Uploaded November 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Since my first forays into WhiskyTube (seven years ago - exactly - for the vPub!), things have changed a whole lot on YouTube. The scale of whisky on YouTube is incredible, and I think it gets bigger and better all the time.
Well, at least *I think* it does.
You see, most creators in WhiskyTube will admit to you that the growth we once enjoyed is no longer there. New channels, especially those of high quality, may see fast and encouraging growth, but the truth is, it's slow compared to the old days. It's simply not a surprise that there's whisky stuff on YouTube anymore. The channels are myriad and - like whisky itself - we’re spoiled for choice.
What to do?
You see I think this betrays a wider thing in whisky, that the audience is saturated, growth is slowing, our community growth is slowing. While much of this is a little outside of our control, such as the cost of entry, a lot of it is absolutely within our control. We don’t need to go about convincing everyone to drink alcohol, like door-to-door evangelists, but we do need to consider how we approach those who are curious about how to treat alcohol in a responsible way - through whisky: flavour first.
We need to remember what was so appealing about whisky as a scene, and how we first realised that the fact it was alcohol was incidental; it quickly transcended the mere fact it was booze.
I realise that, despite earnest efforts to keep my content open I end up preaching to ‘people like me’: where I am in whisky or those who like similar topics and themes. It’s easy to forget about the early days - how confusing it was. How endless the knowledge trail seemed.
So, this will not be a vPub focusing on Whisky for Beginners - although we will feature such things - we’ve done it before. We'll instead focus on how to share whisky WITH beginners. How to grow our whisky friend groups, our communities and attract the new blood it always needs to stay relevant and energised. But also for us to stay energised too, perhaps and - if we might indulge ourselves - to remember how much fun that vicarious enjoyment of whisky discovery can be.
There’s a lot of truth in the idea that, should you need a solid recommendation, never ask an expert; their outlook and language is built upon speaking to other experts. In our whisky space we are enthusiasts, geeks and laypeople, we’d probably do well to remember to modulate our language to not only keep it accessible, but to keep it interesting.
Let’s start there.
After all, don’t you ever find yourself eagerly sharing the beauty of this liquid with the whisky curious?
I hope to welcome you behind the bar!
Since my first forays into WhiskyTube (seven years ago - exactly - for the vPub!), things have changed a whole lot on YouTube. The scale of whisky on YouTube is incredible, and I think it gets bigger and better all the time.
Well, at least *I think* it does.
You see, most creators in WhiskyTube will admit to you that the growth we once enjoyed is no longer there. New channels, especially those of high quality, may see fast and encouraging growth, but the truth is, it's slow compared to the old days. It's simply not a surprise that there's whisky stuff on YouTube anymore. The channels are myriad and - like whisky itself - we’re spoiled for choice.
What to do?
You see I think this betrays a wider thing in whisky, that the audience is saturated, growth is slowing, our community growth is slowing. While much of this is a little outside of our control, such as the cost of entry, a lot of it is absolutely within our control. We don’t need to go about convincing everyone to drink alcohol, like door-to-door evangelists, but we do need to consider how we approach those who are curious about how to treat alcohol in a responsible way - through whisky: flavour first.
We need to remember what was so appealing about whisky as a scene, and how we first realised that the fact it was alcohol was incidental; it quickly transcended the mere fact it was booze.
I realise that, despite earnest efforts to keep my content open I end up preaching to ‘people like me’: where I am in whisky or those who like similar topics and themes. It’s easy to forget about the early days - how confusing it was. How endless the knowledge trail seemed.
So, this will not be a vPub focusing on Whisky for Beginners - although we will feature such things - we’ve done it before. We'll instead focus on how to share whisky WITH beginners. How to grow our whisky friend groups, our communities and attract the new blood it always needs to stay relevant and energised. But also for us to stay energised too, perhaps and - if we might indulge ourselves - to remember how much fun that vicarious enjoyment of whisky discovery can be.
There’s a lot of truth in the idea that, should you need a solid recommendation, never ask an expert; their outlook and language is built upon speaking to other experts. In our whisky space we are enthusiasts, geeks and laypeople, we’d probably do well to remember to modulate our language to not only keep it accessible, but to keep it interesting.
Let’s start there.
After all, don’t you ever find yourself eagerly sharing the beauty of this liquid with the whisky curious?
I hope to welcome you behind the bar!
