The Whiskey Podcast

00:40 Dewar's malt lineup01:41 Whisky world camaraderie02:13 Pouring Aberfeldy 1203:44 Dewar family origins14:49 House style & the honey myth17:16 Aultmore, a Speyside geek's whisky22:02 Aultmore's hidden history30:07 Royal Brackla & the Macbeth crest33:10 The King's Own Whisky origin35:16 Sherry cask mastery39:14 Seasoned casks explained41:29 Aberfeldy 40 reveal 
Matt Cordiner, global brand ambassador for John Dewar & Sons, joins the pod in India to taste three single malts — Aberfeldy 12, Aultmore 12, and Royal Brackla 12 Sherry Cask Finish, plus a rare Aberfeldy 40-year-old single cask from 1978.

Dr. Bill Lumsden on Glenmorangie's 10→12 Shift, Cask Craft, and Ardbeg Secrets 
00:46 Deliciousness Campaign Origins
03:09 Tasting the Original 12
06:05 Why 10 Became 12
07:14 Planning Stock and Barrels
09:33 From PhD to Whisky Career
12:34 How Core Expressions Evolved
14:50 The 18 Year Infinita
17:26 Signet and Chocolate Malt
18:53 Chocolate Malt Experiment
19:30 Tasting Notes Chocolate Orange
20:16 Whisky Open Bottles
22:08 Does Whiskey Expire
23:51 Planning An Islay Trip
25:12 Cask Choices For Ardbeg
26:53 Ardbeg Secrets and Badger Juice
29:17 Debunking Scotch Myths
31:26 Wee Beastie Origin Story
33:22 Tales Series And Forest
36:46 Podcast Wrap And Goodbye
Aneesh sits down with Dr. Bill Lumsden — Director of Whisky Creation at Glenmorangie and Ardbeg, and one of the most influential figures in modern scotch. Three decades at the helm, roughly 700,000 casks on his watch, and fingerprints on half the single malts you've ever loved.
They open with Glenmorangie's "delicious and wonderful" campaign — scotch stripped of its gatekeeping, taste first. Then a tasting of the new Original 12: why the age statement moved from 10, what deliberately didn't change in the bourbon-cask recipe, and how a blind sensory panel sealed the call. Lumsden walks through the long-game stock planning behind a shift like this, his 1984 start with a Glenmorangie 10, and the wider range refresh — Lasanta 15, Quinta Ruban 14, Nectar d'Or 16.
Also inside: the 18-year Infinita, Signet's chocolate malt and virgin oak, Ardbeg's cult-era history, the still purifiers, "Badger Juice," the origin of Wee Beastie, and the Tale of series — including Tale of the Forest with juniper, heather, and birch bark. Plus the question every collector asks: does whisky actually go bad once the bottle's open?

00:00 Meet Emma Walker: From Chemistry PhD to Johnnie Walker Master Blender
01:38 Inside the Blending Team: What a Master Blender Actually Does
04:03 10 Million Casks & the Flavor Wheel: How Diageo Talks Taste
06:34 Red to Blue in One Sentence: Breaking Down the Johnnie Walker Range
08:14 How Blue Label Is Built: Selecting Casks, Vattings & 40+ Year Whisky
10:29 Tasting Johnnie Walker Blue Label: Smoke, Fruit, Florals & Texture
14:33 Consistency Over Decades: Recipes, Sensory Panels & Batch Flexibility
17:29 Carrying a 200-Year Legacy: Pressure, Archives & Blending for the Future
19:24 Climate Change, Red Label Redemption, Scotch Myths & India’s Influence
23:58 India Outlook on whisky
 
In this episode of The Whiskey Pod, the host interviews Emma Walker, Master Blender for Johnnie Walker, during her visit to India. Emma shares how she went from a chemistry PhD to joining Diageo in 2008 as a project scientist, eventually becoming Master Blender, and explains how a small lab team of 12 blenders oversees quality and blending across Diageo’s Scotch portfolio while representing work done by over 2,000 people across Scotland. She describes the day-to-day work of nosing whisky, signing off blends, assessing cask samples, developing innovations, and using shared sensory language through a flavor wheel that separates distillery character from maturation flavors, enabling nuanced disagreements while staying correlated. Emma discusses Diageo’s inventory of more than 10 million maturing casks sourced from over 30 distilleries, including ghost distilleries and newer operations like Roseisle and the reopened Port Ellen. She gives one-sentence profiles of key expressions—Red Label as distillery-character-forward and mixable; Black Label as bold yet balanced and cocktail-friendly; Johnnie Walker Blonde as designed for mixing worldwide; and Blue Label as an icon of luxury made from casks where only 1 in 10,000 meet the required quality. The conversation explores how Blue Label casks are selected for how they work in the overall blend, including the use of house vatting components such as rare/old vattings (with some whiskies over 40 years old) and sherry-style vattings using European oak ex-sherry casks, and notes the continuity of blending methods seen in century-old archives. They taste Blue Label and discuss its sensory profile—temperate smoke, depth, vibrancy, citrus, white peach, rose petals, berries, hazelnuts, Turkish delight notes, softness from wood mix, and the importance of aged grain whisky for texture and as a ‘seasoning’ element. Emma explains consistency goals across batches, why there is a framework rather than a fixed recipe, and what variations can occur over decades due to broader industry changes in cask types and production methods. She reflects on the pressure of stewarding a 200-year legacy and the responsibility of laying down stocks for future blenders. The episode also covers how climate change may affect distillation, water access, and maturation, while warehouses remain relatively temperature-stable. Emma addresses Scotch myths—quality is not directly tied to age, and single malts are not inherently better than blends—and shares her personal at-home favorites (Red and Black Label, plus Singleton, and Blue Label when gifted). The discussion touches on cocktail culture, including a Black Label espresso martini with miso, and India’s importance as a market, with Emma describing how learning local flavors and drinking habits can influence innovation and future whiskies, including the idea of a whisky created specifically for India.

Mokksh Sani, a major influencer in India's alcohol industry. Mokksh shares the inspirational journey behind launching GlenWalk, scaling it to a staggering 300,000 cases in a mere two years. They discuss the evolution and challenges of the Indian whiskey market, the process of creating new alcohol brands, and his future plans for expanding his portfolio including Glen Journeys and Shelter Six. The episode delves into the complexities of the alcohol business, offering crucial advice for budding entrepreneurs about product quality, pricing, networking, and the importance of perseverance. Tune in to gain insights from one of the industry's seasoned veterans.
 
00:12 Meet Mokksh Sani: A Journey in the Alcohol Industry
01:25 The Birth and Growth of GlenWalk
04:04 Expanding the Whiskey Portfolio
10:22 Challenges and Realities of the Alcohol Business
14:52 Future Ventures and Market Insights
23:40 The Mansion Experience and Conclusion

The discussion covers Jim's unexpected initiation into the world of whiskey, his life as a whiskey journalist, and the creation of his acclaimed Whiskey Bible. Jim shares insights into his unique tasting method known as the 'Murray Method,' and they delve into the nuances of blending and the evolution of Indian whiskeys. Jim speaks highly of Indian whiskey brands like Amrut and Paul John, noting their quality and increasing popularity both in India and globally. 
 
00:00 Introduction
00:27 Meet Jim Murray: Whiskey Legend
02:38 Jim Murray's Journey into Whiskey
05:06 The Murray Method: Tasting Whiskey
08:32 The Birth of Whiskey Bible
13:06 Blending and Writing: A Creative Process
20:42 Impact of the Whiskey Bible
28:24 Tasting Session and Final Thoughts
29:23 Nosing Techniques for Whiskey
32:16 The Importance of Temperature in Whiskey Tasting
34:33 The Evolution of Indian Whiskey
44:25 Underrated Whiskeys to Try
49:44 Final Tasting and Conclusion