Back out on the road again for our first whisky festival since the pandemic started! While we were in Las Vegas for The Nth, Richard Paterson and Craig Bridger joined us for a special edition of the Happy Hour Live webcast, and you'll hear part of our conversation on WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, the human resources departments at several distilleries are busy with new hires, and we'll have the details...along with a conversation with Scott Davidson of Glencairn Crystal about supply chain problems affecting whisky makers and how Glencairn is trying to help solve a shortage of glass bottles. We'll also have tasting notes, Behind the Label, and much more!

Colorado's Coors family has been making beer for five generations, but it's also been supplying many of the state's craft distillers with malted barley for more than a decade. Now, the family has decided to make its own whiskey using a blend of Colorado single malt made with its own malted barley and Bourbons from Kentucky and Indiana. It's part of a company goal to expand into distilled spirits, as David Coors explains on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, the results from this year's San Francisco World Spirits Competition are in, and whiskies from Australia did extremely well in the judging. We'll have the rest of the week's whisky news, tasting notes, and on Behind the Label, we'll answer a listener's question about his cloudy bottle of whisky.

Chocolate may well be on your mind heading into Easter weekend, and we'll look at how well whiskies pair with artisan chocolates with Scotland-based whisky and chocolate educator Rachel McCormack on this week's webcast! Here's a hint: not all types of chocolate pair equally well with whiskies. For instance, we found that smoky whiskies work better with lighter chocolates than with dark, rich ones. Catch our live webcasts every Friday at 5:00pm New York time on the WhiskyCast YouTube channel, our Facebook page, Twitter, and Twitch. 

In all of his years as Master Distiller at MGP, Greg Metze never had to worry about the blending side of making whiskey. Now, at Old Elk, he's added blending to his portfolio - and has just released a couple of new Master's Blend whiskies that blend Old Elk's unique mashbills. He's also had to learn the marketing side of the business as well, and he'll join us on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, it's last call for tours at Kentucky's Barton 1792 Distillery even as other distillers continue to ramp up their visitor experiences. We'll have the latest on new releases, tasting notes, and much more on this week's WhiskyCast!

Women have had a long - and under-appreciated role in brewing and distilling for generations. Beer and spirits writer Tara Nurin explored that history in her book "A Woman's Place Is In the Brewhouse," and joined us in-studio to discuss some of that history over a beer and a dram. 

Midleton's Kevin O'Gorman was tapped two years ago to take over for Brian Nation as Master Distiller, and the results of Whisky Magazine's 2022 Icons of Whisky Awards show he's succeeded in his new role. O'Gorman was named Master Distiller/Blender of the Year, and combines both roles with his annual release of Midleton Very Rare. WhiskyCast's Mark Gillespie sat down over drams with Kevin in Dublin just days after the announcement, and you'll hear their conversation on WhiskyCast In-Depth. Mastering also comes into play with the latest Jameson release, a "remastered" version of the old Jameson 15 Single Pot Still release from two decades ago, and we'll have the story behind it along with tasting notes and the rest of the week's whisky news.