Portland, Oregon-based Westward Whiskey filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last April seeking to restructure its finances. At the time, CEO Tom Mooney told us the future was still bright for Westward, which makes American Single Malts. Now, Westward is poised to emerge from bankruptcy after a group of the distillery’s original investors bought its assets. Tom Mooney re-joins us this week on WhiskyCast In-Depth to explain why his original optimism still holds. In the news, Four Roses is reportedly up for sale, with a price tag estimated at $1 billion. Sazerac is planning another billion-dollar expansion project in Kentucky, while the federal government shutdown is delaying approvals of new whiskies and distillery permits. 

Seattle’s Westland Distillery welcomed more than a thousand people this weekend hoping to get their hands on a bottle of the distillery’s first 10-year-old single malt, the 10th Anniversary Garryana. It’s largely matured in Garry Oak casks from the Pacific Northwest, and this year’s release is more scarce than usual - after thieves stole a semi-trailer with nearly half the year’s production of Garryana last month. We’ll talk with Westland master distiller Shane Armstrong and managing director Jason Moore on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Portland’s Westward Distillery has been saved by investors after filing for bankruptcy, and sales  are down again for Pernod Ricard and Moet Hennessy.

Kentucky’s Bourbon distillers are in a conundrum…the industry set a new record for barrel inventories in 2024 and the number of distilleries is at an all-time high. However, domestic sales are slumping and exports are down significantly from previous years. Eric Gregory of the Kentucky Distillers Association joins us on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth to explain the state’s latest whisky production report and what it means for the future. In the news, another new report shows U.S. spirits exports are down for the second quarter of this year, with sharp declines across most key trading partners. 

Gordon & MacPhail has unveiled the oldest whisky ever bottled (so far), an 85-year-old single malt distilled at Glenlivet Distillery in 1940, and priced at £125,000 per decanter. We’ll get a taste of the history behind this whisky, and a taste of the whisky itself, on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth with Stephen Rankin of Gordon & MacPhail. In the news, the partial shutdown of the U.S. government is having an impact on whisky makers, and a court-appointed receiver for Uncle Nearest Tennessee Whiskey has a positive outlook for the business.