Whisky has inspired many musicians over the years, but Copper Dogs is turning that around. Four whisky industry veterans have turned to performing, though Sam Simmons, Cat Spencer, Rob Allanson, and Simon Roser won't be giving up their day jobs any time soon. They're performing at Balvenie Castle during the upcoming Spirit of Speyside Festival, and Sam Simmons joins us to discuss music and whisky on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. We have plenty of new whiskies to talk about this week from The Balvenie, Aberfeldy, Tomatin, The Glenlivet and more, while Kavalan's Taiwanese single malts are finally available in the US, Suntory's acquisition of Beam is almost complete, and Sullivan's Cove French Oak -- dubbed the World's Best Single Malt in last month's World Whiskies Awards -- is completely gone.

Whisky has a place in the kitchen as well as the bar, and Bourbon may well be one of the most versatile spirits chefs can experiment with. It adds a special touch to sauces, desserts, and meat as well as cocktails, and Charlotte Observer food editor Kathleen Purvis explores all of them in her new cookbook, "Bourbon". She joins us for this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, three top Beam executives are planning new careers once Suntory takes control of the company, Asia's whisky boom may be turning into a bubble, Scotch whisky gets new protection against fakes in Australia, and four craft distillers are collaborating on a new Bourbon that hits Chicago this coming week. We'll have tasting notes for Four Kings Bourbon, along with Bulleit and Jim Beam's new single barrel Bourbons.

Craft distillers took center stage during Whisky Live New York on Wednesday evening, and we'll hear from several of them on this week's episode. Chip Tate of Balcones and Mike Reppucci of Sons of Liberty both won World Whiskies Awards last month for their whiskies, while Daric Schlesselman of Brooklyn's Van Brunt Stillhouse was making his Whisky Live debut with a four-grain American whiskey and a single malt. There's also plenty of news this week, as David Beckham takes some flak for teaming up with Diageo and Simon Fuller on the Haig Club single grain Scotch, the Scotch Whisky Association reports flat export numbers for 2013 and expresses concerns over Scotland's independence referendum, and Kentucky's Bourbon distillers help Gov. Steve Beshear pay off his NCAA basketball wager with Connecticut's governor.

Many of Scotland's historic distilleries have faded into history, to be remembered only by archivists and the occasional whisky lover. While the actual malts from Auchnagie, Stratheden, and others no longer exist -- a group of whisky lovers and entrepreneurs are trying to keep the names alive, and replicate those old malts as best they can using present-day whiskies. We'll find out more about The Lost Distillery Company's whiskies on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, we have word on new whiskies from Glenglassaugh, Bowmore, and Buffalo Trace, along with a new look for Benromach, this year's Maker's Mark Keeneland commemorative bottle, and the inside scoop on just what whisky Queen Elizabeth presented to Pope Francis this week at the Vatican.