Podcasts about canadian whisky awards

  THE SHOW  It's the first of two Whisky Specials from the 2025 Canadian Whisky Awards and the 2025 Victoria Whisky Festival. There are always headlining whiskies and star whisky makers in attendance! Whisky fans want to taste and explore the new releases from Crown Royal, Canadian Club, Forty Creek, Hiram Walker, JP Wiser's Lot 40, Pike Creek, Gooderham and Worts, Nikka, Amrut, The Dalmore and Glencadam. For the first time ever,  Gisbelle Distillery a distillery from China,  would be joining the lineup. The West Coast and Vancouver Island were well represented. Stillhead, Odd Society, DubhGlas, Sheringham, Sons of Vancouver & Shelter Point. Over 200 whiskies were up for the awards. 14 judges from across the country tasted and scored. The Grand Prize Winner, judged Canadian Whisky of the Year was, The Peat Project Moscatel Barrique single malt from Macaloney's Island Distillery (Saanich)   Here are the guests on part one of the 2025 Whisky Awards and Victoria Whisky Festival Davin De Kergommeaux  -  Davin is the flag bearer for Canadian Whisky. He singlehandedly brought Canadian Whisky to the attention of Canada and The World. His latest book is the updated and expanded third edition of Canadian Whisky - The Essential Portable Expert. I love the first line. "Handles, mickeys, shots or drams, no matter what its measure, Canadian whisky is a story of Canada." Davin is my ultimate connection to the world of Canadian Whisky. He helped create these awards and leads the judging team. Grant Stevely - Distiller at DubhGlas (Oliver) In the fall of 2010, Grant purchased some property at Gallagher Lake near Oliver, B.C. “I wanted to build a distillery from the ground up, which is distinctly different from a lot of other distilleries,” he says. “So we built the distillery with expansion in mind.”  Grant Stevely[/caption] At the heart of the operation is a German-made Arnold Holstein still. No sooner did Stevely open Dubh Glas Distillery in the spring of 2015, when he began winning awards for his first product, Noteworthy Gin. “Dubh Glas” is Scottish Gaelic for “from the dark water.” It's pronounced “Douglas,” which happens to be Stevely's middle name. Jason MacIsaac - Distiller. Sheringham (Langford, BC) Sheringham Distillery  won Best Contemporary Gin at the 2019 World Gin Awards Its Seaside Gin captured the award against World-class competition from 23 countries,  including the UK  and USA. "We created Sheringham because we saw a hole in the market: the opportunity to create the world's most drinkable spirits. This approach has served us well, and in the seven years since founding Sheringham, we have been on the ground building authentic connections with buyers, retailers, and consumers, sharing our story and highlighting our chef-driven approach to innovation and quality."  (Distiller Mag) Jason and wife  Alayne now have their growing portfolio available across Canada and in 15 markets in the USA. Graeme Macaloney - Master Distiller  Macaloney Island Distillery (Saanich) There once was a wee Scottish lad by the name of Graeme Macaloney who found a summer job bottling whisky and fell in love with Uisge Beatha, the ‘water of life'. He dedicated his heart to finding a way to make whisky for a living. Graeme set up shop on Saanich, just outside Victoria. Some of his favourite Scottish and Irish whiskies were island-made. Graeme has found his "island" in Canada. Congratulations Champ!! - Distillery opened in 2016 - The first whisky made onsite and  released in 2020 -Canadian Whisky of the Year - 2025 Brennan Colebank - Master Distiller Stillhead Distillery (Duncan) Founded by the Colebank family, Stillhead Distillery Inc. opened its doors in October of 2017. After working 15 years in the tech industry, Master Distiller Brennan Colebank left his job to pursue his dream career, blending the two things he loved most: chemistry and spirits.  The chemist has created an amazing portfolio and a home for Whisky in the Cowichan Valley. www.victoriawhiskyfestival.com www.canadianwhiskyawards.com

Part Two of Victoria Whisky Festival   THE SHOW    It’s the second half of the 2025 Canadian Whisky Awards and  Victoria Whisky Festival     Our guests this week are: The Sons of Vancouver: (East Van) Jenna Diubaldo –   Blender and Whisky Program Manager James Lester – Founder-Blender-GM. (Middle)   Jenna –  A grad...

