Not Another Whisky Podcast - Details, episodes & analysis

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Not Another Whisky Podcast

A Mitch & Daz Production

Arts

Leisure

Fiction

Frequency: 1 episode/9d. Total Eps: 231

Not Another Whisky Podcast is your gateway to the whisky world, hosted by industry veterans Mitch Bechard and Daryl Haldane. With four decades of combined experience within the whisky industry for giants like Highland Park, Glenfiddich, Macallan, Johnnie Walker, Talisker, and Lagavulin, these guys know their stuff - and they're ready to share the insider secrets and stories that don't make it onto the distillery tours.

This is an informal show where you can learn about whisky without the stuffy attitude. Expect whisky facts, the latest news, terrible whisky jokes, and candid conversations with industry guests. No pretence, just a good chat about great whisky!

Do you have a story to share, or are you curious about sponsoring the show? Drop us a line at whiskypodcast@gmail.com. And don't forget to peek into our mischievous antics on Instagram @notanotherwhiskypodcast or swing by www.notanotherwhiskypodcast.com

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/not-another-whisky-podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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https://www.instagram.com/notanotherwhiskypodcast
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https://www.instagram.com/india.blanch
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https://www.instagram.com/mike_mcginty
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https://www.notanotherwhiskypodcast.com/
156 shares
https://smws.com/
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https://www.notanotherwhiskypodcast.com/IG-
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RSS feed quality

Good

Score global : 83%

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WE’RE GIVING AWAY AN SMWS MEMBERSHIP AND CHATTING ABOUT CHRISTMAS WHISKY WITH MADS SCHMOLL

Sunday, November 8, 2026 • Duration 43:23

We're back with The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, but this time Mitch has made it west for his first visit to the Society's Bath Street Members' Room in Glasgow.

Joining him is Madeleine “Mads” Schmoll, European Content Manager at SMWS, for a Christmas episode built around one question:

Can you actually gift someone into whisky?

Mads didn't arrive at the Society as a fully formed whisky nerd. When she joined in 2019, she was more likely to reach for Cognac, knew relatively little about whisky and admits that her husband was usually the one choosing the bottle for their camping trips.

Seven years at SMWS has rather comprehensively changed that.

Mitch and Mads talk about the people, bottles and experiences that send us down the whisky rabbit hole, how you introduce someone who claims they “don't like whisky”, and the increasingly difficult task of buying a present for somebody who already knows far too much about the stuff.

There are also two festive Society releases to get stuck into: The Christmas Crackers and Sugar-Coated Nostalgia, two 35cl cask-strength releases from the same distillery showing very different sides of sherry maturation.

They also get into gifting bottles versus experiences, festive events at the Society's Members' Rooms, Hogmanay, Burns Night, Mads' slightly terrifying baptism into peated whisky on Islay and Campbeltown, and the small matter of helping 447 whisky drinkers across 18 countries set a Guinness World Record.

And, because it's almost Christmas, we're giving something away.

WIN A YEAR'S SMWS MEMBERSHIP

One listener will win:

A full year's membership to The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, including their first 70cl Society bottle worth at least £70.

To enter, head to the Not Another Whisky Podcast Instagram page, find the SMWS competition post and answer:

Who would you gift a whisky experience to this Christmas, and why?

Entries close 22 December 2026.

In this episode:

• Mitch's first visit to SMWS Bath Street

• Why every Society Members' Room has its own personality

• How Mads went from Cognac drinker to whisky obsessive

• Can you really convince someone who says they don't like whisky?

• The bottles that mean more than their price tag

• How to buy whisky for someone who already knows their stuff

• Tasting The Christmas Crackers

• Tasting Sugar-Coated Nostalgia

• Bottle or experience: which makes the better gift?

• Christmas and Hogmanay at the Society

• The SMWS Guinness World Record whisky tasting

• Christmas pudding gets the kicking it deserves

• And the chance to win a year of SMWS membership

LINKS

Here’s the link for the A Christmas Cracker bottle: https://smws.com/a-christmas-cracker/

And the one for Sugar-Coated Nostalgia will be: https://smws.com/sugar-coated-nostalgia/

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society

https://smws.com/

Join SMWS / Gift Membership

https://smws.com/join

SMWS Gifts & Tasting Packs

https://smws.com/gifts-and-tasting-packs/

SMWS Merchandise

https://merch.smws.com/

The Christmas Crackers

Live product page not currently surfacing on the SMWS website. We’ll add the direct link once available.

