Lost in Dramslation with Park Whiskey Society

Today we chat whiskies in the $100 dollar price range amongst other shenanigans. 

Travis and Sean sit with Niel Hendriksz - Morrison Family Distillers global ambassador to discuss their recent transformation and future of the brand.

We are joined by Sean McCalder's brother, Ian, and he has brought some Danish whisky to the table. 

Now that the Broken Barrel Launch in on its way in Canada, lets sit down with Seth Benhaim - Founder of both Broken Barrel and Infuse Spirits. Seth is known as the Barrel Breaker in the whiskey world and is regarded as an innovator in the industry. 

A couple weeks ago we got the pleasure to sit down and have a discussion Peter Holroyd - Kingsbarns Distillery Manager. Peter is the man behind the stills there are Kingsbarns and is honestly one of the most down to earth people I have met in that position. Tune in to learn more about Peter's journey and what sets Kingsbarns apart.

On the pod this week is Brian Nation - former Master Distiller for Irish Distillers (Midleton, Jameson, etc.) and now the Master Distiller for O'Shaugnessy Distillery. From Ireland to the Midwest, Brian saw the opportunity to be apart of something innovative and new. He is now helping to create a whiskey that celebrates both American and Irish traditions, and by the sounds of it, is very very excited about this adventure. 

Today we sit down with none other than Heather Greene. A true whiskey and spirits expert, and lover of her craft. Heather is now exercising her passion as the co-founder and Master Blender for Milam and Greene, creating award winning whiskeys that are now available in Canada thanks to our friend Robert with Drinks Inc. 

I would like to tell you that we only talked about Compass Box in this episode, but considering the brand load James Bornn Ambassadors, we couldn't help deep dive in man different things. One thing I do remember for certain is, James was kind enough to supply us with samples so we can taste through the No Name releases 1 through 3. A really fun and interesting exercise to top it all off. Stay tuned for Part 2, next week!

Just as the title suggests, we are hungover on Irish whiskey and talking about all the things we enjoyed or didn't enjoy this past month. We get into a little bit of everything on this cask but get hung up on discussing Waterford the most. Come find out what we thought of the last month and if we finally have bought into what the Dark Cloud is cooking.

As we grow near the end of Irish Whiskey Month, it wouldn't have been complete without chatting with our friend Brendan Carty, mastermind behind Killowen Distillery. There are very little people in the industry as passionate about tradition and the future of Irish Whiskey as Brendan, so listen in as we discuss both the industry as a whole along with what he has cooking with Killowen.

To continue the Irish Whiskey discussions this month, Sean and Sean sat with Jared Boller to discuss both the category as a whole and one of the most famous Irish Distilleries - Bushmills!

Today we continue the Irish Whiskey discussions, this time with Shane, Liam and Donal from Two Stacks Whiskey. The gentleman are a massive part of the category's resurgence, pushing barriers down and celebrating the heritage, innovation, and transparency. You won't want to miss this episode!

This episode was not originally intended for the airwaves! It was a late night recording so we convinced Sean Kincaid to read his 2021 Year in Review article. Surrounded by some inebriated banter, the Dark Cloud changes from sunshine to storm. Sometimes you just need to have some fun!

As the title suggests, the four of us round table over some drams throwing out some key Irish Whiskeys we think everyone should start their collections off with.   Enjoy!

Today we reviewing a new local release. Our friends at Hansen Distillery has just release the first expression of their Distiller's Edition Series - French Oak x Port Cask Single Cask Whisky. This Whisky is a 5 year old single cask Rye aged in French STR oak cask for 4 years and then finished in a Port Barrel for 1 year. Listen to find out what we think of it!

Today we chat with Garret Haynes, Master Distillery of Grain Henge Whisky and Head Brewer at Troubled Monk Brewery. Grain Henge recently released their inaugural expression - Meeting Creek Single Malt Whisky. We discuss the inspiration behind it all, future releases and everything in between. Hope you Enjoy!

Join us for the second half of our in studio High Coast Tasting with Zahara Amiri and find out which of the range we enjoyed the most!

Zahara, or as we like to call her - Lady Whisky Z, is in the house, literally. This past fall, Zahara joined Sean and I in studio and she brought some treats! After we have some fun listening to Z's whisky story, we take a deep dive into High Coast Distillery and taste through some of their core range and limited releases. This is a two part episode so stay tuned for Part 2 to drop early next week.

Today we are talking and tasting through some blends! Old Perth Cadenheads 7 Star Compass Box Orchard House Two Stacks Dram in a Can

Today we sit down with our friend Dave Robert - Historian, Carn Mor / Mactalla Ambassador, and more importantly, a beautiful man. Grab a dram and enjoy that chat! 