It’s early January. It’s Victoria. Must be Whisky Season!!   THE SHOW    It’s the first of two Whisky Specials from the 2025 Canadian Whisky Awards and the 2025 Victoria Whisky Festival. There are always headlining whiskies and star whisky makers in attendance! Whisky fans want to taste and explore the new releases from Crown...

This week, we're in Victoria, British Columbia for the annual Victoria Whisky Festival, one of the world's great whisky events. The Canadian Whisky Awards were presented during the festival, and we'll have the results, including a surprise winner of the Canadian Whisky of the Year. We'll also talk with Wayne Gretzky Distillery head distiller Tim Wilson and Forty Creek master blender Bill Ashburn on WhiskyCast In-Depth, and Dr. Don Livermore gives us an explanation of Fick's Law and how it affects whisky maturation in our Behind the Label segment. 

In part 2 with David de Kergommeaux we discuss how he runs the Canadian Whisky Awards, his induction into the Whisky Hall of Fame, continue the discussion on "Canadian True" and discuss our favourite Canadian Whisky of all time. The Whisky Rant Podcast Ep 102. BUY THE BOOK HERE: https://a.co/d/3eEQx0O

Making great whisky is serious business. Whisky takes time. You can create it and leave it in barrel “while your kids grow up and head off to college” kind of time. For example, Paradigm Spirits -The Heritage Collection -  Whisky of the Year in Canada spent 19  years in barrels. Then along came friends and partners Michelle deBus and Irma Joeveer who were just beginning their whisky journey. They purchased the filled barrels to start Paradigm. Then blended in some Oloroso Sherry and found a stunning balance between the corn whisky and sherry. Davin de Kergommeaux Canada's Whisky authority and founder of the Canadian Whisky Awards describes The Heritage as having “sublime complexity and elegance with fresh fruity top notes” This is a really nice story of people who dreamt a dream of making whisky and how it all led to being named Whiskey of the Year in Canada. Besting 200 other whiskeys. Our guests are Irma Joeveer and Michelle Debus  

“Friendship is like Whisky – the older the better”   Yes, my friends, it's our annual trek to Victoria's inner harbour for the 18th annual Victoria Whisky Festival and the Canadian Whisky Awards. It was the founder of the awards Davin de Kergomeaux who whispered in my ear wondering why I wasn't attending or tasting or writing about his Whisky Awards.  On second thought I think the voice in my ear was me saying “How could you possibly miss this?” just after I had missed the events about 6-7  years ago. I knew almost nothing about Whisky but my thinking was the same as wine – 17 years ago – every interview is going to be a master class. Pay attention and you could learn all about wine and pass it on to the listeners.     I'm pleased to welcome  to Tasting Room Radio – Davin de Kergommeaux – founder of the Canadian Whisky Awards. The Canadian Whisky Awards, held annually with the Victoria Whisky Festival, is the first and only competition dedicated solely to Canadian Whisky. The Awards have become the first stop for whisky producers, distributors, retailers and fans looking for the very best Canadian whiskies. Davin is the world's leading authority on Canadian Whisky. He also has three books available on Canadian Whisky with a fourth coming in March! Davin assembled 10 judges and sent them nearly 200 competing whiskies to blind taste.  Davin announces the winner in his interview. We talk to the winners next week. www.canadianwhiskyawards.com www.canadianwhisky.org [caption id="attachment_28306" align="alignnone" width="800"] Graeme Macaloney[/caption] Dr. Graeme Macaloney PEng, PhD. – Macaloney's Island Distillery (Saanich)   Proud owner of 5 world whisky awards including World best Potstill – Kildara. They are a non-chilled, filtered, no colour-added distillery. In our 8-10 minute interview, I think I asked 3 perhaps 4 questions – Dr. Graeme handled the rest. It was like a masterclass. A charming man in a Cameron Kilt. He won Gold for his 54ppm Peat Project. www.macaloneydistillers.com   Tish Harcus –  Manager Canadian Club Whisky since 1988.  Canadian Club itself since 1858. www.canadianclub.com James Neil – Bowmore Distillery. The oldest distillery in Islay. On the shores of Lochindaal since 1779. Also home to one of the world's oldest Scotch maturation warehouses – The No. 1 Vault. James poured Bowmore 22 Aston Martin www.bowmore.com They took part in the Great Whisky Debate with Micah Dew from Maker's Mark. Words flew, one-liners were exchanged and they still remain long-time friends. Micah was busy with a masterclass but we thank Tish and James for coming by. www.makersmark.com Chris Read –Shelter Point Distillery. Campbell River. Distinctly Vancouver Island. Uniquely Shelter Point. By the time Chris sat down we knew Shelter Point had won 2 Bronze medals for their Oak Cask Single Malt  (smoke, spices, honey, leather and a wiff of ocean) and their flagship Evans Family Reserve. (vanilla, tannins, dark chocolate, coconut, citrus, berries, cloves.) Chris explained the unique influences in their island location. It was like poetry. www.shelterpoint.ca  

