Introducing Terroir-Driven: The Waterford Whisky Podcast

Waterford Distillery Founder Mark Reynier has spent the last 5 years telling everyone who’ll listen (and even those who won’t) that he believes there’s an alternative to how whiskey has been made for generations. He believes there’s a better way and that mass production and a focus on yield has replaced a focus on flavour. He has strong opinions and firmly held beliefs and he’s betting the farm, many farms in fact, on these opinions being true and ultimately that they’ll matter to the whisky drinker who purchases a bottle of Waterford Whisky.   Central to his approach is the concept of Terroir - a french term used to describe how a particular place’s climate, soils and terrain affect the taste of a crop and consequently the product it becomes an ingredient of.   Is all this talk of Terroir just hype? Is it a marketing stunt? It may be universally accepted in France but can it translate to the world of whisky production? Why are so many people arguing about its very existence?   It’s a topic that has divided whiskey makers, drinkers and anyone with even a passing interest in the world of whisky production.   My name is Barry Chandler, an Irish whiskey enthusiast and I’ve been fascinated by Waterford Distillery’s approach and beliefs since first visiting the distillery in late 2019. In this podcast series I’m going to dive deep into the world of Terroir and one distillery’s journey to not just make a whisky inspired by it, but to prove, scientifically, and beyond doubt, that it exists.   Each episode you’ll hear from distillers, scientists, growers, and whisk(e)y drinkers. They’ll share their opinions and perspectives so that you get to make your own mind up about whether Waterford Distillery’s approach matters to you.

Om Podcasten

Influenced by the world's greatest winemakers, Waterford Distillery obsessively brings the same intellectual drive, methodology and rigour to single malt whisky. But what does that actually mean? It means applying strict production criteria to Irish barley and whisky production. It means sourcing barley from individual Irish farms - some organic, some biodynamic. It means malting, fermenting, distilling and maturing those farm crops in complete isolation - from field to barrel. The distillery showcases the barley flavours derived from individual Irish farms, terroir by terroir, in its Single Farm Origin series. But the ultimate goal is to one day use these individual terroirs to produce world’s most unique, complex and compelling whisky. In this podcast series, the award-winning whisky communicator Barry Chandler has unfettered access to the distillery and its people, to break down each step of the production process from growing the barley to bottling the whisky so that you, the whisky fan, can understand about where flavour is created and what the possibilities are when a distillery chooses to obsessively explore that prime raw ingredient of single malt whisky: barley.