Couverture de Cask to Glass

Cask to Glass

Cask to Glass

De : David Holmes
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How do you take your whisky?


Neat? Splash of water? Block of ice? Or even a mixer?


However you take it, join John Beattie, former Scotland rugby international and semi-retired BBC radio and TV news presenter, as he celebrates the heritage and flavour of Scotland's national drink and the world's favourite spirit.


Whether you call it whisky, whiskey, uisge beatha, aqua vitae, or the water of life... there's a story behind every dram; a craftsman behind every drop; an aroma with every nose; and a flavour in every sip.


This is the spirit of Scotland: distilled in a place; shared around the world.


What makes it so special? Why is it so loved? And who are the people that make it, and the aficionados who drink it?


Join John every Thursday as he explores the alchemy that takes place from cask to glass.


Slàinte!


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Host: John Beattie

Producer: David Holmes


Socials:

@C2GWhisky

@JohnRossBeattie

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

830075 Alimentation et vin Art Cuisine Sciences sociales Écritures et commentaires de voyage
Épisodes
  • The Dram Queen: Ann Miller & the Demysification of Enjoying Whisky

    The Dram Queen: Ann Miller & the Demysification of Enjoying Whisky
    Jun 18 2026

    There are a lot of supposed "rules" when it comes to whisky. But for Ann Miller "rules are meant to be broken". AKA The Dram Queen, Ann's been demystifying the flavour and vocabulary of whisky for years, from explaining how a drop of water unlocks the taste of a dram to explaining the science of what goes on in the cask.


    In this episode of Cask to Glass, John Beattie chats to one of Scotland’s most esteemed whisky educators.


    With a career spanning from the Scotch Whisky Experience in the 1980s to Chivas Brothers, Ann shares her deep expertise on the heritage, science, and evolving landscape of Scotland's national drink. We dive into the fascinating chemical reaction that occurs when adding water to whisky, the rise of non-age statement expressions, and the innovative cask finishes shaping the market today.


    Ann also reveals her "Desert Island" whiskies and provides professional tips on how to truly assess and savour a high-end dram. Whether you’re a seasoned connoisseur or just beginning your whisky journey, this conversation is packed with insights to help you appreciate the "water of life" on your own terms.


    #whisky #scotchwhisky #podcast #DramQueen #WhiskyTasting #CaskToGlass #Speyside #singlemaltscotch


    Slàinte!

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    Socials: @C2GWhisky | @JohnRossBeattie

    Creator & producer: David Holmes

    Art work & design: Jess Robertson

    Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

    Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

    Guitars: John Beattie

    Bass: Alasdair Vann

    Drums: Alan Hamilton

    Bagpipes: Calum McColl

    Accordion: Gary Innes

    Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

    Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Afficher plus Afficher moins
    33 min
  • The Art of the Dram: Tom Addy from the Fife Arms

    The Art of the Dram: Tom Addy from the Fife Arms
    Jun 11 2026

    Would you pay £9,000 for a single nip of whisky?


    Today, we’re inside the legendary Fife Arms Hotel in Braemar, home to one of the world's most exclusive whisky libraries as John Beattie chats to Tom Addy about a whisky distilled in 1833 that was hidden behind a cellar wall for decades.


    What was his sales pitch to Jimmy Fallon? And did it work?


    Slàinte!

    -------

    Socials: @C2GWhisky | @JohnRossBeattie

    Creator & producer: David Holmes

    Art work & design: Jess Robertson

    Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)

    Vocals: Andrea Cunningham

    Guitars: John Beattie

    Bass: Alasdair Vann

    Drums: Alan Hamilton

    Bagpipes: Calum McColl

    Accordion: Gary Innes

    Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie

    Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Afficher plus Afficher moins
    31 min
  • Hebridean Spirit: Angus MacMillan from Benbecula Distillery

    Hebridean Spirit: Angus MacMillan from Benbecula Distillery
    Jun 4 2026
    “If you’re looking to get a quick return on your investment, you don’t do whisky,” chuckles Angus MacMillan founder of Benbecula Distillery."You don’t do salmon farming either, because that I took from egg through to plate,” he says of a previous business venture. “So I'm a bit of glutton for punishment on these things.”Angus joins John in the first week of May from Benbecula, a small island in the Outer Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland, “on a beautiful sunny day.” The Scotch whisky industry has just learned that President Donald Trump is going to abolish tariffs on Scotch whisky imported into the United States, making the outlook even sunnier.“Spring has sprung,” Angus enthuses, “and moving on to summer. So we’re now looking forward to a really busy season ahead of us.”It’s almost two years to the day since Benbecula Distillery, one of the newest in Scotland, first started producing new spirit. It’s been an eight-year journey already and it’ll be another three years before the first whisky is released. But Angus admits he’s like “an excited parent” as he shows off a sample of his early spirit.“I’m not sure if you can see the colour, but it’s starting to take colour. This is cask number six. Pedro Ximénez. This is at 66 percent. And I’m getting all the flavours that I’m really delighted to experience.“There’s a saltiness. There’s the fruitiness. There’s some of the heather infused peaty taste. And the texture is smooth.”Angus can’t call it whisky yet. He’s not allowed to until it’s been in a cask for three years.But he can’t help himself: “Yeah the whisky there after two years, John, is everything that I would expect and want it to be. And can’t wait, obviously, until it’s a single malt as five-year-old being bottled in year six is probably what we’re waiting for. So three years to wait, but I would drink that as it is.”A proud Outer Hebridean, native Gaelic speaker and entrepreneur, Angus began pulling his business plan together in 2018.However, inspiration for the distillery came in 2012 shortly after he sold his salmon farming business, which had employed between 75 and 80 people throughout the Western Isles.He’d kept the processing plant in Gramsdale. But the jobs had gone. “I thought right,” he recalls, “what’s going to happen to this? These jobs can’t just be allowed to disappear.“So I was on a tour to Orkney and I walked into Highland Park, and the archway as you walk in there said, ‘Established 1798’ and that really hit a chord for me and I said: ‘My goodness, if you’re looking at a project that can provide population retention and jobs and families and everything else, then this has got to be it.’“There are not many opportunities, but you know we have water and we have barley because actually in Gaelic Uist is called Eilean an Eòrna, which is Island of the Barley. So then the only other ingredient in making whisky is yeast.“So water, barley and yeast.”But that's only part of the story of Benbecula Distillery as far Angus is concerned. There are two other essentials: place and people. And place and people, he argues, separates Benbecula Distillery from the what you get on the A9 with Speyside distilleries."You know," he says, "you wouldn't from the outside say right I'm going to put a distillery on Raasay" - a distillery he very much admires and wants to emulate - "you wouldn't say I'm going to put a distillery on Benbecula, far from the market, far from travel. But the upside is the story."Join John for the story of Benbecula Distillery: the place and the people. And soon the whisky...Slàinte!-------Socials: @C2GWhisky | @JohnRossBeattie Creator & producer: David HolmesArt work & design: Jess Robertson Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)Vocals: Andrea CunninghamGuitars: John BeattieBass: Alasdair VannDrums: Alan HamiltonBagpipes: Calum McCollAccordion: Gary InnesMusic & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John BeattieRecorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Afficher plus Afficher moins
    23 min
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