit of flexibility in certain parts of
1:06:33
the process. But like any, any process, we've
1:06:35
got single points of failures or bits of equipment that we only
1:06:39
get access to during a proper outage.
1:06:42
So we. And Jenny was commenting, you
1:06:45
know, moving to liquid feed and carbon you're reducing there.
1:06:50
And also you've got to mention these two big boilers, you're
1:06:52
going to go just to 1 boiler as well because I guess you only
1:06:55
needed, you probably need so much power for those heaters
1:06:59
that you were mentioning before. That's all.
1:07:00
Part of the wider projects is what can we actually turn off,
1:07:03
what do we not need, etcetera. So certainly that'll be one of
1:07:06
the kind of key things we'll be looking at.
1:07:08
Right, I'm going to ask. I'm going to ask.
1:07:09
Well, the first before right before we I'm going to ask each
1:07:12
of us right? I'll start Angus myself, Chuck
1:07:17
Ross, what our favorite part of the distillery was just whatever
1:07:21
for whatever reason. Then you guys to see what your
1:07:23
favorite part is, right? Angus of the of the distillery
1:07:26
tour what which you can watch on YouTube channel.
1:07:28
What was your favorite part of distillery?
1:07:30
I mean, I'll take the obvious one.
1:07:33
It had had to be the still room. I thought that was really,
1:07:36
really, really cool. The kind of the size and scale,
1:07:38
you know, you can look up, you know, sometimes in these still
1:07:41
rooms, you know, they're quite short and you know, quite short
1:07:44
stumpy stills and a quite a small confined.
1:07:47
Space pretty as. Well, and they're normally quite
1:07:49
pretty and quite to look at these stills, there was a gunk
1:07:52
on them. They were big, tall, these big
1:07:56
tall coffee stills. You could look down and they
1:07:58
went on forever. You could look up and they went
1:08:00
on forever. And the spirit saves were these
1:08:03
kind of stainless steel kind of 1960s designed kind of looked
1:08:08
like something out of a Doctor Who episode.
1:08:11
Really, really cool. I mean, just to just to be, I've
1:08:15
been to, I've never actually really seen proper grain coffee
1:08:20
stoves like that. And that was a real highlight, a
1:08:22
real treat. I like the the tiled room.
1:08:26
Was that the mash? Is that where the mash room is?
1:08:30
Like I say, that's what's been such a fascinating night.
1:08:33
We're sitting in this fantastic old wooden boardroom that's I
1:08:37
think this room is, this is the surviving room of like, you
1:08:40
know, of the history. It's not as old, yeah, because
1:08:43
this builds a lot bit more. More done, yeah.
1:08:45
OK. But the paneling?
1:08:47
The paneling. Yeah.
1:08:48
So I mean with the picture, so you've got that, but then it's
1:08:50
like every single space that you went to, it was like the the the
1:08:54
the top end where the the top of the house.
1:08:56
I think it was. It was like you knew this was
1:08:58
100 year old building kind of with Then you move in and you're
1:09:01
in this this your favorite park the tile, the tiles, the the
1:09:04
master, the tiles. That's not what I thought you
1:09:06
were gonna say. Okay.
1:09:08
Well actually, well I mean probably seen the bins, which is
1:09:15
really sad. Mopens, Mopens, you know you're
1:09:19
a barley farmer. I get that makes.
1:09:21
Sense I've seen those elevators and I was having.
1:09:23
Flashbacks to seeing all this stuff getting choked and I was
1:09:25
like, oh God. I was like, my first question
1:09:27
was like do you get how bad are the choked elevators?
1:09:30
Like God scrub scrubbing here seeing that I I will give like a
1:09:35
special note to the room before we went into the still room that
1:09:38
felt like it was like a Twin Peaks dream sequence.
1:09:41
This is the most surreal room. Like massive room with like a
1:09:45
couple of things like a glass floor for seemingly no reason.
1:09:48
Oh yeah? Oh yeah?
1:09:49
Well, it looked. Like someone taking a graphics
1:09:52
card out of a computer and just. Yeah, there was a.
1:09:54
Device there, which we've had no idea what it was.
1:09:58
So it was, it was a kind of yeah, it was the room with the
1:10:01
glass brick floor. And there's something in it in
1:10:05
the. Turn room and.
1:10:07
The room, yeah. Yeah.
1:10:08
So that it's kind of like a break area.
1:10:11
So it's like a safe zone, I suppose.
1:10:14
So you've obviously you've got CO2 hazards in the turn room and
1:10:17
then you've got, you know, if we had an F on our leak.