Victoria Whisky Fest  & Canadian Whisky Awards     THE SHOW    “Friendship is like Whisky – the older the better”  Yes, my friends its our annual trek to Victoria's inner harbour for the 18th annual Victoria Whisky Festival and the Canadian Whisky Awards. It was founder of the awards Davin de Kergomeaux who whispered...

This year's Canadian Whisky Awards produced another surprise winner for the second year in a row. Ontario's Paradigm Spirits won Canadian Whisky of the Year honors, and we'll discuss the state of Canadian Whisky with Davin de Kergommeaux. In the news, U-S craft distillers made gains in 2023 despite economic pressures, while Scotch Whisky's impact on the Scottish economy continues to grow. 

This week's episode comes from the Victoria Whisky Festival in Victoria, British Columbia...where a small Vancouver distillery shocked the Canadian whisky world the other night. Sons of Vancouver won Canadian Whisky of the Year honors at the Canadian Whisky Awards with their "Palm Trees and a Tropical Breeze" rye whisky. It was the highest-scoring whisky in the competition, and it wasn't even close. We'll talk with the distillery's Jenna Diubaldo, James Lester, and Max Smith on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth, along with Canadian Whisky Awards founder and chairman Davin de Kergommeaux. In the news, an explosion rocked Alberta Distillers in Calgary this week, while a long-running legal saga has come to an end in Vancouver.

After Crown Royal Winter Wheat swept the Canadian Whisky Awards we were left wondering if there's more to CR than we previously thought.  It's one of the most successful brands but is often overlooked by enthusiasts... UNTIL NOW! With the help of Headmaster Davin de "Wizard" Kergommeaux we take a closer look at 4 different CR expressions to find see if there's more there than meets the eye (Transformers theme song trigger alert). Support the show

This week we were joined by Dr. Don Livermore, Master Blender of Hiram Walker & Sons Ltd. who spoke to use about some amazing awards he and his team won at the 2022 Canadian Whisky Awards! Plus we'll tell you which Ontario companies have earned our love and the love of our listeners. Who says Valentine's Day is the only day to show your affection? Not us!

Our Friday night #HappyHourLive webcasts are back! This week's show features Billy Abbott, author of the new book "The Philosophy of Whisky," and Canadian Whisky Awards founder Davin de Kergommeaux. Davin handed out the 2022 Canadian Whisky Awards the night before our webcast, and we'll discuss the winners along with the state of Canadian Whisky. Join us each Friday night at 5:00pm New York time (22:00 GMT/UTC) for our live shows on the WhiskyCast YouTube channel, our Facebook page, Twitter, and Twitch. 

