Up to 70% of a whisky’s flavour comes from the wood. But what actually happens inside the barrel to create world-class whisky? Legendary Master Distiller Billy Walker unpacks the exact science of oak maturation, cask chemistry, and why age still matters.

In this episode of Cask to Glass, John sits down with legendary master distiller and blender Billy Walker from The GlenAllachie Distillery to explore the chemistry, craft, and science behind Scotch whisky.

With over 50 years of industry experience taking in many famous names including Hiram Walker, BenRiach, GlenDronach and Glenglassaugh, Billy

➡️breaks down how wood selection & oak chemistry shape profile & flavour

➡️explains why maturation dynamics matter

➡️reveals the truth about age statements

➡️explores his philosophy on single malts

➡️ makes a passionate defence of blended whisky

➡️and implores colleagues not to go down the route of cocktails

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.

Is Scotch Whisky "unfairly" taxed in the UK compared to other drinks?

Yes, says Mark Kent, CEO of the Scotch Whisky Association. "72% of the cost of an average bottle of Scotch goes on tax of one form or another," he says.

And it's sometimes cheaper to buy whisky shipped to other countries than to buy it in Scotland because the UK has the fourth highest level of excise duty on spirits in Europe, and the highest in the G7 group of nations.

"Scotch falls under spirits," he says, "and 70% of all spirits made in the UK are made in Scotland." Consequently excise duty on Scotch per litre of alcohol per unit is three times that on beer or cider. "It's simply unfair on consumers, producers and the supply chain," he concludes.

"Would the French do that with Champagne or with other national drinks?" he asks.

And it’s counter-productive.

”The curves are clear that the more you tax, especially premium products, the less you get back,” he says. “And every time we’ve seen a freeze or a cut, we’ve had a couple of cuts over time, that’s led to more revenue to the Treasury.”

However, it's not all gloom and doom, Mark says, despite "the job losses, the pauses in investment and the day-to-day difficulties of distillers."

"We've got the potential to get back to that long-term curve that we saw before COVID," he says.

The India free trade agreement has brought down the import tariffs into India, the largest whisky market in the world, from 150% to 75%. US tariffs on whisky have been removed. And tariffs in China have been reduced from 10% to 5%.

"But," he warns, "it's not plain sailing by any means. The state of the industry is still very delicate. There's a lot of domestic headwinds."

"As we speak," Mark concludes, "You're seeing job losses, you're seeing pauses in investment, you're seeing day-to-day difficulties of distillers which are then reflected in the wider supply chain. [But] if we get that Government support in the here and now, to support us, to fan the embers of what could be a recovery and a return to long-term growth, then I think the potential will be fulfilled and Scotch will be back."

🎧Tune in as John and Mark discuss:

➡️the fragile state of the Scotch Whisky industry

➡️how the UK tax & excise system makes it cheaper to buy Scotch Whisky in other countries rather than in Scotland

➡️how evidence suggests that when tax on whisky is reduced, the Treasury makes more money

➡️how Scotch is part of the UK's soft power abroad

➡️how global markets are opening up to Scotch Whisky

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.

"If you take away the cooper, you take away the cooperage, you take away the barrels, then you don't get whisky," says Ray Prosser, Sales & Operations Manager at Oakwood Cooperage, the largest independent cooperage in the UK. Not just because Scotch Whisky must by law be matured in oak casks for a minimum of three years, but because, Ray says, 70% of whisky's flavour comes from the wood.

Ray's been a cooper for 36 years.

“I always had a fascination with wood, even from my days at school,” he tells John Beattie. “It was one of those things. I used to go to my old auntie’s down in Partick, and the neighbour used to come in and help her with the groceries and stuff like that. And they came in one Sunday and said, would I be interested in being an apprentice cooper.

“I didn’t know what a cooper was at the time. Obviously these were the days before internet… So I found out more about it, and I haven’t looked back.”

In this episode he takes John inside the cooperage, where the "unsung heroes" of the whisky industry apply passion, skill and tradition to rejuvenate, repair and restore the casks that give whisky its exceptional flavour, whether they're "your sherry casks, your wine casks, your Bourbons, or your virgin oak".

Join John as Ray reveals:

➡️the 60-to-100-year lifespan of a barrel;

➡️how casks are decharred, recharred and rejuvenated to start all over again;

➡️tips on how to identify what type of barrel a whisky was matured in, even if the label doesn't say;

➡️how coopers will resize casks to get a more wood to spirit ratio to speed up maturation;

➡️and provides a step-by-step walkthrough of barrel repair, hoop driving, and testing.

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.