Sugar-Coated Nostalgia

Releases 17 November 2026. Direct product link to be added once live.

Hosted by Mitch Bechard and Daz Haldane, this is where the whisky world gets pulled apart properly, with stories, insights, and the occasional bit of chaos along the way.

🥃 New episodes every week(ish)

🎤 Live shows & tastings across Scotland

🎟️ Web: www.notanotherwhiskypodcast.com

📩 Enquiries & partnerships: whiskypodcast@gmail.com

📲 Follow us on Instagram

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/not-another-whisky-podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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GHOSTS, DEVILS & DEAD MASHMEN | WHISKY GHOST STORIES

Season 6 · Episode 36

Sunday, October 25, 2026 • Duration 46:04

It’s Halloween, the nights are drawing in and whisky season is well and truly here. So naturally, Mitch and Daz are talking about dead mashmen, haunted maltings, disappearing old ladies, cursed distilleries, the Devil hiding inside a whisky cask and a professor who apparently solved a haunting with two iron stakes and a ley line. Completely normal whisky podcast stuff.

We start with the obvious question: do either of us actually believe in ghosts?

From there, Mitch tells the story of The Balvenie’s Green Lady, including former maltman Robbie Gormley’s poem about meeting her during his final night shift — before sharing his own unexplained experience inside the Balvenie maltings at around 1:30 in the morning.

Then things get properly strange.

There’s the rocking horse in the infamous school room at Drummuir Castle — made considerably creepier when, halfway through telling the story, an old Diageo colleague connected to the castle inexplicably phones.

We get into Hazelwood House and the stories surrounding Wee Jannie, Jura’s Prophecy and the remarkably specific prediction that supposedly came true more than 200 years later, plus Cardhu’s dead mashmen, mysterious footsteps and perhaps the greatest piece of paranormal problem-solving in Scotch whisky history.

Daz takes us to Islay for the legend behind Bowmore’s Devil’s Casks, where the Devil himself supposedly fled the famous Round Church, hid inside a whisky cask and disappeared aboard a ship that was never seen again.

Naturally, we also find time to actually drink some whisky, as Daz gets into Bowmore’s Halloween releases, including the Devil’s Cask 10 and 22 Year Old.

Elsewhere:

The Glenrothes ghost and the professor who blamed a broken ley line
Magnus “Mansie” Eunson hiding illicit whisky beneath a fake funeral at Highland Park

SAM SIMMONS AKA DR WHISKY ON WHISKY SNOBS, BLENDS & A CEASE-AND-DESIST

Season 6 · Episode 35

Sunday, October 18, 2026 • Duration 34:13

Five years ago, Dr Whisky joined us to talk about blending whiskies from 14 different countries. Five years later, he's back, and apparently he's still not run out of ideas. Or ways to get himself into trouble.

This week, Mitch catches up with old friend Sam Simmons, Head of Whisky at Atom Brands and the creative mind behind That Boutique-y Whisky Company, Wormtub, Darkness and a frankly ridiculous number of whisky releases.

And Sam's got a few things to get off his chest.

Are whisky shows actually putting people off whisky? Have enthusiasts become so obsessed with cask strength, single malts and age statements that we've forgotten how to simply enjoy a dram? And with warehouses full of whisky and consumers tightening their belts, has the industry got a little carried away with itself?

We also get into the changing world of independent bottling, Atom's return to independent ownership, the joys of blended whisky and why a Johnnie Walker Black Label on ice is sometimes exactly what the doctor ordered.

Then there's Dalry Milk. What started as an emotional love letter to Edinburgh turned into a whisky inspired by a chocolate bar, complete with a rather polite request from the lawyers to stop selling it. You couldn't make it up.

Throw in 21-year-old world whisky blends, worm tub condensers, exciting new distilleries, peanut butter whisky and Sam's new life in Norway, and we've got plenty to talk about.

It's whisky, friendship, a few strong opinions and absolutely no requirement to take any of it too seriously.

Welcome back, Dr Whisky.