1:10:19
Yeah, like the flammable hazards there.
1:10:23
So it's an area where the operators can, you know, there's
1:10:26
a control screen in there like a mimic, and they can operate the
1:10:29
stills from the area while they're doing their checks.
1:10:31
What's? What's the kind of black device
1:10:34
that's? One of the trays of the
1:10:36
rectifier, so that gives you it's.
1:10:38
It's not a light for light, but it shows you.
1:10:41
We use basically the heat from the rectifier as we're
1:10:45
condensing the ethanol to heat up the wash feed going through
1:10:49
the stills before it goes into like The Dirty side on the
1:10:52
analyzer, so that you kind of use that heat transfer save a
1:10:56
bit of steam usage. Honestly, he's got no idea what
1:10:59
you're. Saying, yeah, essentially it's
1:11:04
yeah, it's your. It's your hot pipe.
1:11:06
Your cold pipe, yeah. One heat, the other one's cool.
1:11:09
We'll draw a diagram and stick up later.
1:11:10
What was your favorite? My favorite part of the study
1:11:12
was the top of the house really. I did enjoy walking up all the
1:11:16
steps. Short corner, but to see
1:11:19
Murrayfield to see Tynecastle to actually see.
1:11:22
I know we were up there on a grill floor as.
1:11:24
Well, it's quite special. It's a huge site, yeah, but it
1:11:28
is in Edinburgh. It's quite interesting.
1:11:31
You own the land, the schools on, you own the playing fields.
1:11:35
This is quite an important historic site for Scotch whiskey
1:11:38
if you consider the brands, you know, Famous Girls and Johnny
1:11:42
Walker and Johnny Walker. I've brought more people to
1:11:44
Scotch whiskey than any other brands, especially Johnny
1:11:47
Walker. 79 bottles a second and. What I would say it's the only
1:11:50
distillery I've been to where I can pretty much see my bedroom
1:11:53
window. So there you go.
1:11:57
But I just, I thought that I thought that was a magnificent
1:12:00
kind of viewpoint to see. Exactly where we are, Jenny.
1:12:02
What about yourself if you're to pick a space?
1:12:04
Well, that's something I just kind of sum it up when the
1:12:05
minute you go in and see the styles, it's very, very
1:12:08
impressive. I think it's just a, you know,
1:12:11
every time you kind of think about what's going through
1:12:13
these, these things, absolutely phenomenal.
1:12:15
I'll, I'll give an honourable mention to and I because I
1:12:18
thought, I thought you were going to go for it.
1:12:19
And to be fair, I would have always gone for the still room
1:12:21
in a way. But the, the warehouse quite
1:12:26
incredible. That whiskey has probably been
1:12:28
stored there for over 100 years. The age of that building almost
1:12:33
certainly kind of contemporary with this site.
1:12:35
And, and that is the last whiskey being that, you know, we
1:12:39
walked in and there was maybe 50 casks just sitting in that room.
1:12:44
You you said you'd been in there last year and it was wall to
1:12:46
wall. OK.
1:12:47
It was single, single file effectively, but it was it was a
1:12:53
full warehouse, whereas it was the last cast just waiting to be
1:12:57
taken. Away see what you're developing
1:12:58
space and yeah, that's. The end of whiskey storage on
1:13:01
this still. About, about what we want to do
1:13:03
with the site in, in terms of the future, you know, so you
1:13:05
are. Still excited space here.
1:13:07
You can't. You can't just build on no.
1:13:09
It will be but. Visitor centre and gift shop.
1:13:13
But to your, to your point is, you know, we, we don't know if
1:13:15
that that building will be classed as listed, Yeah.
1:13:19
Great, great Kamaski. Architecture building and of
1:13:22
course, again, probably my favorite, you're right, of the
1:13:25
warehouses that we've been in with the most access because
1:13:29
it's because today is the day that the last there was
1:13:32
literally what, maybe 30 casks left in that room.
1:13:35
If that. So just being able to just walk
1:13:37
in and actually walk around and see, see the casks and and
1:13:41
things like that. It was distillery manager.
1:13:44
Then where's your favorite room? I'm going to agree with the top
1:13:47
of the house. I think I've been told by a few
1:13:49
shift managers that's a great place to watch the Hogmanay
1:13:52
fireworks as. Well, yeah.
1:13:55
Absolutely fantastic. We're up there in Oasis and
1:13:58
ACDC. We're doing the sound.
1:13:59
Check Taylor Swift. Taylor Swift, no fancy Swifties.
