The February Batch
Savour the Data, Stay for the Drams.
February has a funny way of being the shortest month on the calendar while somehow feeling like the longest stretch of the year. For me, this month was about reflection and recalibration.
To ensure I’m delivering the level of insight and production value this community deserves, I’m calling it a wrap on Season 1 of Data & Drams at seven episodes (not inclusive of our unreleased episode with Alan!) I had so much fun experimenting, learning and adapting throughout this project and I’m incredibly excited for its evolution. I want to ensure that I’m focusing on quality > quantity.
So, with that said I’m currently taking a little break from the podcast to recharge and give myself some space to innovate and think creatively about what’s next. To mark the occasion I’ve enrolled in the Certificate of Scotch Whisky and am absolutely loving it.
Fun fact, if you sign up to The Whisky Club you can get 15% off the Edinburgh Whisky Academy Certifications!
You can use my referral code to join The Whisky Club (full disclosure if you sign up using my referral I’ll get a little dram to try).
Here is what’s been on the table this month.
The Executive Barrel
High-proof leadership strategies from the Data & Drams podcast.
This month, I had the pleasure of interviewing Craig Hayes, who went from leading global operations at Mastercard to managing a 50,000-seat IT transformation, he revealed why data and people are the only two variables that truly matter. We also savoured a Bunnahabhain 12-Year-Old, offering notes of hazelnut, dried fruit, and a subtle sea salt.
Check out the accompanying blog of Episode 7 here - I Shall Either Find a Way or Make One: Data, People and Transformation
Craig left us with some powerful takeaways:
Resilience is Key: He looks to the Latin phrase Aut inveniam viam aut faciam I shall either find a way or make one (noting that this is also his Microsoft Teams Status - legendary).
For Craig, professional growth in 2026 isn’t about more data; it’s about the discipline of giving yourself space to think through decisions, priorities, and balance.
The Data Behind The Dram
Scaling craft through technology
Sarah Badesha, Head of Engineering at Chivas Brothers spoke recently about how her team’s Kilmalid's Four Phased Project Optimus is adapting for the future of whisky and balancing global demand with the move away from manual processes and towards automated systems. They’ve achieved this through leveraging data and vision sensors to support the transformation at their bottling halls. While automation should never completely replace human intervention, bespoke robotic solutions are at the forefront of enhancing production without reducing quality.
A Taiwan based importer and distributor of whisky products, Agencia Comercial Spirits Ltd is moving beyond its core spirits business to explore AI computing infrastructure and data center opportunities, specifically preferring investment into Compute, Networking, and NVIDIA Enterprise Software. The move follows a broader trend in the APAC region where non-tech companies are attempting to capitalise on the massive demand for AI infrastructure, however, it’s very rare for a spirits-focused company to pivot so significantly and especially into high end computing. Who would have thought?
In a response to industry fraud CCL Label (in collaboration with Checkpoint Systems) has launched SmartCask, a new digital identification and data platform. The embedded chips are designed to last 30 years under standard conditions and up to 50 years if stored in temperatures between -20°C and +40°C. Similar to the mention of Proof 8’s ‘Digital Deeds’ in our January Batch, SmartCask offers a likewise digital product passport to tracking critical data throughout a cask's lifecycle.
A sniffer robot dog called Royal Barkla, a Boston Robotics Quadruped is on hazardous pawpatrol and equipped with ATEX-certified sensors to detect leaks within warehouses. The systems connect to SCADA/control rooms via wireless networks, sending real-time alerts when gas is detected. Bacardi are now looking to incorporate wider trials and “very much focused on scale”. It’s giving 2001 Cats & Dogs, although I’m not mad about it.
Diageo’s SIP has won this year’s Gartner Power of the Profession Award for Technology Innovation. The AI powered platform, utilises cask driven data to leverage predictive modelling for yield and value optimisation.
The Tasting Room
Personal reviews and on-site distillery insights.
This month I tried some delicious new whiskies including my first virtual tasting with The Whisky List and even though I couldn’t catch the live session, I loved that I could just pull up the recording and follow along at my own pace. You can check it out here. There’s something so cool about bringing the full distillery experience into your living room, from learning about the production process to the "why" behind the bottle design.
I relived the Royal Edinburgh Tattoo tour in Brisbane, where I got to sample Johnnie Walker Black Label and Black Ruby.
Fun fact about Johnnie Walker Black Label, in 2024 Diageo launched a collaboration with PA Consulting to design a first-of-its-kind 90% paper-based bottle trial. In the initial analysis, their prototype showed up to 47% potential reduction in carbon emissions compared to the original glass bottle. Made from a combination of cork and Dry Molded Fiber (DMF) paper technology, which was used in a previous trial with Baileys.
Additionally, in 2025 Johnnie Walker leveraged Generative AI to design 50,000 bottles as part of its ‘1 of 1’ campaign. This was formed by Diageo’s Project Halo (an innovation team within Diageo, the same team behind the “What’s Your Whisky” Experience ) to look at personalisation at scale.
My Top 3 Drams of the Month:
Join the Conversation
I’m having a little creative break to get the next season of Data & Drams blended just right. Catch up on the previous episodes and join the community on your favourite platform!
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Sip Soon,
Sarah