As governments start to relax lockdown restrictions in the fight against the Covid-19 virus, some distilleries are slowly starting to welcome the public back. While tours and tastings are still widely banned, Ireland's Teeling Whiskey Company opened the doors to its distillery shop and cafe this week, and we'll talk with Stephen Teeling about the decision and what it means to be able to get out of the house again. Meanwhile, at least four Kentucky distilleries have also opened their gift shops along with others in states with looser public health restrictions. However, Scotland's Glenfarclas Distillery will keep its visitors center in Speyside shuttered for the rest of 2020 to protect the health of distillery workers after one of its bottling hall workers died from the virus. We'll also have details on two whisky auctions to support those affected by the virus, along with the week's tasting notes and much more!

As parts of the world begin to reopen following lockdowns to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus, bars are likely to be among the last businesses allowed to reopen. The social nature of bars doesn't quite work in an era of social distancing, and that will mean major changes for bar owners - and patrons. Jon Taffer is the host of the reality show "Bar Rescue" and a longtime bar industry consultant. He's been thinking about what the post-pandemic future holds for bars, and it's not a pretty picture - as he tells us on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, some distilleries are starting to distill again in Scotland, while Kentucky Bourbon Trail distilleries could start to see a few gift shops reopen this week. We'll also have some of your comments to our poll question on plastic bottles for whisky and a look at research that could make wheat more attractive for distillers in the future.

While world leaders have rightly been focused on the Covid-19 pandemic, the issue of climate change has its own long-term impact on the whisky community worldwide. This week, we'll look at two projects trying to create a sustainable climate for the whisky industry in the future. The "2100 Plan" is a project between the Kentucky Distillers Association and the state's universities to come up with solutions that solve sustainability issues, while Scotland's Bruichladdich Distillery has launched a program to make the entire distillery "carbon-neutral" by 2025. That project could use the waves that pound the Islay coast every day to generate power not only for Bruichladdich, but potentially meet most of the island's electrical demand. In the news, the U.S and Great Britain have started negotiations on a new free trade agreement, and whisky industry leaders want to make sure import tariffs on whiskies are removed as part of any deal. Covid-19 lockdowns don't appear to be ending for bar owners any time soon in Ireland, and this year's Irish Whiskey Awards have been cancelled because of the need for social distancing. We'll also look at a partnership in Texas between Balcones and one of the Lone Star State's legendary breweries and the debut later this month of the "Self Isolation Whisky Festival."

Whisky is what beer dreams of being when it grows up, but the Covid-19 pandemic has left craft brewers with tens of thousands of gallons of beer and no place to sell it with bars across the U.S. closed. Vermont's WhistlePig Farm has been working with brewers from as far away as Texas to give some of that beer a chance to fulfill a higher purpose: being distilled into whiskey! While we're approaching this from a humorous perspective, it's actually cheaper for the brewers and better for the environment to fill tanker trucks with their surplus beer and send it to Vermont than it would be to dump it into local sewer systems. WhistlePig distillery manager Emily Harrison and CEO Jeff Kozak join us on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, a new survey shows nearly two out of three craft distillers are at risk of going out of business because of the economic impact from the pandemic. We'll have that story along with details on the week's new whiskies and much more, including our latest Whisky Club of the Month!