PODCAST · arts
Whiskey Chats
by Laurie O'Dwyer
Join me, Laurie O'Dwyer, on my whiskey apprenticeship, as I have a bit of craic chatting to guests about all things whiskey and spirits.
Episodes
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My Irish Sea Boat Chat with Darryl McNally, Master Distiller
Join me for My Irish Sea Boat Chat with Darryl McNally, Master Distiller. I was invited for a trip to the legendary Scottish Dsitilling town of Campbeltown, as part of a group from the Harbourview Hotel, on their hotel RHIB boat. As Ireland's first whiskey hotel, this is just one of their...
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My Pub Chat with Benny McCabe
Join me for My Pub Chat with Benny McCabe. Benny is a legendary Publican in Cork city who owns and operates the Cork Heritage Pub group of pubs, plus The Rising Sons Brewery and is also involved with the new puublicn driven Changing Times Brewery. Benny's passion for Cork heritage, pub culture,...
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My Ahascragh Distillery Chat with Gareth McAllister
Join me for My Ahascragh Distillery Chat with Gareth McAllister. I visited Garreth's Distillery in Ahascragh village, just east of Galway. What a little gem in this hidden heartland of canals, rivers and rolling hills. Garreth and Michelle McAllister started production in their meticulously...
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My illicit Poitín Chat with Al Poitíno
Join me for My illicit Poitín Chat with Al Poitíno. I visited Al (pseudonym) deep in the high bogs of the mountains of the North West of Ireland..... to discover his amazing hidden still. We chatted about his homebrew supply business - Hooley Homebrew - and we went through his still set-up and...
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My Irish Whiskey Technical File Chat with Dr Fionnán O'Connor
Join me for My Irish Whiskey Technical File Chat with Dr Fionnán O'Connor. The legislation governing how Irish whiskey can be made is going through a review process at the moment. The consensus amongst every producer on the island is that it needs to change and is not historically accurate. This...
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My Ballina Distillery Chat with Stacey Longworth
Join me for My Ballina Distillery Chat with Blending Manager Stacey Longworth. I visited Stacey in what used to be called Connacht Distillery in Co Mayo. Terroir Distillers, a French drinks company, bought Connacht Distillery in 2024 and it is now rebranded as Ballina Distillery. They have double...
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My Irish Distillers History Chat with Archivist Carol Quinn
Join me for My Irish Distillers History Chat with Archivist Carol Quinn. This is my third Chat with Carol and they always seem to be better than the last. Carol is so knowledgeable on the history of Cork Distilleries Company, the precursor to Irish Distillers. I joined Carol in her archive, at…
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My State of the Industry Chat with John Teeling
Join me for My State of the Industry Chat with John Teeling.. John Teeling is the current owner of Great Northern Distillery, founder of Cooley Distillery in 1988 and has also been involved in precious minerals and metal exploration and mining for most of his life. He was a lecturer in economics...
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My Belfast Whiskey Week Chat 2026 with Paul Kane
Join me for My Belfast Whiskey Week Chat 2026 with Paul Kane. Paul Kane founded Belfast Whiskey Week in 2019. This will be it's 9th year running over 9 days from 24th July - 01st August 2026. This year's festival have an amazing array of events, including 3 sub-festivals, all running in the…
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My Dingle Distillery Chat with Elliot Hughes
Join me for My Dingle Distillery Chat with Elliot Hughes. Elliot is carrying on the family legacy at the head of Dingle Distillery and The Porterhouse Group. I sat with Elliot ...... and his 2 doggies..... in his kitchen and had a fantastic chat about his journey with 'The Family Business'.…
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My Irish Whiskey Association Chat with Director Eoin O'Catháin
Join me for My Irish Whiskey Association Chat with Director Eoin O'Catháin. Eoin has been Director of the IWA for over 2.5 years. We sat for a chat in a busy Doheny & Nesbitt pub on Dublin's Baggot St, a real charming boozer in the heart of Dublin city. Eoin and I chatted about how the IWA...
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My Harbourview Whiskey Hotel Chat with Adrian McLaughlin
Join me for My Harbourview Whiskey Hotel Chat with Adrian McLaughlin. Adrian, along with a few other lads, has created Ireland's first whiskey hotel, above in Co Antrim. The hotel has an amazing Wee Bar, to chill out in. A hugely diverse selection of whiskeys to choose from, a cask room where you...
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My Bushmills Chat with Master Distiller Colum Egan
Join me for My Bushmills Chat with Master Distiller Colum Egan. Colum has worked at Bushmills Distillery since the 90's, before becoming Master Distiller in 2002. He grew up in Portarlington, Co Laois, but a local Antrim girl drew him North, where he has enjoyed an illustrious career in Bushmills...