1:14:03
No, but yeah. Oh, well, we'll come back on
1:14:08
Hogmanay for the fireworks. Yeah, that's right.
1:14:11
So when you look at the how many people are working on on like
1:14:17
how many people roughly you work because you're around the clock,
1:14:19
aren't you? You're 7 seven days a week,
1:14:21
24/7. I've.
1:14:21
Been across both sites of about 200 and 10215 people and that's
1:14:26
across both the warehousing site and Addy.
1:14:28
Well, and obviously here, I think it's slightly more about
1:14:30
100 and 504 people here, I think roughly that, yeah.
1:14:33
So yeah, that's what it's saying.
1:14:35
And and just even managing at all spinning plates as such
1:14:40
because the traffic that is coming in, we've seen the we got
1:14:43
to see a lot of coming. In oh, it's like an Expressway,
1:14:46
the grain end spirit out. Yeah, exactly.
1:14:49
You know, is incredible. How quickly are you feeling you
1:14:53
get the turnaround from getting the grain end to the spirit
1:14:58
going straight back out again then?
1:15:00
So I mean, it's obviously it's like you've got a 3-4 day delay
1:15:03
between grain coming in and the spirit being produced.
1:15:06
But I mean we can, we can fill something like 10 to 12,000
1:15:13
litre tankers a day of Spirit. So that's 94.6% proof as well.
1:15:18
4.6%. Have you got any samples for?
1:15:21
Probably, yeah. There are samples, but we don't.
1:15:24
Yeah, I. Think you might go blind if.
1:15:26
You. I would, yeah.
1:15:28
Yeah. Have you ever filled that
1:15:30
1,000,000 litre capacity? Spit it the whole thing.
1:15:32
Yeah, we fill it before we go into pretty much every outage.
1:15:36
So every we're not filling it going into Christmas, we'll be
1:15:39
about half capacity. But we, we, it's there so that
1:15:44
we can shut down for three to four weeks and maintain some
1:15:48
supply to our customers. It must be one of the largest in
1:15:51
Scotland. I guess this is the first grain
1:15:52
distillery we've. Got well, that's it.
1:15:55
What does the future look like for for well, you've talked
1:15:58
about the byproduct and we've talked about sustainability and
1:16:01
of course it is. It's been something that I've
1:16:03
picked up on from doing the podcast over the last two years
1:16:06
is whiskey is a very, very difficult product to make, you
1:16:12
know, net 0 and try and have a carbon imprint, a carbon top of
1:16:18
your carbon footprint and things like that.
1:16:20
Because first of all, you know, the packaging, it's luxury as
1:16:23
well. So you've got most things that
1:16:26
you associate with luxury, you can't associate with being, you
1:16:30
know, green and friendly and everything like that.
1:16:32
There's the production element that all that kind of.
1:16:35
Thing not a consideration here, but the P element as.
1:16:37
Well, yeah, exactly. So we are now seeing over the
1:16:40
last two or three years, we are seeing distilleries trying,
1:16:43
we're not North British. They talked about trying to cut
1:16:45
down the journey from the barley to the.
1:16:48
So I think it's like a, the barley goes from their farm to
1:16:52
Alloa and then back to to Port Leith, which for them is there.
1:16:56
Like they're saying that's probably one of the shortest
1:16:58
journeys they can have unless there's something on site.
1:17:00
So what you guys on scale are doing that?
1:17:03
Yeah, I think, I think every, every brand and anybody in this
1:17:06
case is always looking at this. We're very conscious initially.
1:17:10
We're starting on site here. We're looking at what our
1:17:12
suppliers will do. As I said before, it's a really
1:17:14
sustainable supply chain that we're looking at.
1:17:17
We work and collaborate with suppliers and how they deliver
1:17:20
their products to us and how they, and obviously our product
1:17:23
goes to them. You know, and there's massive
1:17:25
changes within the West industry just now, as you know, it's a
1:17:28
bit of a, you know, a tough time for many people at the moment.
1:17:33
Chancellor doesn't help much with the old tax side of things
1:17:36
as well, but there there's a surprise.
1:17:38
But certainly from, from their point of view, we, we're
1:17:40
obviously looking at the, the, the end game in terms of trying
1:17:43
to make it more sustainable, trying to make the processes
1:17:46
more efficient in any way possible.
1:17:48
You probably notice a couple of boards there.
1:17:51
That's a new kind of focus for the next 12 months in terms of
1:17:54
our plan and, and making sure that we are focused on that
1:17:57
across the board. And like I said, when we deal
1:18:00
with customers as well, we'll make sure that they they align
1:18:02
to what our values are as well. So we are open for business in
1:18:06
terms of trying to grow our business, but at the same time
1:18:08
sustainable is very much from and foremost.