In this episode Sean and I get the pleasure of chatting with a good industry friend of ours, James Bornn. He Ambassadors some big name brands such as Glenallachie, Compass Box, Benromach, Michter's and more. Although, even though he represents these world class brands, he always remains as approachable and humble as the enthusiast he is speaking or presenting to because he truly is just as passionate about the whisky as you are. We dabble a bit into everything in this episode with more of a focus on Glenallachie. We also taste through the first 5 batches of the Glanallachie 10 year range which was a very interesting exercise! James truly is a breath of fresh air in this industry, so we plan on having him on a lot! Cheers!

In this episode we simply just round tabled and had some fun while reviewing the whiskies we enjoyed drinking the most over the past year. Enjoy!

Ryan Negley is one of our most favourite people we have met in the whiskey world. He is the Brand Manager for Boulder Spirits and brings with him many years of experience in the trenches of this industry, so you know it's the passion speaking when Ryan takes the floor. As Boulder Spirits continues to make big moves here in Canada, we are looking forward to seeing and hearing more from Ryan and the Boulder Team. Enjoy the Show!

Today we sit down with and review four new Irish whiskies in our market.  Dunvilles 1808 Blend Bushmills Causeway 10 Year  Temple Bar 14 Year Malbec Dunvilles 12 Year PX

After partnering on a Woody Creek SIngle Cask Bourbon with Ryan Jespersen - local celebrity and host of a top 5 podcast in Canada, Real Talk. We figured it was now time for some real podcasters to school him in the trade and find out what makes him tick. Ryan Jespersen is an admired media personality in this country that has spent time across all mediums. His larger than life personality is very contagious so here is hoping his success is as well. This is easily one of my favourite recordings to date! 

Today we take a moment to sip on and review some newer whiskies to our market. Starting off with Eau Claire Single Malt Batch 005, then moving on to Taconic Cabernet Cask Bourbon, Blue Run 14 year Bourbon and finally finishing off with Raasay's inaugural first batch of their Single Malt. Download and listen in to hear all about them! 

We are back after a long hiatus and ready to start rocking out the pods! In our resurgence episode, we are joined by Mike Brisebois - former Distell Portfolio Ambassador, so we can discuss his famed separation, and more importantly, everything Mike has coming down the pipe with The Whisky Explorer Society. Mike has worked extremely hard over the years so we all know his presence in the whisky community transcends his role with Distell. He will continue to rise to the level of legend in this country and we will be there every step of the way supporting where we can. 

Today we invited in Travis Watt for a good ol' round table. We grind malts, talk about Sean's obsessions and get into all things to come with PWS!

Today we pop the latest Kilchoman limited edition PX Sherry and put it up against a Two Brewers Peated PX single cask selected by the Edmonton Scotch Club. After that, Sean takes his shirt off to talk about Ardbeg and we pop another new release - the Kilkerran 8 year Cask Strength. 

Today we sit down with Board Game designed, Dave Beck. He has created a board game- DISTILLED, which is a medium-weight, thematic strategy card game about the science & business of crafting alcoholic spirits in a distillery. In the game, you have inherited a distillery, and are hoping to someday achieve the title of master distiller, through purchasing goods, building up your distillery, and creating the world's most renowned spirits. So join Sean, Paul Bovis and I as we dive with Dave into the game's inner workings and it's conceptual beginnings. Following that, we sit with Paul and discuss where is passion for whisky stems from and the community he has grown to love.

Today we crawl back into bed with Edrington elegance, but this time we speak to the West Coast charmer, Jeffrey Meyers about Highland Park. Jeffrey, dedicated to his craft, worked his way up through the minor leagues wearing several different caps before finding himself with an opportunity of a lifetime and now humbly finds himself at the front of the rotation in the big leagues. Join us as three whisky enthusiasts journey, enjoy and talk some Highland Park together. 

Tune in today for more for endless ramblings as we visit a few sherry influenced whiskies and listen to Sean - aka. Dark Cloud express his feels about Billy, don't call me Texas Ranger, Walker.

Today we get the pleasure of sitting down with Ryan Engen - Director of Spirits for Alcanna. Ryan has been a friend and supporter of the club for many years and is someone Sean and I really respect in this industry. He is personally responsible for bringing in and making available some of the most exclusive whisk(e)y products our market has seen including a vast array of single barrel bourbons from a variety of the most popular distilleries. Ryan may hold the title as the head spirits buyer for the biggest liquor chain in the province but its important to remember that he is simply a passionate whisky enthusiast just like the rest of us at heart. Look for his name on all the Wine and Beyond / Liquor Depot selections and I promise you, the quality is guaranteed. 

Today we learn all about the incredible journey Kaiyo whisky endures as it travels through almost every climate around the world prior to bottling. Our guest, Jay Cole (@thewhiskypirate) nerds out with Sean and I for what could easily have been a 4 hour dram session. Jay is as genuine and in love with whisky as anyone I know and has quickly become one of my favourite people in this industry. A future beauty lister in the making!

A few fellas... a few drinks... a few laughs. That's about all that's going on here.

