The social distancing drinker

Ilove radio and I love podcasts. There are plenty of podcasts about drinking, but few of them come from Ireland. A newish exception is Kevin Ecock’s Winepod which is well worth listening to. Ecock developed an eponymous company back in the 1980s with his two brothers and later worked as a buyer and journalist for various publications in the hospitality sector. I‘ve listen to a few of his 30-minute podcasts at this stage and marvel at both his knowledge and enthusiasm. Most of the discussions are with growers and producers from elsewhere in Europe and further afield who are importing or selling wine here in Ireland.

Ecock talks mostly about wine. Whiskey drinkers might prefer another Irish podcast: Potstilled Radio. This bi-monthly podcast aims to look at the people behind Irish whiskey. This is strictly for whiskey fanatics, but that’s the joy of podcasts; the most extraordinarily niche subjects can be explored in depth by amateurs for the sheer joy of it.

Podcasts made abroad are often very good but can be frustrating; it is annoying to read or listen to somebody recommending something this is not available here. The well-named Wine for Normal People podcast talks about wine in a straightforward way and covers literally hundreds of wines in the 300-plus episodes available for download.

A final recommendation is the cleverly named Life Behind Bars which is hosted by Noah Rothbaum and David Wondrich. The podcast is essentially a conversation between the two men as they talk about cocktails and spirits. It is a curious mix of engaging stories and historical facts about the greatest bartenders and drinks of all time. A lot of the banter is very American but the history of cocktails is an endlessly fascinating subject, and we all need something trivial to remind us of the world prior to lockdown, and the joys that stretch ahead.