1:18:11
And I just as you say, Jerry, it is a difficult time when the
1:18:14
whiskey industry just have, but it's an exciting time for you as
1:18:18
much as it must be terrifying for the potential of for
1:18:21
framers. Grouse, you know the argument if
1:18:24
it's going to move over to the Gunfon site because of the new
1:18:27
owners. Well, well as.
1:18:28
You're open for business now internationally.
1:18:31
Yeah, definitely. Well, Famous Grouse is going
1:18:33
that's, that's the plan. It moves to grants from that
1:18:37
point of view, which is fine. What we then need to is evaluate
1:18:40
what N British do. And now and this is again why my
1:18:43
role was created just not not so long ago.
1:18:46
Looking at the wider piece, we haven't really looked abroad.
1:18:48
We are now actively looking abroad.
1:18:50
We are looking at other customers locally as well in the
1:18:54
UK. So we're very much going for
1:18:56
business for anything. We're now a real good quality
1:18:59
product with the amount of change that's happened this year
1:19:02
has allowed us to come up with a very competitive price.
1:19:05
That process will continue into next year.
1:19:07
So customers know they're going to get a very good value product
1:19:10
and very good quality product. Proven product.
1:19:12
Very much so. Been there for those massive
1:19:14
brands that have had huge success by using your grain.
1:19:18
Indeed. And so the hope is that some of
1:19:20
these new products or new brands might be able to jump on the
1:19:23
back of this opportunity and use N British for their their future
1:19:27
success. Oh, definitely.
1:19:28
I mean that's exciting part about it is we're going a bit
1:19:31
into the unknown, but it's a nice unknown.
1:19:34
And we've been great help from people in the SWA, for example,
1:19:37
people like Stuart Smith, Scottish Enterprise, Syrian
1:19:39
Sullivan, John Carlisle and Neil Macinnes.
1:19:43
They've they've done us a really good favour in terms of getting
1:19:47
our name out there as well and we've got some things lined up.
1:19:50
Hopefully we'll produce some good.
1:19:52
Options for us? Amazing.
1:19:53
I mean, but like it is, it's the grain whiskey, isn't it?
1:19:56
It's like I've been writing down for the last three weeks, been
1:20:01
trying to put together a list of what's been their top, top
1:20:04
whiskeys of 2025. And you certainly put it down
1:20:08
and you look at how many of them I've tasted over the last 12
1:20:11
months and you can see that's. That's a green whiskey.
1:20:13
That's a green whiskey that's and so green was going to end.
1:20:15
We've had and Mark Davidson. Well, listen, Mark.
1:20:18
Davidson, it was a signatory N British.
1:20:21
I think generally a kind of 12 year old that he would get and
1:20:24
he would do taste things for foreign exchange students and
1:20:29
it'd be about 5-4 or five whiskeys on the lineup.
1:20:32
And he would start with that N British, a signatory N British.
1:20:35
And invariably with a show of hands at the end, it would come
1:20:40
out. Yeah, it was.
1:20:40
One of the biggest decisions I had to make this year in my new
1:20:43
job, you know, I wanted through my first ever exclusive bottling
1:20:48
for the Balmoral Hotel, formerly the North British Hotel.
1:20:52
And I chose AN British single grain, 31 year old N British
1:20:55
single grain, which is very, very well aged grain.
1:20:57
You know, we're talking about at the silly that most of the West
1:21:01
Gate that you're selling into these blended markets would be
1:21:03
well under 10 years old because that's the product that's
1:21:06
fitting, that's the market that's fitting.
1:21:08
And we actually like the really obscure single grain that just
1:21:11
kind of brought us here. Yeah, but you're not.
1:21:13
You're not. That was quite an easy decision
1:21:15
because we've never done an exclusive bottling before.
1:21:18
It's a Balmoral Hotel, but it's Edinburgh.
1:21:20
It's an icon of Edinburgh, and N British is an icon of.
1:21:23
Edinburgh you're not thinking of changing your name to the
1:21:25
Balmoral Distillery? I'll have to have a chat about
1:21:29
that. Yeah, I guess.
1:21:30
But we, we, we, we dispelled a little myth and a part of me
1:21:34
doesn't want to have to dispel it, but it is important to talk
1:21:37
about it is everyone you know, there's things that people say.
1:21:40
Old Ricky is what Edinburgh's nickname is name.
1:21:44
It's always known as Old Ricky and.