A century ago, Masataka Taketsuru was using the lessons he learned during his time in Scotland to build Japan's emerging whisky industry armed with a notebook full of information. While that notebook remains in Nikka Whisky's archives, it's now been translated into English for the first time. Ruth Anne Herd and Professor Alan Wolstenholme teamed up for the translation, and there's a family connection behind the project. Wolstenholme's grandfather was the manager at Hazelburn Distillery in Campbeltown when Taketsuru was doing his "internship" there, and that's one of the stories Alan Wolstenholme shares with us in this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. We'll also have the week's whisky news, including the winners of this year's Canadian Whisky Awards, tasting notes, and much more!

Courtney sits down with Kevin Whiting to talk about Railway City's Brüniversity program, their new milkshake IPA, and a whole host of other things. Then, Courtney & Michelle talk about the 2021 Canadian Whisky Awards results. To close it all off, the ladies sample Spearhead's Madagascar Vanilla Bean Bock.

Silicon Valley is the technology center of the world, but Virag Saksena has made the switch from mashing together code to mashing barley. He's a former software engineer and Oracle executive who founded San Jose's 10th Street Distillery in 2017 with his partner, chemical engineer Vishal Nauri. They're exploring a shared passion for single malt whiskies...especially peated single malts, with the goal of creating a "great" California single malt whisky. We'll meet Virag Saksena on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, help  is getting closer for the U.S. hospitality industry to cope with the economic impact of the pandemic, while Scotch Whisky makers are hoping for help from their government when the new budget is announced this week. New Zealand's whisky makers are joining the rush to define the terms for their whiskies, and the pandemic-delayed Canadian Whisky Awards winners are celebrating.

We catch up with Jacob Wiebe from Shelter Point, we caught up with him back in January here and chatted about their big win at the Canadian Whisky Awards. This time around, we chat about their sanitizer production work, what's in the works for the next few months and why they finally decided to put out a gin. Always love catching up with Jacob and talking shop; amazing craft whisky distillery. Join the #1 authority on British Columbia's distilling and spirit culture, we taste through some of BC’s burgeoning craft spirits, from the weird and wonderful to the eclectic. With in-depth tastings, to advice on how to mix craft spirits along with professional bartending tips and tricks; BC Spirits has you covered. FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM – https://www.instagram.com/bcspirits/ FOLLOW US ON TWITTER – https://twitter.com/spiritsbc FOLLOW US ON YOUTUBE - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZgF0PdeTgOmlPrScxGAqxQ Check out the Website – www.bcspirits.com #bcspirits #britishcolumbia #buylocal --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/bc-spirits/message

Another great episode during Victoria WhiskyFest, this time sitting down with Canadian Whisky Awards multiple award winners, Jacob Wiebe from Shelter Point in Campbell River. One of my favourite distilleries in the province with exceptional whiskies. Join us every Wednesday and Thursday as we taste through some of BC’s burgeoning craft spirits, from the weird and wonderful to the eclectic, BC Spirits has you covered. FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM – BC Spirits https://www.instagram.com/bcspirits/ Check out the Website – www.bcspirits.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/bc-spirits/message

This week, we're in Victoria, British Columbia for one of the world's best whisky festivals, the 15th annual Victoria Whisky Festival! This year's event also included the 10th anniversary of the Canadian Whisky Awards, and we'll hear from some of the top winners along with other highlights from Victoria on WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, whisky industry leaders from Scotland and the U.S. spent much of the week in Washington trying to persuade Trump Administration officials to ease off on a trade tariff targeting whisky imports from Scotland and Northern Ireland. We're already starting to see some of the initial impact from the tariff on Scotch Whisky producers, with word that some smaller companies may be pulling out of one of the world's largest export markets because of the trade dispute between the U.S. and the European Union. That's just one of the stories we'll bring you on this special episode of WhiskyCast from the Victoria Whisky Festival.