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My Bushmills Cooper Chat with Alastair Kane
Join me for My Bushmills Cooper Chat with Alastair Kane. Alastair has worked in Bushmills Distillery for nearly 50yrs..!! He grew up in Bushmills village, a mere stone's throw from Bushmills Distillery, where he played as a kid. In 2012 he apprenticed his son Chris, who now works alongside his…
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My Bushmills Chat with 92yr old Les Duthie
Join me for My Bushmills Chat with Les Duthie. Les Duthie was the Bushmills Distillery manager from the early 70's until the mid-90's. He is 92 yrs young and has a memory like an elephant. I went and sat with Les at his home in Bushmills village, a mere stone's throw from Bushmills Distillery. He...
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My Pub Chat with Stephen Magennis from Echlinville Distillery
Join me for My Pub Chat with Stephen Magennis from Echlinville Distillery. I met up with Steve in The Duke of York pub in Belfast city centre, truly one of the best decorated pubs on the island. Just amazing place to sit. We took up residence in the wee snug, down the back, an chatted about...
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My Killowen Distillery Chat with Patrick Grey Sloan
Join me for My Killowen Distillery Chat with Patrick Grey Sloan, Killowen's newest distiller. I called up to Killowen Distillery, a you do, on a typically cold, wintry day, but still got a warm welcome as always. Patrick showed me around the new still room and we chatted about how an Estimator...
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My Garden Chat with JP, Dan & Paulie
Join me for My Garden Chat with JP O'Riordan, Dan Pennington & Paulie Costello. We met up in my back garden at Xmas time 2025 and cracked open a lash of amazing liquids to chat and banter about. We got a few things right, I got a few things wrong......!!.... but the main thing is we had a ball...
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My Church of Oak Distillery Chat with Greg McEntee, Head Distiller
Join me for My Church of Oak Distillery Chat with Greg McEntee, Head Distiller. The Church of Oak distillery in Monasterevin, Co Kildare started operations in 2022 and they have been quietly producing multigrain whiskey and maturing it in the best of cask from the Casknolia Cooperage in Spain.…
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My Cooperage Chat with Mark Quick
Join me for My Cooperage Chat with Mark Quick. Mark is the Managing Sales Director for Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Cooperage in Newbridge, Co Kildare. KBB is one of two commercial cooperages in the Republic that services the drinks industry with barrels, advice and repair works. Mark and the team of...
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My Rum Chat with Mike Gilmore & Jason Kidd
Join me for My Rum Chat with Mike Gilmore & Jason Kidd. Mike Gilmore is an ex-cop from California, who moved to rural Wyoming and opened a liquor store. But he developed a fascination for flavour and founded an Independent bottling company called Roaming Roads Spirits, where he seeks out amazing...
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My Live Chat with Ger Buckley, Midleton's Master Cooper
Join me for My Live Chat with Ger Buckley, Midleton's Master Cooper. I was asked to host a whiskey event at the Cork on a Fork food festival in Cork city in Aug 2025. I decided to do a Live Podcast episode in the iconic Hi-B bar in the heart of Cork city. The Hi-B notoriously doesn't allow mobile...
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My Snug Chat with Jim Arnoldt
Join me for My Snug Chat with Jim Arnoldt. I met up with Jim at Belfast Whiskey Week 2025 in the popular food market, the Common Market, at the Cocktail Takeover event. We sat outside the packed event, on the roadside tables and I had a ball chatting to Jim. Jim is one of the founders of the...
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My Midleton Cooper Chat with Derek Cronin
Join me for My Midleton Cooper Chat with Derek Cronin. This is my second Chat with Derek, but the first since he qualified as a Cooper..! Derek is now a Cooper, a barrel maker, in Midleton Distillery. He can now proudly say he apprenticed under the legendary Master Cooper Ger Buckley. I joined...
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My Garden Chat with Dean Fitzgerald & Cathal O'Brien part 2
Join me for My Garden Chat with Dean Fitzgerald & Cathal O'Brien part 2. Dean Fitzgerald runs the Whiskey Appreciation Society pages on Social Media platforms. He does a great job bringing people along his whiskey journey and helping to promote Irish brands. I urge you to check out his profiles…
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My Stonewell Cider & Brandy Chat with Diarmuid Madden
Join me for My Stonewell Cider & Brandy Chat with Diarmuid Madden. Diarmuid is a Production Operator at Stonewell Cidery in Carrigaline, Cork. They produce an amzing array of quality ciders. Orr Apple Brandy is their new venture, their own cider distilled by a local distillery and Diarmuid has…
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My Garden Chat with Dean Fitzgerald & Cathal O'Brien pt 1
Join me for My Garden Chat with Dean & Cathal pt 1. Dean Fitzgerald runs the Whiskey Appreciation Society pages on Social Media platforms. He does a great job bringing people along hi journey with him and helping to promote Irish brands. I urge you to check out his profiles and give him a follow....