1:21:45
You're talking about your smell by any chance?
1:21:47
Well, that's it. Every now and then people will
1:21:49
take it and the first thing people do is go, oh, you could
1:21:52
tell the breweries are going. You say, well, there's no
1:21:54
breweries left. Good.
1:21:55
So that's that for the so then it's the distillery, right?
1:21:59
But again, we up until a conversation with you had before
1:22:03
we even started, we were getting this you dispelled the method.
1:22:06
Made me quite sad because I don't live too far away from
1:22:09
here and I'm smelling well, that's the production.
1:22:11
That's the distillery making whiskey there.
1:22:13
I can smell. It's not the whiskey, is it?
1:22:14
No, it's actually the byproduct pretty much that's what you're
1:22:18
smelling in that sense. And obviously with the dryers
1:22:20
going off, smell will start to reduce weight quite greatly,
1:22:23
much to seepa's delight. And yeah.
1:22:25
You know, well, because it is. It's not as romantic anymore
1:22:28
when you're driving into everyone the byproducts.
1:22:32
That's the cattle pellets. Getting made so that is so so
1:22:36
that is because there will be some people probably no one
1:22:39
listening to this will be happy to hear no that so unless they
1:22:43
work for Sleeper. Yeah, unless they of course try
1:22:45
with anyone from sleeper. This list again, but but The
1:22:48
thing is there, there will be other people locally because
1:22:51
it's it, it probably does split a lot of people's opinions.
1:22:53
On it does, I mean like Craig here, I mean even when I first
1:22:57
came here as well in terms of working out here, people were
1:22:59
all talking about the smell. Some people liked it, some
1:23:01
people don't. But a lot of people have
1:23:03
commented, you know that there is a smell.
1:23:05
We always say that was somebody else, but unfortunately they all
1:23:08
closed down and you're kind of left, OK, we need to do, we need
1:23:11
to do something. But we have done, we have worked
1:23:13
hard with cheapers involvement as well.
1:23:15
So we thank them as well in terms of what we've done, but
1:23:18
certainly the changes we've made in the plant are the right
1:23:21
things to do. Yeah, for the environment in
1:23:23
that sense. So so.
1:23:23
That so that is the so that's the transfer of the the
1:23:28
byproduct in the the the animal feed changing from pelletised
1:23:32
animal feed to liquidised animal.
1:23:33
Feed, yeah, we, we, we've now went to moisture Steelers
1:23:36
grains. So we're now pretty much
1:23:38
liquefied in in that sense, which is a lot easier for
1:23:41
farmers to handle as well. Whereas before it was a a solid
1:23:44
pellet, sometimes when the farmers took it on it used to
1:23:47
congeal quite a bit when they stored it.
1:23:49
So it was always a complaint. But it's interesting about the
1:23:52
smile, because now we know that it is he who denied it, supplied
1:23:55
it. Have you guys you guys have a go
1:23:59
through drama, you whiskey drinkers yourself?
1:24:00
I was. Going to say that, Have you
1:24:01
warned you any about as you got? We're not doing a lot of free
1:24:04
drama. We're not doing, but have you
1:24:05
got a drama? Yourself.
1:24:06
Yeah, I do actually. I mean, as I said, I I started
1:24:09
life off in Edrington bottling. So I'm I'm about my whiskey way
1:24:15
back in the 90s, I was kind of bottling McAllen.
1:24:18
Yeah, when the first came out, McAllen 10 was absolutely
1:24:20
beautiful. Really.
1:24:21
But certainly Glenn going Tam do what I love to to yeah,
1:24:25
definitely more likely I've moved a little bit over to the
1:24:29
competition. But but Benny in terms of single
1:24:33
malt, but certainly from a, you know, a kind of blended point of
1:24:36
view, Johnny Walker is is absolutely here Johnny Walker.
1:24:40
Johnny Walker. I've had a we've got gifted a
1:24:43
bottle like a special release for it was a Glen Rothfuss Kass
1:24:47
Rang 18 year old from one of our suppliers here and it's probably
1:24:52
the nicest it needed. It was 62% proof, so it needed a
1:24:56
bit of water in it. But I'm similar to I'm like a
1:24:58
Sherry whiskey. So yeah, McAllen or yeah, Glenn,
1:25:04
Glenn Goween as well. And look, Chuck, what we have,
1:25:07
you got a AN British that you could pick out.
1:25:11
I think I had a I finished it quite recently.
1:25:13
I think I gave Ross a sample of it way back in the day.
1:25:15
It was a 16 year old N British bought by SMWS.