Today we are hanging out with Robert Chalifoux from Drinks Inc.. He is a local distributor gearing up to launch an exciting new whiskey called Creek Water. Creek Water is a celebrity whiskey brand created by Yelawolf who Sean is a massive fan of! He has been praying for this brand to make its way to Canada for years now and thanks to Robert, Sean is getting his wish! 

Today Sean and I take four different Rye whiskies and taste through them all blind - guessing which one is which and rating our favourites at the end. Sean(aka The Dark Cloud) also sets his own cursing record while losing his cool during the Grinds My Malt segment. No prisoners taken this time! 

Just as the title suggests, we are drinking some absolute weirdos today courtesy of our good friend, Sean McCalder (@yegwhiskynight). He set out to bring an array of bizarre whiskies that we have never tried before and... lets just say, our friendship was in question following the recording. Such a fun episode! Hope you enjoy!

Today we are visited by the Rockstar of the Ambassador group here in Canada. Ray Daniel was the first brand ambassador to perform a tasting for our membership years ago, so the bar was set pretty high from the beginning. No one represents as broad a spectrum of whisk(e)y as Ray does so expect to hear this man's voice a number of times on our podcast. In this Episode, we keep it casual for the most part, touching on Jim Beam, sipping on Knob Creek re-release of the 9yr Bourbon and just talk about our shared passion for this wonderful brown spirit we all love. 

Just Sean and I and some some Irish sips for St. Patrick's Day!  

In this episode, the man, the myth, the legend - Mike Brisebios joins us. Simply put, beauty lists were created because people like Mike exist. Mike is a bar setter when it comes to passion in the whisky industry so you can imagine how grateful we are to be able to call him a close friend. Continually inspiring both beginners and enthusiasts alike, Mike is an integral part of why Bunnahabhian, Deanston and Tobermory have such a highly acclaimed popularity in this country. He is a true adventurer of the spirit - The Whisky Explorer.

Today we get the pleasure of talking whisky with one of the most dapper men in the biz. This Gentleman may be as much an Art Curator as he is an Ambassador for his brands but when it comes to the whisky resting in his glass, he is a kid in a candy shop just like the rest of us. Cam Millar - Edrington Portfolio Ambassador is as well articulated and genuinely passionate about whisky as anyone we have ever met. Tune in as we journey through his personal experiences and the prestigious brand we all know as The Macallan.

Today we get the pleasure of talking all things Eau Claire with the wonderful Caitlin Quinn - Master Distiller. Caitlin journeyed from Canada to Scotland and back to Canada where she now finds herself pioneering the whisky landscape in this great province of ours. Listen along as we discuss all the intricacies that make Eau Claire unique. If you haven't bought into what they are creating there already, I suggest you board the band wagon and enjoy the ride!

In this Episode, Sean and I take 4 entry level Sherry bombs and put them head to head. We also touch on others things including who we think are up and coming "unicorns" or influencers in the IG whisky community. Listen in to find out who we named and ultimately which sherried whisky we enjoyed the most!

Today we sit down with Connal MacKenzie, the Group Sales Manager for Adelphi / Ardnamurchan. Connal literally travelled around the world working with the spirit, until finally landing at his final destination with Adelphi. Not only does he get the pleasure of living life as a Indie Bottler, he also gets to  experience the excitement of developing a newer distillery in Ardamurchan. Connal is a pure gentleman which I can promise you is a genuine extension of the company he works for and what they represent.

Today we sit down with the OG Whisky Heathen - Josh Ward, or as most of you know him on Instagram, @knowyourwhisky. Josh has guzzled more whisky than most distilleries produce so when it comes to opinions on the subject, there isn't a more honest one around. If there is one thing he likes more than drinking whisky though, it's sharing it with his friends and lucky enough for Sean and I, we were knighted as Heathens long ago.

Our guest today is a serious candidate to become a Lost in Dramslation Beauty Lister. From Jungle B brawler to cocktail master, Andrew Daw is now firmly embedded in the Whisky Fabric as the Brand Ambassador for Signal Hill Whisky and Crystal Head vodka. 

Today we get to sit down with one of our man crushes in this industry, Bryan Simpson (Glenmorangie / Ardbeg Ambassador). This gentleman is a darling of the community and loves to talk whisky with everyone. Listen in as we look behind the handsomeness at Bryan's Whisky Journey thus far, while sipping on some Ardbeg Wee Beastie and An Oa.

Join us as we explore some craft spirits from Eastern Canada with none other than Nick Hardy aka Fantastic Nick as most of you know him on Instagram. Nick is one of the friendliest people I have met within the whisky community so when he offered to send some samples our way, we thought it only made sense to invite him on to explore them along with us.

Finally back home from holidays and ready to talk whisky again. Join Sean and I as we banter about sweet F-all while reviewing a couple new whiskies in our market - Bladnoch Adela 15 year and Highland Park Cask Strength.