On this year-end special episode, we'll take a look back at the events that shaped the whisky industry in 2025. Becky Harris of Virginia's Catoctin Creek Distilling will join us to discuss a troubled year for her colleagues in the craft distilling industry, and we'll offer some predictions for 2026, too.

Leaking barrels have been a problem for whisky makers going back generations, and just finding the bad barrels is the biggest part of the problem. Now, a test project involving Royal Barkla, a Boston Robotics robot dog equipped with an ethanol sensor, is underway at the John Dewar & Sons Poniel maturation campus near Glasgow. The robotic dog alerts its human operators when it discovers a leaking barrel, and so far, the test has been a success. We’ll talk with Bacardi’s Angus Holmes about the project on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, no layoffs are expected from the shutdown of the Jim Beam Distillery in Kentucky for 2026, while Scotch whisky global sales are down for the third straight year. 

Single Estate whiskies are made from grain grown at or close to a distillery, and there’s a new coalition of distillers joined by the University of Kentucky to promote so-called “estate whiskies.” The Estate Whiskey Alliance is made up of farm distilleries all the way up to Maker’s Mark, which is growing all of the grain for its Star Hill Farm whiskies on-site. We’ll talk with leaders of the Alliance on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, the Jim Beam Distillery in Kentucky will be shut down for all of 2026, leaving some distillery workers in doubt about their jobs heading into the holidays. 

This week, we’ll mark the passing of longtime Glenlivet master distiller Jim Cryle, who ran the Speyside distillery from 1991 until his retirement in 2006. We’ll listen to an interview with Jim recorded shortly after his retirement, in which he talks about his history in the business, what makes a good single malt whisky, and his choice for that “last dram.” In the news, more Scottish distilleries are pausing production because of lower demand, while U.S. whiskey production has hit its lowest level since 2018. 

The latest collection of American Single Malts from Lost Lantern Whiskey is dubbed the “Scotch Lover’s Collection,” not because there are any inferred links to Scotland, but because Lost Lantern founders Nora Ganley-Roper and Adam Polonski crafted them to appeal to a Scotch lover’s palate. We’ll talk with Nora and Adam on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Brown-Forman reports a 14% decline in quarterly profits, while Bourbon industry leaders are getting nervous about the long-term impact of Canada’s boycott of American whiskies. We’ll also pay tribute to singer-songwriter Robin Laing, who died this weekend at the age of 72. 

Mitch Bechard is a longtime Scotch Whisky brand ambassador, with years of service at Diageo and Glenfiddich. Now, he’s written a rollicking memoir of his tales from the road, along with more serious takes on the improving role of women in whisky and the growth of world whiskies. Mitch joins us on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, we’ll have the latest on the Uncle Nearest receivership saga and Bruichladdich’s Black Art moving to travel retail. We’ll also have tasting notes for new releases from Wild Turkey, Willett, and Glen Grant.