1:25:20
I think it's so G10 is G10. Yeah, yeah.
1:25:25
And I think that was finished up in rum casks.
1:25:27
Yeah. And I, I finished that this
1:25:28
year. I think I'd had it for about 5.
1:25:31
Years. Yeah, but I'm, I'm really bad.
1:25:34
I'll open a bottle and the 1st 3rd I'll go really quick and the
1:25:37
second third I'll go like much, much slower.
1:25:39
In the last third I'm like, well, this is precious now.
1:25:41
I can't, I can't, I can't just drink this.
1:25:44
I'll have to look at it for another three years.
1:25:46
And then finally. I agree.
1:25:49
Have you got a N British? That's.
1:25:51
I'm I'm going to, there's a few I think I use NI think it's
1:25:55
always from my point of view, the, the learning curve that
1:25:59
I've been on since starting the podcast and getting that full
1:26:03
appreciation of all the, all the changes.
1:26:06
You know, the first DRAM that we had on the podcast was a grants
1:26:10
25 and it was because what we want to do in the podcast is try
1:26:14
and and we I've don't have any secrets, but our listeners all
1:26:17
know that is I hope held misconceptions that you're told
1:26:21
down the line. Grains aren't any good.
1:26:23
It's the cheaper stuff. Blends are blends are crap
1:26:26
compared to single mall. All this kind of stuff that you
1:26:29
get picked up on. If it's under 10, it's not any
1:26:31
good. All new distilleries aren't
1:26:33
brilliant until they've got a certain age statement on them.
1:26:35
All that kind of stuff and it's just completely been dispelled
1:26:38
and grain. I think it was wood Woody and
1:26:40
Megan's first episode. We we really when they gave us a
1:26:42
grain whiskey to try. But the one is it was here in
1:26:45
Sam Simmons story about the Dalai milk and I think that
1:26:49
night after I'd had far too much to drink and yes, well, I was
1:26:52
almost convinced they'd put chocolate in the chocolate
1:26:55
flavour in the. West standing at the bar, Grape
1:26:58
Grains and they've definitely they've had a chocolate
1:27:01
chocolate in a greaser. Yeah, that's what they've done.
1:27:04
Yeah. But it's also the fact that it's
1:27:08
it Sam Simmons, you know, he, he, you know, he said that he's,
1:27:14
he'd been living away for some time.
1:27:17
He came back, he was on the bus going along Kirstorfin Road to
1:27:21
get, to get into Edinburgh from a flight.
1:27:23
And he said he just had a moment.
1:27:25
He was nearly starting to cry because he could smell.
1:27:27
And it just brought everything back.
1:27:28
He lived in this area as a student, which is when he became
1:27:31
an whiskey. That was a blue area that was N
1:27:33
British he made. Him cry, but he said that, he
1:27:37
said. I have to.
1:27:38
That was the decision he made from a nostalgic point of view,
1:27:41
whatever, you know, whatever N British atom brands had or they
1:27:45
said they said we have to do a bottle.
1:27:46
They did the the Dalai milk and you know, shout it to Nadia.
1:27:50
It's her favorite whiskey of all time at the moment.
1:27:53
You know, so there. What about yourself, Angus?
1:27:56
Well in terms of North British, I would have to admit I I that
1:27:59
fun Finn Thompson, 26 year old I I can't look past that
1:28:03
absolutely heavily shed absolutely blown away by it.
1:28:06
I think in terms of independent bottlers, Finn Thompson has some
1:28:10
incredible grain whiskey. He did a Strathclyde that was
1:28:15
absolutely fantastic. I would go for that in terms of
1:28:19
North British, in terms of just grain whiskey in general.
1:28:21
I remember Graham, we talked about that time before we
1:28:25
started in the podcast. We went to that tasting, a kind
1:28:27
of rainy day game was postponed football match and we were
1:28:30
looking for something to do with a group of guys.
1:28:31
We ended up going to the Johnnie Walker Experience, had a tasting
1:28:35
there and they had and it was, I'm I'm pretty sure it was maybe
1:28:38
a 26 or 36 something around. It was a well aged. 26 Cabin
1:28:42
Bridge. It was a Port Dundas and that
1:28:46
was the first time I think I probably had well aged grain
1:28:49
whiskey. You were probably the same.
1:28:51
And I was all the other whiskeys on the line that were kind of
1:28:57
quite standard, the agile bottlings, let's say.
1:29:00
And that really, really stood out.
1:29:02
And it kind of it was like, right grain whiskey sloping
1:29:07
there. Yeah.