LINKS & DRAMS MENTIONED

Want to explore some of Sam's creations? Here are the links to the brands, bottles and questionable ideas we talked about.

Atom Brands – The home of Sam's whisky creations.

TURAS MÒR: TWO NEW WHISKIES, ONE WILD ISLAND & A LOT OF WHISKY NEWS

Season 6 · Episode 34

Sunday, October 11, 2026 • Duration 42:58

We're back!

After a few ridiculously busy weeks, Mitch and Daz finally manage to get themselves in the same virtual room for a much-needed catch-up. And judging by what's been happening in the whisky world, they've got plenty to talk about.

Mitch's been gallivanting around Ireland, hosting whisky adventures across Scotland and launching two new Turas Mòr whiskies on the Isle of Raasay. Meanwhile, Daz has been drinking old Glengarioch, exploring whisky bars in Hong Kong and generally living his best life.

But there's some serious whisky news to get stuck into as well.

A bottle of The Macallan 1926 has sold for over £2 million at Sotheby's first auction held at the distillery. Balvenie has unveiled an extraordinary 88-year-old single malt, becoming the oldest Scotch whisky ever released. The controversial English Whisky Geographical Indication has caused a bit of a stir, and sadly, community-owned GlenWyvis Distillery has entered administration.

Naturally, Mitch has a few opinions. Particularly when it comes to what actually constitutes a single malt whisky.

In this episode:

Mitch's Irish whisky adventure, from Tullamore and Dingle to Midleton and Kinsale.
Daz's adventures with old Glengarioch and Hong Kong whisky bars.
The Turas Mòr launch on Raasay, featuring questionable Scottish weather, wild swimming and whisky on a cliff.
Daz tastes the new Turas Mòr Dailuaine and Benrinnes 12-year-olds.
The Macallan 1926 sells for over £2 million.
Balvenie releases an extraordinary 88-year-old single malt, alongside two new expressions celebrating its traditional maltings.
The English Whisky GI controversy. Should single malt whisky have to be mashed, fermented and distilled at one distillery?
GlenWyvis enters administration. What does its closure tell us about the pressures facing independent distilleries?
And the usual amount of nonsense you've come to expect from us.

Get your hands on Turas MòrWhisky news and articlesFollow the adventure

RAASAY REVISITED: ALASDAIR DAY ON WHISKY, WATER AND WHAT COMES NEXT

Season 6 · Episode 33

Sunday, September 13, 2026 • Duration 26:28

We’re back on the Isle of Raasay, three years after our last proper sit down with Alasdair Day, co founder and master blender at the Isle of Raasay Distillery.

Recorded at the distillery, the conversation is less about introducing Raasay and much more about how it is growing up. With the spirit now approaching nine years old, Alasdair talks us through how the original six cask recipe is developing, what they’ve learned from ex rye, Bordeaux and Chinkapin oak, and why lower filling strengths could be having a significant effect on maturation.

We also get into one of the more interesting whisky debates we’ve had for a while. How much does water really contribute to the character of a whisky? While the industry often talks about a figure around 2%, Alasdair believes Raasay’s mineral rich water could be responsible for considerably more, particularly because they use it throughout cask reduction on the island.

Away from the liquid, we talk about what the distillery has done for Raasay itself. New jobs, a growing population, people moving to the island to build their lives there, community energy projects and the relationship between the distillery and the people around it.

And, of course, we look ahead. Ten and fifteen year old Raasay, another warehouse, ideas for a whisky school, the currently paused Campbeltown distillery project, and why Alasdair isn’t exactly rushing out to fill Raasay spirit into tequila and mezcal casks just because the rules now allow it.

A proper catch up with one of whisky’s busiest men, from one of Scotland’s most remarkable wee islands.

Hosted by Mitch Bechard and Daz Haldane, this is where the whisky world gets pulled apart properly, with stories, insights, and the occasional bit of chaos along the way.

🥃 New episodes every week(ish)

🎤 Live shows & tastings across Scotland

🎟️ Web: www.notanotherwhiskypodcast.com

📩 Enquiries & partnerships:

SMWS, CALUM LAWSON, CASKMASTERS & COPPERCAIRN HEAD TO SPEYSIDE

Season 6 · Episode 32

Sunday, September 6, 2026 • Duration 37:15

Mitch heads to The Scotch Malt Whisky Society’s Queen Street Members’ Room in Edinburgh to sit down with Calum Lawson, SMWS Member Experience Manager and co-host of the Society’s Whisky Talk podcast.