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My Midleton Micro Distillery Chat with Barrett Stapleton
Join me for My Midleton Micro Distillery Chat with Barrett Stapleton - Head Distiller in the Micro. Barrett originally hails from the US and has beat a really interesting path to his current position in Midleton Distillery. He came back to Ireland at the end of Covid, after studying in UCC in the...
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My Stonewell Cidery Chat with Daniel Emerson
Join me for My Stonewell Cidery Chat with Daniel Emerson. Founded by Daniel and Geraldine Emerson in 2009, Stonewell is a small family-run cider producer. Their story began with an old French press and apple mill from Geraldine's Loire Valley family before upgrading to a modern press at their...
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My Spot Whiskey Chat with Robert Mitchell
Join me for My Spot Whiskey Chat with Robert Mitchell. Robert Mitchell is the 7th generation of his family to run Mitchell & Son Wine and Spirits Merchants in Dublin city centre. Mitchell's have left a huge legacy in their wake on Irish whiskey, as at one point in the late 20th century, the only...
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My Mourne Dew Distillery Chat with Donal Farrell
Join me for My Mourne Dew Distillery Chat with Donal Farrell. Mourne Dew was founded in 2017 by Donal Farrell, a former barrister and chartered accountant. His inspiration came from an unexpected place—a court case involving cold distillation for forensic DNA extraction. This sparked an idea…
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My Hinch Distillery Chat with Emma Millar
Join me for My Hinch Distillery Chat with Emma Millar. Emma Millar is a senior distiller since 2020, at the beautiful Hinch Distillery in Co. Down, founded by Dr Terry Cross in 2019. It is clearly a labour of love. The detail and scale of Hinch Distillery really impressed me as Emma showed me...
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My Ardara Distillery Chat with James Doherty
Join me for My Ardara Distillery Chat with James Doherty. James and Moira O'Doherty founded Sliabh Liag Distillers and began releasing their Silkie range of sourced smoky whiskeys, just as the covid lockdown hit, as well as An Dúlamán Irish Maritime gins. James and Moira returned to Ireland from...
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My Chat with Tara Clarke from Dair Nua Cooperage
Join me for My Chat with Tara Clarke from Dair Nua Cooperage. Tara is the National Sales Manager at the cooperage. She is the conduit between the barrels they source, import, fix, care for and distribute to most of our favourite distilleries and brands throughout the island of Ireland. It is a…
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My Master Cooper Chat with Darren Leonard
Join me for My Master Cooper Chat with Darren Leonard. Darren is a Master Cooper, not Head Cooper, above in Dair Nua Cooperage in Foxford, Co Mayo. He is a Master Cooper because he has successfully qualified an apprentice underneath him. He is passionate about the craft of coopering and retaining...
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My Palace Bar Chat with Stephen, Michael & Micháel
Join me for My Palace Bar Chat with Stephen Randles, Michael Cowman & Micháel O'Flaherty. We met up in The Palace Bar on Fleet St in Dublin city centre. Owner and publican Willie Ahern kindly allowed us to use the private Power's whiskey room, on the top floor, to record the podcast. He even...
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My Boann Distillery Chat with Pat Cooney
Join me for My Boann Distillery Chat with Pat Cooney. Pat Cooney is the Patriarch of Boann Distillery, having founded it in 2019, alongside his family. Pat has been in the drinks industry in Ireland since the 1970's. We discuss on the episode his previous companies and his path to Boann, very...
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My Achill Island Distillery Chat with Seán & Michael McKay
Join me for My Achill Island Distillery Chat with Seán & Michael McKay. I recently visited this picturesque island distillery in beautiful county Mayo, just off the west coast of Ireland, by bridge. Seán and Michael McKay are brothers. They are carrying on the legacy of their father who founded…
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My Lough Mask Distillery Chat with Andrew Bourke-Hastings
Join me for My Lough Mask Distillery Chat with Andrew Bourke-Hastings, Head Distiller. I recently visited this picturesque, yet industrial, distillery in beautiful county Mayo, surrounded on all sides by gorgeous lakes and mountains. Andrew started in Lough Mask as a brewer and is now their Head...