1:29:08
And it's, and it's, it's been able to, I've done it, I've
1:29:11
passed it on to other people as I'll bring a grain if I'm
1:29:13
sitting with pals or sitting with people or even doing a
1:29:16
tasting. Now is you bring out an old
1:29:18
grain and you say, tell me how much you'd pay for a 33 year old
1:29:23
single malt. And then you're saying and try
1:29:26
this 30 odd year old North British and tell me it's not an
1:29:30
absolute cracking DRAM and you're probably looking at under
1:29:33
£150 for for that. And that it's like we've got 46
1:29:38
year, 46 year old whiskey sitting in front of us.
1:29:41
And we've had, I mean, I mean, I think we've had about 3
1:29:43
different 50 year old Inver Gordons.
1:29:45
Yeah, exactly. Fragrant drops have done
1:29:48
fragrance drops like continually do really, really good. 30 year
1:29:51
old, 3132 year old N British. Yeah, he's done.
1:29:54
A 15 year old in line. It was very good too, right?
1:29:57
Ross? What are you going?
1:29:58
Oh mine. Is what I'm saying. 60 bottles
1:30:01
produced worldwide. And what's a bottle of that, of
1:30:05
course. It's only available to members
1:30:07
or people do whiskey tastings. If a member was listening.
1:30:10
It's £300 a bottle. Gram that's not bad.
1:30:13
How old? 30 yourself, How old?
1:30:15
How old? 31 year old, it's got the
1:30:18
Balmoral on the label. It's a local Edinburgh based
1:30:21
bottler, you know, leaving and. If you use discount code whiskey
1:30:25
stories podcast, you're getting told to go away, but I.
1:30:32
Think for me it's Edinburgh iconic hotel.
1:30:35
I'm very proud to manage Scotch and going with A N British.
1:30:39
What's bold? Just made sense.
1:30:41
To me it's bold because what you got to think about like.
1:30:43
It's leaving a four year, you know, commercial partnership
1:30:45
with the McAllen, Yeah. And choosing my first bottling
1:30:49
to be a N British. It's a very different direction
1:30:51
to go in. So direction Jerry's done in his
1:30:54
work life so. Definitely I may have to come
1:30:57
and visit now, but. It's it's, it's a bottling
1:31:00
that's authentic to Edinburgh. It's important to the hotel.
1:31:03
It's. Important Well, it's got a story
1:31:04
thing is it it has a story behind it, and I think that's a
1:31:07
nice thing about that. And this is the bit I I've lived
1:31:12
a stones for a week for five years and in the only in the
1:31:15
last three years I've really known how close I am to a
1:31:18
distillery, but not just and again, you hear about it off
1:31:21
there's a N British distillery. You see pipes and steam and
1:31:27
everything. You don't see a picture.
1:31:28
Nice picture distillery with rolling hills in the backdrop or
1:31:32
anything like that. But you sit in a room like this.
1:31:34
You see the photos or pictures of people, but you also think
1:31:37
about the history and when you get it to go around.
1:31:39
And that's what's great is the the, the the the interior, the
1:31:44
architecture of this is our this is an original building.
1:31:48
Then you move into another one. This is a building that's been
1:31:50
built inside another building that's been made for that.
1:31:53
The stories, the history associated with this is still
1:31:55
it's huge that. Is massive.
1:31:57
I think that's one of the things that you, when you do walk about
1:31:59
here, it's understanding that a lot of these buildings have been
1:32:02
here for a very long time. I mean, even the gatehouse used
1:32:05
to be the actually still a manager's house really.
1:32:07
So I thought you should really be in there.
1:32:08
You're not. Lost that pack, now you don't.
1:32:11
Get to live on site now. I think that's probably a
1:32:13
blessing in the cast to be. Honest.
1:32:15
But I think what I mean on the back of this podcast, Jen, I
1:32:17
think what you could do is you could put us down for 25 casks
1:32:20
each all round this up to 100. And yeah, we'll sort that.
1:32:25
We'll. Speak to carefully.
1:32:27
We can do a very competitive price too, so.
1:32:29
I mean, yeah, that's it. Well, listen, guys, it's been
1:32:32
absolutely fantastic. Thank you so much for having us.
1:32:34
Thank you for your hospitality. It's great.
1:32:35
And thanks to David as well for for the tour.
1:32:37
You can check that vlog out as well.
1:32:39
If you're sitting there wondering, after what we've
1:32:41
talked about, the tiles, the top of the house, the views, the
1:32:45
coffee. Stills.
