I was recently asked to speak at the tenth anniversary meeting of the Greater Cincinnati Bourbon Society. I was the first speaker at their first meeting back in 2014. They have had me back several times since then and I am impressed with their growth. They are modeled after The Bourbon Society in Louisville and have bottle shares with people bringing in a bottle on their birthday month, barrel picks of whiskey and events such as golf outings. They are an excellent group of people and a great group to speak to. They pay attention to the speaker, even after having a few drinks of whiskey. I always look forward to attending their meetings when I’m invited.

Unlike many Bourbon Societies out there, they hold regular meetings. Many of the societies are online groups which hold occasional gatherings. There is nothing wrong with being an online society, but it is nice to hold regular meetings so members get a chance to socialize and share bottles. They have speakers at their meetings, usually someone from a distillery. The Greater Cincinnati Bourbon Society have placed an emphasis on education. This is a tough group to speak to because they are so well educated in the whiskey field that a speaker has to speak on a subject that holds an interest to the group. There are only so many times that a group can listen to a “this is how whiskey is made” presentation before they get bored. This time, they asked me to discuss the importance of Bourbon Societies in today’s market.

First of all the societies play an important role in educating their members about whiskey. To me this is the most important role they play. Next, the societies are a good audience for distillers who wish to promote a brand and the speakers play a pivotal part in doing that. They bring their brands to the meetings and do tastings for a group that will purchase your brand. The social aspect of the society is also very important. Members can share experiences with other members. Maybe they took a distillery tour and were impressed with experience and pass on their knowledge to other members. They may have found a new brand of whiskey that they really like and bring the bottle to meeting so others can try it. These are important to the other members as well as the distilleries. Finally there is the economic aspect of the societies. The societies are in part the reason that there is a growth in whiskey sales. They are purchasing barrels of whiskey, but that is only a small part of the growth in sales. The members of the society are purchasing many other bottles of whiskey for themselves – bottles that are not necessarily hard to find or expensive, but well-liked by the member.

The Greater Cincinnati Bourbon Society is ten years old and still going strong. I hope that they will have me speak again at their twenty year anniversary meeting.

Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller