There are a plethora of whiskey videos on YouTube. There are some that I rather enjoy, but most of what I see are your typical tasting blogs. Now I realize that Matt and I are guilty of this as well, but I like to think that our tasting videos do offer something unique in that we look at what different foods do to the taste of the whiskey. I thought I would look at YouTube and what it offers to American whiskey.
I did a blog several years ago on the internet and whiskey, but that was before YouTube videos became an important part of whiskey knowledge. Matt and I got into the YouTube scene out of boredom. It was 2020 and Covid had us pretty much home-bound and we were looking for a creative outlet. We decided as a lark to film a video for YouTube since we could not get out to visit distilleries. We did a tasting video and it seemed popular enough that we decided to make another, and then another, so that now we do one every week. We do it for fun, not profit. That is what Matt and I are doing.
However, there are many other whiskey channels out there. They seem to follow a similar format. They taste whiskey, usually more than one brand and give the viewer their tasting notes. They sometimes talk about the distillery that makes the whiskey they are tasting, but not in much detail. Many of the channels have blind tastings and turn the tasting into a competition as to what is the best whiskey in the tasting. There is nothing wrong with this format and it is interesting to see these results.
Many of these channels are looking to make a profit off whiskey. They emphasize their bottle picks and encourage followers to purchase these bottles. They also encourage viewers to become Patreon members for their channel. On Patreon, they offer additional videos and events to the members. There is nothing wrong with this and I imagine that it does not pay that much. Nobody is getting rich off of YouTube doing whiskey videos.
So what is the value of YouTube videos? First of all, it lets viewers know what the creator of the video thinks about a whiskey they have tasted. It is one way for a consumer to form an opinion on a whiskey before making a purchase. If the consumer has watched a video and finds that their taste buds align with the creator’s taste buds, they can form an educated opinion on a whiskey. Whiskey channels also help create a community of whiskey drinkers and share their thoughts in the comments. These channels can also play an important role in marketing a whiskey. The videos place some obscure bottles in front of consumers – bottles from small distilleries that don’t have a huge marketing budget and an international format such as YouTube helps get the word out about their whiskey.
YouTube whiskey channels are here to stay and are playing an important role in American whiskey.
Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller