Cocktails Distilled

There is nothing more romantic than the story of a revived brand, and none seems to have done it as well as Kentucky Owl. Founded in 1879, the brand created Whiskey until Prohibition shut it down. A hundred years later, the great-great-grandson of the founder revived the family business with a view to respecting the past but looking to the future. And with that, a boutique Bourbon business known for its limited releases was reborn. Its latest release, the Maighstir (which is Gaelic for master) epitomises the creativity and disruptive nature of the brand. To find out more, we talk to Master Distiller Dr. Maureen Robinson about blending, legacy and turning Bourbon into Scotch

Let’s face it: the agave spirits market is crowded. So, if you are looking to bring out a new tequila, you’ve really got to stand out. Casa Obsidiana, a brand that was released at the end of last year, is looking to do that on several fronts. By incorporating elements of modern art, heritage, and liquids substantially transformed by wine cask ageing, the brand is looking to make its mark on the ultra-premium market. But the promises of all those elements are a lot to live up to. We talk to co-founder Jean-Charles Boisset about yeast strains, barrel regimes and what it takes to cut through the noise. 

No matter what you think of RTDs, you can’t argue with the convenience factor - a fact that has driven the sector into a meteoric rise since COVID. Although figures show that the sector is beginning to plateau, the premium end of the category is still seeing growth and a demand for new variations. One such premium brand that has been making its mark is Australia’s Curitif - a brand that believes its expressions empower consumers to redefine their occasions. With a luxury, high-end image, the brand seeks to constantly express its core values of quality, convenience, and sustainability. To find out more about this, we talked to the brand’s founder, Matt Sanger, about cocktails, the future of the category, and a shiny, new expression the brand is about to release. 

We live in a time when people often refer to Scotch not only by the brand name but also by the age of the liquid. In executive boardrooms and exclusive gentlemen's clubs, the names of single malts are mentioned with a certain reverence, and a hush will come over the room as a Glenlivit 74-year-old or a Dalmore 45-year-old, as discussed. They are expensive, they are exclusive, and they have given single malt scotch an air of rarity and distinction.But there is one brand that seeks to throw all the trappings of labelling aside and who seeks to challenge the drinker to look to flavour and taste as a benchmark. With Smokehead, the liquid in its bottles is Islay single malts, but distillery names and age classifications are not mentioned. In other words, Smokehead is looking to take you down the road less travelled and presents cask-finished whiskies that have the pedigree but without the labelling. To find out what it all means we talk to Michael Brown, Global Whisky Brand Ambassador for Smokehead’s parent company, Ian Macleod Distillers about flavour, smoke and what disrupting scotch whiskey means 

New Orleans has a long tradition of being the gateway between US Bourbon and the rest of the world. And Chicken Cock, being one of the oldest Whiskey brands in the US, has had a long association with the city. Even before he started Chicken Cock Whiskey, original founder James A. Miller was shipping barrels of his coveted whiskey down to the ‘Big Easy’ in the 1830s. So it's no surprise that Chicken Cock has been shipping a very special expression down south for this year's New Orleans Bourbon Festival. A limited-edition, created in collaboration with the festival, the brand's Single Barrel Double Oak Kentucky Whiskey has been aged for nine years—the final two in new American White Oak with a level four char. We caught up with Master Distiller Gregg Snyder to discuss the expression and what it's like to create a liquid designed to live up to the legends of the city, the festival, and the brand. 

As El Mayor prepares to export its Tequila to Europe, we caught up with the brand's Master Distiller and Brand Ambassador, Grace Gonzalez, to find out more about its liquid. Grace, a guardian of her family's fourth-generation distilling wisdom, distills the essence of crafting tequila that resonates with aficionados and newcomers alike (and gives insight into how you can pair it with everything from sushi to steak). We traverse the landscape of agave fields, uncovering the meticulous care that goes into each bottle, and discuss how El Mayor's dedication to quality is capturing the hearts of an audience with an ever-refined palate. As we talk, you'll become privy to the nuances of their signature tequilas, from the crisp notes of the Blanco to the aged elegance of the Extra Añejo, each telling its own story of heritage and flavor.

With Laws recently winning the title of 'World's Best Small batch Bourbon', we thought it was a good time to talk with founder, Al Laws, to talk about the very niche yet thriving world of heritage grain whiskey.  While heritage grain may sound high brow, for distillers like Laws, who started Laws Whiskey House in Colorado more than a decade ago, heritage is all about unique flavour profiles.  As Laws prepares to start the year with a series of new releases, we talk to him about grains, small-scale distilling and the faith required in every step of the whiskey-making process.So whether you're a whiskey aficionado or a curious novice, you'll be enticed by the Colorado terroir at the heart of Laws Whisky House.

Join the conversation as we uncover the craft behind Seedlip's new groundbreaking non-alcoholic spirit, Notas de Agave, with none other than the visionary founder himself, Ben Branson. Tune in as Branson discusses the meticulous creation process, the hurdles the brand faced to achieve the perfect harmony of lime, prickly pear, and peppercorn. Tailored to, and available exclusively in, the US, Notas de Agave is a versitile  non-alc , that works equally well in a Margarita, as it does a Sour or Tiki style drink. With the likes of Regé-Jean Page adding a splash of celebrity allure to the Seedlip experience, this episode a must-listen for anyone intrigued by the evolving landscape of non-alcoholic spirits.

We thought we would start our podcast year off by talking to one of Scotland's best-known no-alc distilled spirits, Feragaia. You've probably seen a lot about no and low-alc spirits through dry January, but if the 2024 Bacardi Cocktail Trends Report is to be believed, you're about to hear a lot more. The report predicts that the sector will skyrocket by 67% to a value of 359 million by 2026 and that consumers will increasingly seek no and low alternatives year-round. So, with that in mind, we talked to Bill Garnock, one of the founders of Feragaia, about botanicals, experimentation and what it means to distil the wild earth.

There can be no argument that Tequila is having a moment. There are so many brands competing for shelf space that it's fair to say that there is a Tequila out there for everyone. In fact, according to IWSR Drinks Market Analysis, Tequila’s popularity has risen to such an extent that they predict it is set to overtake Vodka this year. But what does it take to set up a tequila brand in 2023? And is there still room for new brands to make an impact in the market?To find out more, we talk to Drake Screws, founder of the Tequila brand La Caza about establishing a brand, the insatiable consumer appetite for the spirit and fermenting to classical music. To find out more, go to https://lacazaspirits.com