Decades Distilled // A History of Whisky

Send us a textIn the 1990s, Scotch whisky didn’t just change flavors—it changed hands.For this week's episode, Kurt and Sarah dive into the business side of Scotch’s comeback, from the rise of Diageo to the releases that shaped modern whisky culture. We unpack how the Classic Malts taught a generation how to drink Scotch, how the Rare Malts turned forgotten distilleries into legends, and why closures like Rosebank still stir strong emotions today.It’s a story of big money, bold bets, nerdy treasures, and tough choices—where progress and loss often came hand in hand.Pour a dram and join us as we follow the money behind the magic of 1990s Scotch.

Send us a textThis week, Sarah and Kurt explore the 1990s—the decade when whiskey quietly shifted from something you drank into something you collected. As independent bottlers like Gordon & MacPhail, Signatory, and Douglas Laing released transparent, single-cask malts from obscure and closed distilleries, scarcity and storytelling took center stage. From dusty bar finds to bottles now worth thousands, this episode reveals how the foundations of modern whiskey collecting were born.Pour a dram and join us as we explore how indie bottlers bottled history before the world realized it was history.

Send us a textBefore Michael Jackson (yes, that Michael Jackson—but a different one), whiskey was described with words like smooth, strong, or fine. Then he came along and changed everything. Thanks to him, we now talk about whiskey the way we do wine, using terms like honeyed, leathery, coastal, peaty, and Sherry-rich, and debating whether something leans more Islay than Speyside.This week, Sarah and Kurt dive into how Jackson created the shared vocabulary, tasting structure, and 0–100 rating system that shaped whiskey culture as we know it. They explore how he turned distilleries into characters, helped elevate single malts globally, and even put Japanese whisky on the map long before it became a collector’s craze.Pour a dram and tune in as Sarah and Kurt reveal how one writer’s words rewired the whiskey world.

Send us a textIn this week's episode, Sarah and Kurt crack open the decade when whiskey stopped being just a drink...and became a culture. The 1990s introduced tasting magazines, global whiskey festivals, independent bottlers, rare malts, and the rise of an entirely new species: the whiskey nerd.From the groundbreaking launch of Malt Advocate in 1990 to the glossy international flair of Whisky Magazine, we trace how whiskey finally got its own media ecosystem. We dig into the birth of WhiskeyFest, the rise of shared tasting language, the early days of collecting, and the massive influence of legendary writer Michael Jackson—whose books and tasting style shaped an entire generation.If you love whiskey, this is the story of how your fandom was born.

Send us a textSarah and Kurt keep the ’90s momentum rolling in this second episode of the season. After opening the decade’s story last week, they turn their attention to the moment single malts truly hit their stride. This time, they dig into how Scotch stepped beyond blends, with Glenfiddich, Glenlivet, Macallan, and Glenmorangie leading the charge. From smarter storytelling to bottles that finally demanded space on the shelf, Sarah and Kurt explore how these brands shaped a new era of whisky marketing—and set the tone for the decade to come.