Calum’s route into whisky wasn’t exactly mapped out from the beginning. From years in Glasgow hospitality and running a bar and restaurant, he moved into the Society as manager of the Bath Street Members’ Room, spent time on the whisky buying team, and now finds himself helping shape everything from member experiences and international tastings to podcasts and new releases.

We get into the wonderfully terrifying world of blind tasting and SMWS’s new Caskmaster competition: eight mystery drams, nine possible answers and absolutely nowhere to hide. Mitch recalls Charlie MacLean’s advice never to blind taste Scotch whisky, while Calum explains why the Society decided to ignore that advice entirely.

There’s also plenty of Society chat: how those mysterious distillery numbers work, how single casks are selected, why ridiculous bottle names such as “Beware of the Lurking Gherkin” are part of the fun, and what actually goes into creating memorable whisky experiences for members around the world.

But there’s also a bit of news.

CopperCairn and The Scotch Malt Whisky Society are teaming up for a Speyside adventure from 12–15 March 2027, bringing Society members north for a few days of behind-the-scenes distillery access, whisky dinners, tastings, blending sessions and a few distinctly CopperCairn additions along the way.

There is even talk of a dip in the River Spey. Speedos remain optional. Probably.

And there’s another twist: the 2026 Caskmaster Champion will win a place on the CopperCairn Speyside trip, making the stakes in the Society’s blind tasting championship considerably higher than bragging rights over your mates.

Caskmaster 2026Find out more

THE YEASTIE BOYS WITH BRENDAN MCCARRON

Season 6 · Episode 31

Monday, August 31, 2026 • Duration 01:05:32

This week we welcome whisky maker, consultant and long-time friend of the podcast Brendan McCarron back to Not Another Whisky Podcast.

And this time, we’re talking yeast.

It might not sound like the sexiest part of whisky making, but the deeper you go, the more fascinating it gets.

We chat about how yeast was viewed when Brendan first started making whisky at Diageo, whether Scotch became a little too focused on yield and consistency, and why distillers are now starting to look at yeast as a genuine tool for creating flavour.

From Glenmorangie and Holyrood to InchDairnie, Loch Lomond, The Lakes and what American whiskey producers have been doing for decades, we get into different strains, longer fermentations, wild yeast, wine yeast and just how much influence the little buggers can actually have.

We also talk about Brendan’s work with new distilleries, how the conversation around yeast has changed during his career, working alongside Dr Bill Lumsden, and whether Scotch whisky has been a little bit behind the curve.

It gets geeky.

But in a good way.

Welcome to The Yeastie Boys.

Hosted by Mitch Bechard and Daz Haldane, this is where the whisky world gets pulled apart properly, with stories, insights, and the occasional bit of chaos along the way.

🥃 New episodes every week(ish)

🎤 Live shows & tastings across Scotland

🎟️ Web: www.notanotherwhiskypodcast.com

📩 Enquiries & partnerships: whiskypodcast@gmail.com

📲 Follow us on Instagram

MITCH AND DAZ CATCH UP FEATURING VICTORIA MILLER FROM SIP SEEKERS

Season 6 · Episode 30

Sunday, August 23, 2026 • Duration 44:36

Mitch and Daz are back together for a long-overdue August catch-up, recorded from the glamour of Daz’s self-proclaimed “bitchin’ kitchen.”They compare notes on what they’ve been up to, the whisky they’ve been drinking and the general chaos of a busy summer before diving into some of the more unusual stories from around the whisky world.
There’s the retired farmer storing a £750,000 whisky collection in converted pigsties, Woven and Civerinos combining whisky, Scottish honey and a fairly aggressive collection of chillies, and the arrival of the new Stannergill Distillery in Caithness.Mitch also shares his experience at The Macallan’s Coconut Dreams pop-up beside the Spey, including the slightly surreal sight of Macallan being poured into a blender to make piña coladas.
The pair also discuss the new signature single malt from the Isle of Harris and whether whisky drinkers occasionally need to become a little less precious about how their drams are enjoyed.
Later in the episode, Mitch catches up with Victoria Miller, founder of Sip Seekers, to hear about the platform she has created to make discovering and booking Scotland’s distilleries, tastings and drinks experiences considerably easier.
Expect whisky news, old drams, questionable kitchens, expensive pigsties and the usual amount of informed nonsense.
Links to news and Sip Seekers
£750k Pigsty Whisky Collection – The Whiskey Wash Woven x Civerinos Hot Honey The Macallan – Inspired by Fresh Coconut Stannergill Distillery Starts Production – The Spirits Business

