We’re all rather excited here at Village of the Drammed HQ, because news has just reached us that one Mr Billy Abbott (known about this parish) has gone & won the blind whisky nosing contest at the Feis Ile Festival of Music and Malt 2015!

So that’s rather special.  Well done, Billy!

Last time we had a go at it I think I got 2 out of 7 or 8 or 9 or whatever it is (i.e. barely a result worth remembering – which is probably why I’m so vague on the details), and joined the philosophical group who came up with all manner of post-event theories about how impossible it was and how it was all guesswork, etc.  Which is exactly the sort of thing you’d expect from people who were basically guessing.

The *good* news is I sense that we’ve got a podcast topic in the making here.

(photograph shamelessly purloined from Mr J Webb’s Facebook stream, and we’re desperately hoping he won’t object)

“What’s all this?” you may ask. Welcome to a new era of drammed villagery. What started out as a video podcast, recorded upstairs at The Gunmaker’s in Clerkenwell with three blokes on a sofa talking at a camera, has now become a podcast.

Between August 2011 and December 2012 we released 12 videos, packed with random chat about the world of booze. Unfortunately Real Life got in the way and our mooted season two never happened.

The three men on the sofa were flung to the winds: Darren’s distillery launched, and he now spends his time travelling the world when he’s not making gin and whisky; Jason moved from London to Bristol, putting an expensive train journey or a tedious bus ride between him and the rest of the crew; and Billy just complained a lot about being busy, without really having much to show for it. Not even producer Alwynne was spared, becoming a successful whisky journalist and presenter, spending her time running around the country either feeding people drinks or being fed them. There was no time for Village of the Drammed and thanks to changes at our video host, season one disappeared off the web.

It seemed Village of the Drammed was done.

It wasn’t.

Billy likes podcasting. He listens to too many podcasts and fondly remembers his days of presenting a computer game show. Jason likes talking about whisky and hidden away in Bristol, a land strangely bereft of a good dram, he doesn’t get that much of a chance to any more. A plan was formed. A podcast was born.

With the crew stripped down to Billy and Jason, and only using the rudimentary advanced technology that they have to hand, expect semi-regular instalments of two men talking about booze while sitting at each end of a Skype connection. What could go wrong?

So, welcome to season three of Village of the Drammed. Now you can enjoy hearing us without seeing our faces. Which can only be a plus.