1:32:46
The coffee and Chuck also just giving a running commentary of
1:32:48
what it now smells like. The the last day of whiskey
1:32:52
storage on site. Yeah, the last day.
1:32:54
There's a bit of history for last as well.
1:32:56
And also today, you know the the final.
1:32:59
Last mash of the year. Last mash of the Year 2025.
1:33:01
Yeah, that's right. Yeah.
1:33:02
So what we'll have to do is. Like time, just.
1:33:05
Perfectly great, well done. Well, wait 30 years, right?
1:33:07
And as we are 30 years older, right, recording a podcast,
1:33:11
we'll we'll bottle the that the the last mash on the 17th of
1:33:15
December 2020. 5:00 We'll have 100 casks worth. 100 casks,
1:33:21
there's stuff that comes out of that that will do us be sure to
1:33:25
make sure the filling strength's quite high because we want to
1:33:27
make sure it's got a nice bottle.
1:33:28
Well, there's, I'll tell you what, another one, just another
1:33:30
honourable mention. It's won an award was the
1:33:33
Thompson Brothers Edinburgh DRAM.
1:33:34
Was it the Edinburgh? We had it on the.
1:33:37
Oh. Yeah, that was on our tasting at
1:33:39
the. I Donna down in Leith at Smoke
1:33:42
and Mirrors. That was a 34 year old widow.
1:33:45
False widow. Yeah, that was the old name,
1:33:47
wasn't it? Yeah, it was a 36 year old or 34
1:33:50
year old. Interesting about that it was.
1:33:51
4040 point. 1. Percent, yeah.
1:33:55
Which is why they got it. I mean, it's a cracking drama.
1:33:57
And it's also I think it's exclusively through Royal Mail
1:33:59
whiskeys that they're selling it.
1:34:00
It's got a lovely map of Edinburgh on the on the label.
1:34:03
And I think it was only. I think it's like 60 quickly
1:34:07
priced. It's like or like 65 lbs or
1:34:09
something like that. It's incredibly affordable.
1:34:10
A 30 odd year old whiskey. Yeah.
1:34:12
Fantastic. Yeah, absolutely.
1:34:13
Well, listen, guys, thank you so much Tom for coming in and
1:34:16
joining us. Thank you, Jerry.
1:34:17
Thanks, David. It's been absolutely fantastic.
1:34:19
You know, we're gonna we're gonna sit in a park bench and
1:34:23
open, open this never. But thanks very much.
1:34:26
Thanks for listening. Don't forget to hit subscribe,
1:34:29
pass the pod, check out the vlog, go and see all the stuff
1:34:33
that we've been doing. It's been a busy now give us 5.
1:34:35
Actually, no, no, give us what you think, right?
1:34:38
Give us five stars. It'll be 5 stars anyway, but
1:34:41
look. If you think 5 stars, give us
1:34:42
what you. Think guys, listen, I mean like
1:34:44
can you list the distilleries that we've, we've been to this
1:34:46
year? I've not been to all of them
1:34:48
with you, so I've missed Glenn Cadam and Glenn Murray.
1:34:51
I also. Missed a burn Spay burn.
1:34:53
Spayburn. Spayburn looks great.
1:34:55
And Glenn Farkle. So that was kind of semi.
1:34:57
And Sterney? Yeah, well, we started with
1:34:59
Porter Leaf. Porter, Leaf N British and.
1:35:01
Then it was then we've done Tomatin.
1:35:04
Tomatin, yeah. Oh, hi.
1:35:06
Don. Dorner.
1:35:07
Are we stray stray. Yeah, no, especially.
1:35:13
Then you've got Spayburn, Glen Murray.
1:35:17
He's done a good job. We didn't, yeah.
1:35:19
Yeah. Yeah, we're missing.
1:35:20
We're missing some out, but look.
1:35:22
I mean. To think about it when we were
1:35:25
driving up to Temanton Distillery, I think.
1:35:29
It was March time. But but Porter Leith had been
1:35:32
the second holiday holiday. Well, we're not done.
1:35:34
We're. Not been hot.
1:35:35
We're not been. Oh, I was in holidays at.
1:35:37
Christmas never been invite, but but I think when we were driving
1:35:41
up to Temanton, I said Porter Leith Distillery saying it's
1:35:43
like the second or third distillery tour have ever done.
1:35:45
And here we are now getting getting an insight into into
1:35:48
this place. Absolutely fantastic.
1:35:49
Anyway, guys, thank you very much.
1:35:51
All the very best. Have a lovely Christmas New
1:35:52
Year, Slango, our cheers. Cheers.