WHEN TWO WHISKY PODCASTS WALK INTO A BAR

Season 6 · Episode 29

Sunday, August 16, 2026 • Duration 01:10:24

This episode is a wee bit different.

Earlier this year, Mitch met Graeme and Angus from Whisky Stories and the idea was simple: get both podcasts in the same room, pour a few drams, and record something together.

That idea quickly grew into a live event, a charity night, and a raffle that raised an incredible £1,400 for The BEN, supporting people across the hospitality and licensed trade.

Recorded live at Uno Mas, this episode sees Not Another Whisky Podcast go head to head with Whisky Stories, with the brilliant Mark Thompson trying his best to keep everyone in line.

Expect drams, audience votes, questionable tactics, brilliant whisky chat, and a few strong opinions along the way.

We get into favourite distillery visits, cask finishes, whisky bars, and the kind of stories that only come out when you put whisky people in front of a live audience.

A huge thank you to everyone who donated bottles, prizes, minis and support for the raffle, and to Sian at Uno Mas for letting us use the venue.

Pour yourself something good and enjoy a proper live whisky night with NAWP and Whisky Stories.

Hosted by Mitch Bechard and Daz Haldane, this is where the whisky world gets pulled apart properly, with stories, insights, and the occasional bit of chaos along the way.

🥃 New episodes every week(ish)

🎤 Live shows & tastings across Scotland

🎟️ Web: www.notanotherwhiskypodcast.com

📩 Enquiries & partnerships: whiskypodcast@gmail.com

📲 Follow us on Instagram

20 YEARS AT HIGHLAND PARK WITH MARTIN MARDVARDSEN

Season 6 · Episode 28

Sunday, August 2, 2026 • Duration 58:47

Daz is flying solo this week as he sits down with Highland Park’s Martin Markvardsen on the eve of his twentieth anniversary as the distillery’s brand ambassador.

Martin takes us back to his early days managing the legendary Quaich Bar at the Craigellachie Hotel, where 784 whiskies, industry characters and the occasional lock in provided a fairly thorough education. He explains how repeatedly including Highland Park 18 in his tastings eventually led to a phone call offering him the ambassador’s job.

They look back at what whisky ambassadorship involved in 2006, from lengthy technical masterclasses and enormous whisky festivals to the characters who shaped the industry, including Jim McEwan, Charlie MacLean, Dave Broom, Ronnie Cox, Ian Miller and Ian Logan.

Martin and Daz also discuss how the role has changed. Today’s ambassadors need to understand social media, online tastings, cocktails and content creation alongside the traditional production knowledge and storytelling. There are tales of sideways Zoom tastings, Facebook mistaking Martin’s Highland Park tattoo for pornography and Daz missing his own masterclass after a particularly enthusiastic night aboard the Viking Line.

Finally, they attempt to choose their greatest Highland Park releases of all time, covering bottles including Leif Eriksson, the 1977 Bicentenary, Hjarta, the original 50 Year Old, Dark Origins and the ever dependable Highland Park 18.

A relaxed and wonderfully nostalgic conversation about two decades with one distillery, the people who make whisky special and why Martin still has no plans to slow down.

Hosted by Mitch Bechard and Daz Haldane, this is where the whisky world gets pulled apart properly, with stories, insights, and the occasional bit of chaos along the way.

🥃 New episodes every week(ish)

🎤 Live shows & tastings across Scotland

🎟️ Web: www.notanotherwhiskypodcast.com

📩 Enquiries & partnerships:

Not Another Whisky Podcast - Details, episodes & analysis

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Not Another Whisky Podcast - Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

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Other99+

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Publication history

Latest published episodes

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Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Acast5

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