The Whiskey Ring Podcast

Ep. 200: Stork Club Whisky with Bastian Heuser

Germany's Ryes, with Napoleon's Help
Show Notes
Thank you to Bastian for entering the whiskey ring! 
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If you haven’t joined the Patreon community yet, please consider doing so at patreon.com/whiskeyinmyweddingring
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Stork Club Distillery
Stork Club Distillery Website
Stork Club Distillery Facebook
Stork Club Distillery Instagram
Stork Club Distillery LinkedIn
Stork Club Distillery YouTube

Ep. 199: White Peak Distillery with Max Vaughn

Whisky is just grown up beer!
Show Notes
Thank you to Max for entering the whiskey ring! 
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If you haven’t joined the Patreon community yet, please consider doing so at patreon.com/whiskeyinmyweddingring
The Bottle Share Club - the $25/month Patreon level - is SOLD OUT! You can still support the podcast for as little as $1/month, and $5/month patrons will have first dibs if a $25/month member retires. 
If you haven’t yet, please follow Whiskey in my Wedding Ring and the Whiskey Ring Podcast on Instagram and Facebook.
White Peak Distillery
White Peak Distillery Website
White Peak Distillery Facebook
White Peak Distillery Instagram
White Peak Distillery Twitter/X

Ep. 198: FEW Spirits with Founder Paul Hletko

OG of Craft Meets OG FEW of Prohibition
Show Notes
Thank you to Paul for entering the whiskey ring! 
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If you haven’t joined the Patreon community yet, please consider doing so at patreon.com/whiskeyinmyweddingring
The Bottle Share Club - the $25/month Patreon level - is SOLD OUT! You can still support the podcast for as little as $1/month, and $5/month patrons will have first dibs if a $25/month member retires. 
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FEW Spirits
FEW Spirits Website
FEW Spirits Facebook
FEW Spirits Instagram

Ep. 197: John Angus and Spirit Chemistry

Get In The Spirit!
Show Notes
If you haven’t joined the Patreon community yet, please consider doing so at patreon.com/whiskeyinmyweddingring
The Bottle Share Club - the $25/month Patreon level - is SOLD OUT! You can still support the podcast for as little as $1/month, and $5/month patrons will have first dibs if a $25/month member retires. 
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John Angus & The Distilled Edit
John Angus on LinkedIn
The Distilled Edit

Ep. 196: Kevin Aslan talks Hotaling & Co, Old Potrero, Hirsch American Whiskey, and Junipero Gin

Spirits of San Francisco: Inside Hotaling & Co with Kevin Aslan
Have you tried or heard of Old Potrero Rye? What about Junipero Gin? Surely you've heard of Hirsch American Whiskey, right? If not, Kevin Aslan, head distiller for Hotaling & Co. in San Francisco, is here to re-introduce these under-the-radar giants of American craft whiskey. 
Old Potrero, when it first arrived in 1996 (distilled in 1993) was the first fully pot distilled whiskey in America since Prohibition. Add to that, it was 100% malted rye, no exogenous enzymes and no other grains. The brainchild of Fritz Maytag and Bruce Joseph, Old Potrero gave rise to a new generation of craft whiskey and continues to be a sensational product - if you can find it. 
Hirsch likely needs no introduction, though I will say Hotaling has turned it on its head. Rather than trying to recreate "The Best Bourbon You'll Never Taste" as Chuck Cowdery has called it, Bruce and now Kevin are using Hirsch as their more experimental line, debuting bourbons, ryes, and American Single Malts. The release I tried - Departure - was 6 years 9 months and had all the ASM and funky barnyard you could want. 
When a distillery that grew out of a brewery (Anchor) has 30+ years in craft whiskey, there's a lot to talk about. We cover the history, the products, the thoughts, and the transitions, with an eye to the future of this venerable brand. 
Thank you to Kevin for entering the whiskey ring! 
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If you haven’t joined the Patreon community yet, please consider doing so at patreon.com/whiskeyinmyweddingring
The Bottle Share Club - the $25/month Patreon level - is SOLD OUT! You can still support the podcast for as little as $1/month, and $5/month patrons will have first dibs if a $25/month member retires. 
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Hotaling & Co.
Hotaling & Co. Website
Hotaling & Co. on Instagram
Hotaling & Co. on Facebook
Hotaling & Co. on Twitter/X
Hotaling & Co. on LinkedIn