Forty Creek Whisky founder John K. Hall has kept a low profile since selling his distillery to Campari five years ago. He won dozens of awards for his whiskies at Forty Creek, and turned his startup into one of the best-selling Canadian whiskies around - earning him a place in Canadian Whisky history. Hall returned to the 2019 Victoria Whisky Festival for the first time since the sale to serve as the keynote speaker for the Canadian Whisky Awards dinner. In an exclusive interview with WhiskyCast's Mark Gillespie, he shared his thoughts on today's whisky business and whether he may make a comeback once his non-compete agreement with Campari expires later this year.

Forty Creek Whisky founder John K. Hall has kept a low profile since selling his distillery to Campari five years ago. He won dozens of awards for his whiskies at Forty Creek, and turned his startup into one of the best-selling Canadian whiskies around - earning him a place in Canadian Whisky history. Hall returned to the 2019 Victoria Whisky Festival for the first time since the sale to serve as the keynote speaker for the Canadian Whisky Awards dinner. In an exclusive interview with WhiskyCast's Mark Gillespie, he shared his thoughts on today's whisky business and whether he may make a comeback once his non-compete agreement with Campari expires later this year.

This is the first of our two episodes from the 14th annual Victoria Whisky Festival in Victoria, British Columbia. One of the highlights of the festival each year is the Canadian Whisky Awards, and Forty Creek returned to the top of the podium this year for the first time in five years with a new 22-year-old Canadian Rye whisky. We'll have the details on that and other award winners in the news, and we'll also look at the debate over the impact of terroir in whisky. Vancouver Island's Shelter Point Distillery won the Award for Innovation for its whisky distilled from 100% unmalted barley whisky grown on the distillery's own farm. That's just one example, and Ireland's Waterford Distillery is taking terroir to the other extreme with barley from more than 40 local farms being malted, distilled, and matured separately to maximize the impact of terroir. We'll discuss the findings of new scientific research on Waterford's barley with founder Mark Reynier on WhiskyCast In-Depth.

  This week, we're in Victoria, British Columbia for the 13th annual Victoria Whisky Festival - just as the Canadian province's liquor regulators staged a crackdown targeting the Scotch Malt Whisky Society and its "partner bars" in the province. Agents seized several hundred bottles of the Society's whiskies in raids at four bars in Vancouver, Victoria, and Nanaimo because they were purchased from private liquor stores in British Columbia instead of the government-run liquor distribution system. We'll have complete coverage of the crackdown, along with its impact on the Victoria Whisky Festival, which was forced to cancel several tastings and master classes to head off a similar crackdown. We'll also have complete coverage of this year's Canadian Whisky Awards and talk with a pair of brewer/distillers from one of the most remote distilleries around...in the middle of the Yukon!

It's all about Canadian whisky. Mark and Jamie are joined by author of Canadian Whisky: The Portable Export and Head Judge of the Canadian Whisky awards, Davin de Kergommeaux. We get inside whisky judging, the winners, and debate batches!

It's all about Canadian whisky. Mark and Jamie are joined by author of Canadian Whisky: The Portable Export and Head Judge of the Canadian Whisky awards, Davin de Kergommeaux. We get inside whisky judging, the winners, and debate batches!  Links: Follow Davin on Twitter @davindek Canadian Whisky Award 2017 Best In the World Masterson's Straight Rye - Best Canadian Whisky 2017 on whsky.buzz The theme song is licensed in thanks to Alan Doyle! It's available on iTunes.

This week, we're on location at the Victoria Whisky Festival in British Columbia! We'll discuss a new range of premium Canadian whiskies coming this fall from the Hiram Walker Distillery with master blender Dr. Don Livermore, and sit down for a dram with veteran whisky writer Dave Broom to solve some of the whisky world's problems. In the news, there's a new Canadian Whisky of the Year, and we'll have highlights from the 2017 Canadian Whisky Awards, along with another expansion at Ireland's Midleton Distillery and a rare sighting of a "unicorn" whisky - believe it or not...a peated Balvenie!