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My Micil Distillery Chat with Pádraic Ó'Griallais
Join me for My Micil Distillery Chat with Pádraic Ó'Griallais. I visited Micil Distillery, based out the back of the Oslo Bar, in the heart of Salthill just outside Galway city, in January 2024. This is a really charming, boutique distillery that I wanted to see for a long time. I wasn't...
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My Midleton Distillery Garden Chat with Barry, Dan, Paul & Mark
Join me for My Midleton Distillery Garden Chat with Barry Chandler, Dan Pennington, Paul Costello and Mark Lonergan. I set up a marquee out my back garden over Xmas 2024. The lads called up, Dan was on BBQ duty, I made Belfast Coffees, we had a ball. I asked Midleton Master Blender Dave McCabe…
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My Eimverk Distillery Chat with Eva Sigurbjornsdottir in Iceland
Join me for My Eimverk Distillery Chat with Eva Sigurbjornsdottir, in Reykjavik, Iceland. Eimverk produce Floki Whisky, which is famous for their sheep dung smoked whisky and many other amazing spirits. My wife Sonya and I recently visited Eva for a look around their innovative distillery, where…
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My Islay Garden Chat with Dan, Paulie, Matt & Aidan
Join me for My Islay Garden Chat with Dan Pennington, Paulie Costello, Matt Kelleher & Aidan McGovern. On a recent pilgrimage to the magical whisky island of Islay, off the coast of Scotland, with a couple of good buddies, we sat out the back of our rent-a-house on Bowmare High St, for a very...
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My Ardbeg Distillery Chat with Jackie Thomson
Join me for My Ardbeg Distillery Chat with Jackie Thomson, Visitor Centre Manager. On a recent pilgrimage to the magical whisky island of Islay, off the coast of Scotland, with a couple of good buddies - Dan, Paulie, Matt and Aidan, we visited Ardbeg Distillery. Here, I met up with Jackie…
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My Chat with Derek Mather in The Laddie Snug at Artisan
Join me for My Chat with Derek Mather in The Laddie Snug at Artisan. On a recent pilgrimage to the magical whisky island of Islay, off the coast of Scotland with a couple of good buddies, we made an overnight detour to the small town of Wishaw, midway between Edinburgh and Glasgow, to the famous...
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My Belfast Chat in The Friend at Hand with Jim, Mark & Séamus
Join me for My Belfast Chat in The Friend at Hand with Jim, Mark & Séamus. On this episode, I had 3 guests who joined me in a round-table chat in the spectacular tasting room in the back of The Friend at Hand whiskey shop and museum in the heart of Belfast city. . Jim Ingram who works in The FAH...
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My Chat with Willie Jack in The Friend at Hand in Belfast
Join me for My Chat with Willie Jack in The Friend at Hand in Belfast. Willie Jack is a legend in Belfast. He is a publican, whiskey museum curator, architectural salvager and restorer, antiques dealer, community builder, cultural ambassador and a seriously well connected and sound fella. I have...
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My Live Festival Chat with Noel Sweeney - Master Distiller
Join me for My Live Festival Chat with Noel Sweeney - Master Distiller. Noel is famous for his amazing time as Master Distiller at Cooley Distillery, where he became responsible for releasing alot of the amazing Irish whiskeys that we all love today. His Cooley malts and single grains are still...
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My Live Chat at Cork on a Fork Festival
Join me for My Live Chat at Cork on a Fork Festival I was asked to do a number of Live podcasts at a recent foodie festival in Cork - Cork on a Fork. I set up a podcast studio in the top floor bar of Cork Opera House in August 2024, in front of a Live audience, where my guests and I shared some...
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My McConnell's Distillery Chat with Graham Millar, Head Distiller
Join me for My McConnell's Distillery Chat with Graham Millar, Head Distiller. Myself and Sonya visited McConnel's Distillery, in the old Crumlin Road Jail in Belfast, whilst up at Belfast Whiskey Week 2024. Graham showed us around their amazing converted and renovated centuries old prison wing,...
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Whiskey Chats have?
Whiskey Chats currently has 218 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Whiskey Chats about?
Join me, Laurie O'Dwyer, on my whiskey apprenticeship, as I have a bit of craic chatting to guests about all things whiskey and spirits.
How often does Whiskey Chats release new episodes?
Whiskey Chats publishes regularly with 218 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Whiskey Chats?
You can listen to Whiskey Chats on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Whiskey Chats?
Whiskey Chats is created and hosted by Laurie O'Dwyer.
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