Ep. 195: Ki One Distillery with Founder Bryan Do

The First South Korean Single Malt, or, An Eagle, a Unicorn, and a Tiger Walk Into a Bar
Ki One (formerly known as Three Societies) was founded in 2020 with a simple goal: be the first Korean single malt distillery and set a benchmark for what Korean single malt could be. Given the reaction to their releases, one can only say well done. They are the first Korean single malt on the market, with three core expressions (the Eagle, Unicorn, and Tiger) and special releases exploring different parts of their components or playing with finishes. 
What could Korean single malt be? Nestled on the north face of the mountains 30 minutes from Seoul, this distillery gets no direct sunlight in the winter and can swing between -4C and 36C throughout the year. Bryan came from a brewing background, Andrew Shand from a distilling family. Together, they've set a Korean "profile" that hearkens back to their heritage while highlighting something synonymous with Korea: spice. 
Make no mistake: whether at 6 months or 5 years, this is a spice-forward single malt, evoking kimchi and gochujang pepper alongside the classic single malt by which they were inspired. 
As the first, they had to chart a path, and we get into an unusually detailed description of how taxation and regulation can lag behind industry growth and, if unchanged, hamper it. This was Bryan's first longform English interview for Ki One - I hope you enjoy!
Thank you to Bryan for entering the whiskey ring! 
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If you haven’t joined the Patreon community yet, please consider doing so at patreon.com/whiskeyinmyweddingring
The Bottle Share Club - the $25/month Patreon level - is SOLD OUT! You can still support the podcast for as little as $1/month, and $5/month patrons will have first dibs if a $25/month member retires. 
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Ki One Distillery
Ki One Distillery Website
Ki One Distillery on Instagram
Ki One Distillery on Facebook

Ep. 194: The London Distillery Company with Matt McKay

Heritage, Grain, and Grit: Matt McKay Revives the London Distillery Company
The London Distillery Company - TLDC - has, TLDR, had a rather rough two centuries. Two failed ventures, one in the early 1800s and one in the 2010s, the last ending in 2020 with a few dozen casks remaining, sitting in a warehouse for several years unloved. 
Enter Matt McKay, a Whiskey Ring Podcast guest way back in Episode 70. Having recently departed Bimber and Dunphail Distilleries, Matt was looking for a project, something that would expand his already extensive whisky knowledge and give him a new challenge in the production space where he felt most at home. Those few dozen casks held some rye, a lot of single malt, and, more than anything, opportunities. 
In his "distillery without walls," Matt is slowly and methodically rebuilding TLDC into a respectable company known for its own product (which remains quite limited but also nicely aged) and for blending. The Renascence was a release of their own stock, while the just-released Golden Union blends and celebrates English whisky from multiple distilleries into a harmonious expression. 
Matt is unabashedly nerdy (seriously, listen to our previous episode, we got deep in the weeds), and he loves what he does. I can't wait to taste these releases and see what he does. Let's check back in a few years when they're farther down the runway....
Thank you to Matt for entering the whiskey ring! 
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If you haven’t joined the Patreon community yet, please consider doing so at patreon.com/whiskeyinmyweddingring
The Bottle Share Club - the $25/month Patreon level - is SOLD OUT! You can still support the podcast for as little as $1/month, and $5/month patrons will have first dibs if a $25/month member retires. 
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The London Distillery Company
The London Distillery Company Website
The London Distillery Company on Instagram
The London Distillery Company on Facebook
 

Ep. 193: All About French Whisky with Marion Attardi (LM&V) and Matthieu Acar (LMDW)

La Maison du Whisky, Version Française, and Everything About French Whisky
I love "visiting" new countries through the podcast. Granted, France we had technically touched before through Brenne, but I'd heard that there was so much more to learn about the French culture of drinking and spirit production - so who better to talk to than Marion Attardi and Matthieu Acar, of La Maison & Velier and La Maison du Whisky, respectively. 
Marion and Matthieu are subject matter giants in whiskies generally, but both bring a special expertise to French whisky. While long a top market for Scotch single malt (drinking more per capita than any other nation), France has only recently begun distilling its own whiskies and single malts (~1983 is a general starting point). Yet despite starting domestic production around the same time as the earliest American craft distillers, French producers have remained mostly small and independent. Only the oldest and largest - Armorik, for example) have made it to the US market, and many haven't made it outside of France or the EU at most. 
So, why do an episode about French whisky if you can't taste much of it? Because soon enough you'll be able to - and I guarantee you're going to love it. Whether it's a distillery that grew out of a brewery, one doing their own take on peat, one using local wine casks from Bordeaux or calvados from Normandy, the variety is astounding and delicious. 
Three Version Française expressions are available in the US, with more on the way. You can also shop through La Maison du Whisky, The Whisky Exchange, and many other international retailers to find gems from all over France. 
This was just the opening conversation - there will be many more! Especially if Matthieu's compendium on the first 40 years of French whisky gets an English translation...
Thank you to Marion and Matthieu for entering the Whiskey Ring!
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If you haven’t joined the Patreon community yet, please consider doing so at patreon.com/whiskeyinmyweddingring
The Bottle Share Club - the $25/month Patreon level - is SOLD OUT! You can still support the podcast for as little as $1/month, and $5/month patrons will have first dibs if a $25/month member retires. 
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Version Française & La Maison du Whisky
Version Française Website
Version Française on Instagram
La Maison du Whisky Website