This week, we're on location with the first of two episodes from the Victoria Whisky Festival in Victoria, British Columbia. For the last several years, the Victoria Whisky Festival has had at least one tasting session reserved for women only, and this year's tasting featured Canadian Club's Tish Harcus...one of the pioneers in leading tastings geared to women. We'll talk with Tish and Julia Ritz Toffoli, founder of Women Who Whiskey...one of the fastest-growing whisky clubs for women with chapters in the US, Canada, Europe, and Africa. In the news, Corby's Lot No. 40 has taken top honors as Canadian Whisky of the Year in the Canadian Whisky Awards for the second time in three years...the Nelson brothers have sold a stake in their Green Brier Distillery in Tennessee to Constellation Brands, and we'll have the latest on new whiskies from Japan and Ireland.

We're on the road for the first time in 2015 this weekend, with the first of two episodes from the 10th annual Victoria Whisky Festival in Victoria, British Columbia. The weekend kicked off with the annual Canadian Whisky Awards presentation Thursday night at the Hotel Grand Pacific, including a special Lifetime Achievement Award presented to Forty Creek founder John Hall. We'll hear from John and Canadian Whisky Awards founder Davin de Kergommeaux on WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Montreal police are looking for a robber with very expensive taste in whisky following a holdup Thursday at the SAQ's flagship store in Montreal, Collingwood Rye takes Canadian Whisky of the Year honors, and Beam Suntory plans to export Alberta Premium for the first time.

This is the first of two episodes from this weekend's Victoria Whisky Festival in British Columbia, where Canadian whisky was featured on opening night with the presentation of the 2013 Canadian Whisky Awards. Corby's Lot No. 40 ended Forty Creek Distillery's three-year run as Canadian Whisky of the Year, but by the slimmest of margins. We'll hear from the winners, as well as the equally pleased runners-up. In the news, Suntory's $16 billion deal to acquire Beam is drawing fire from some critics, Wild Turkey will honor Jimmy Russell with a special bottling to mark his 60th anniversary at the distillery this year, and Clynelish will be the latest Diageo distillery in Scotland to get an expansion. Mark also offers a commentary on the Suntory-Beam merger and why it's good for whisky lovers.

This special episode of WhiskyCast Virtual Tastings was recorded on location at Canada's Forty Creek Distillery during its annual "Whisky Weekend" at the end of September, 2013. Mark Gillespie moderated a tasting panel with Forty Creek's John Hall, Canadian Whisky Awards founder and author Davin de Kergommeaux, and the "Whisky Lassie," Johanne McInnis. While Forty Creek is a sponsor of WhiskyCast Virtual Tastings, we have elected to present this tasting panel as a special episode because of its educational value to whisky lovers as a rare opportunity to hear whisky writers discuss a flight of whiskies with the person who created them. WhiskyCast's Mark Gillespie maintained editorial control over the content of this episode, and the opinions of each panelist are his or her own.

It's time for one of the world's top whisky festivals...the Victoria Whisky Festival in British Columbia. The festival kicked off with the presentation of the annual Canadian Whisky Awards, and we'll hear from founder Davin de Kergommeaux and the distiller behind the 2012 Canadian Whisky of the Year, Forty Creek's John Hall. We'll also get an update on the progress of British Columbia's largest whisky distillery from Shelter Point owner Patrick Evans, and update the week's news in the first of two episodes from Victoria this weekend!

The end of January means many things, but in the whisky world, it means a trip to the Victoria Whisky Festival in British Columbia. The VWF is one of the world's best whisky festivals, and this week's episode features some of the highlights from this weekend's event. We'll get the latest on new whiskies from Cooley, Glenfarclas, Glenmorangie, and many more distillers, along with the results of the Canadian Whisky Awards and the newest chapter of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society.

Canadian whisky has been celebrating a renaissance of sorts, with shows like "Mad Men" and "Boardwalk Empire" renewing interest in these often-overlooked whiskies. Davin de Kergommeaux is the publisher of CanadianWhisky.org, and this past week handed out the first Canadian Whisky Awards. Davin and I discuss the winners and other Canadian whiskies to watch for. In the news, Fortune Brands plans to shed divisions and focus on spirits, an interview with new Maker's Mark master distiller Greg Davis, and US regulators answer the "single malt whisky" question.