Podcast

The Drinking Hour podcast: North American whisky with Dawn Davies MW

From heritage styles that predate Prohibition to innovative new drams, the USA and Canada produce a wealth of whiskies. David Kermode talks to Dawn Davies MW about the inaugural IWSC Judging in Kentucky and what North America offers to the whisky lover today

Words by Club Oenologique Editors

Dawn Davies at IWSC whisky judging

In episode 197 of The Drinking Hour podcast, host David Kermode looks across the Atlantic to get the latest on North American whisky. Joining him is Dawn Davies MW, whisky expert and member of the IWSC Spirits Committee.

First on the agenda, Davies shares her experiences of judging at the IWSC in Kentucky with an all-star panel, including Richard Paterson MBE, Dr Emma Walker and Kristiane Sherry. Next, Kermode and Davies explore the bourbon category. Davies highlights some standout developments and explains some of the bourbon trends she enjoys, including the rise of wheated bourbons. She touches on the modern use of heritage grains, which links back to production methods used before the arrival of European settlers to the US.

Kermode asks about some of the ‘crazy cask finishes’ Davies came across while in Kentucky, before the pair move onto the latest innovations in North American whisky, as well as the rise of American single malt whisky. They finish by looking to the future, predicting what impact US politics will have on the country’s whisky market and what the country’s distillers should focus on in the years to come.

Listen and subscribe to The Drinking Hour podcast on iTunesSpotify and Android.

Discover more episodes of The Drinking Hour with David Kermode here.