Single Malt Matters – Details, episodes & analysis

In a bit of a branch off the traditional approach of talking with distillers and whiskey makers, Matt takes a left turn and talks with Marty Duffy, U.S. Representative for Glencairn Crystal about one of the most ubiquitous symbols of fine whiskies the world over; the Glencairn glass.

Matt wraps up his conversation with Phil Downer of Wanderback in Hood River focusing almost exclusively on arguably the most critical aspect of making whiskey; sensory evaluation. 

And of COURSE, arguably the most critical component of sensory evaluation is tasting!
So we do that, too.
With Wanderback's latest release, #5.

And it is . . . SO good!

Wrapping up my conversation with Jake Holshue, the train cars start to pile up from the very start.

And they just. Don't. Stop.

This was SO MUCH fun, with topics ranging from Whiskey Podcasts to industry awards, Jake's legendarily TERRIBLE luck traveling, distilling with fish . . . So many things.

So sit down and buckle up.
This is gonna get bumpy.

In episode 27, Matt catches up with Jared Himstedt from Balcones to cover a range of topics from the insane Texas weather's impact on maturation, to the anticipation of news coming soon from the TTB and upcoming releases and experimentation.

Then Matt Hofmann comes on to talk about some impressive hardware that just came home from the World Whiskies Awards, as well as the upcoming release of Colere - which he considers to be Westland's most important spirit to date.

In the second episode with Level 11 Spirits Wizard Jake Holshue, Jake throws a little shade, talks some more about his whiskies, celebrity partnerships, and we really dig deep into why Craft Malt is not only so important in this industry, but also why it's typically so overlooked.
Matt also starts the episode off with an update from Amanda Beckwith from Virginia Distillery Co about their THREE new expressions of Courage and Conviction.

NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH!!!
Like, on so many levels...

In the first of a series of episodes featuring Jake Holshue from Rogue Spirits in Newport, OR, the world record for number of F-bombs dropped on a whiskey podcast gets broken in the first seven minutes.

Jake also talks about the only job he's ever been fired from; a story that involves an old lady's dog, a rectal thermometer, and a perfectly timed and artfully crafted joke that landed . . . poorly.

Music credit:
Local Forecast - Elevator by Kevin MacLeod https://incompetech.com/
Promoted by MrSnooze https://youtu.be/ioi_-5sAuXQ
Creative Commons — CC BY 3.0 I https://goo.gl/Yibru5

One of the most fun interviews yet, with a sincere and down-to-Earth dude. Moose Allen from Andalusia Whiskey Co. in Blanco, TX talks about discovering the world of whiskey, finding Andalusia, and doing whatever it takes to get where you want to be.

(Photo cred: ZoomaDesign.com)

In the second and final episode with Adam Polonski and Nora Ganley-Roper of Lost Lantern Whiskey, Matt discusses the potential and current state of regional variation in American Single Malt, the challenges they encountered in bringing their first releases to the public, and get into tasting their first batted malt release as well as their single cask release of a mesquite smoked singe malt from Santa Fe Spirits. 

In the first of two episodes with Adam Polonski and Nora Ganley-Roper, Matt digs into the unique aspect of the Lost Lantern brand and its significance in terms of the future for the category, as well as why a blender and Independent Bottler is so damn cool in the first place!

In the second and final episode with Miles Munroe, much ground is covered. The big takeaway here, is that Miles is arguably one of the coolest and most genuine people in the business - and he's also making some delicious Single Malt!