What do you think of when you hear the word ‘sustainability’? It’s likely that you first jump to the environmental kind, because in 2024 it’s ever present, and in this issue, we’re going to hear a lot about efforts to make whisky more environmentally sustainable. But I want to start with a more existential interpretation.

By the time you read this issue of Whisky Magazine, I will have left my post as editor. It happens that I will remain attached to the whisky industry in my next role, but that wasn’t a prerequisite. I love whisky, thanks in great part to my experiences with this magazine and the passionate people I have met through it, and it will continue to be part of my life. But it doesn’t have to be my life.

In our last issue (#200), Whiskey Tribe founder Rex Williams said one reason he started the smash-hit YouTube channel was because he wasn’t seeing anyone represented (or catering to people) who felt the way he did about whiskey: who liked it and knew about it but were not obsessive or (to use his words) “kind of a jerk” about it. In most people’s definition, Williams would probably still be considered an enthusiast, but he raises an interesting point — one that could be crucial to the future of the industry.

Whisky is a hobby that can easily cross over into a ‘lifestyle’. You start buying, then collecting. You may start a podcast or a blog. You host tastings for your friends, go to whisky shows at home and abroad. This is a perfectly acceptable way to enjoy whisky. But those who choose not to turn it into a lifestyle, to keep it merely as an interest, should not be penalised.

There are plenty of people across the world who have the potential to enjoy whisky, who could spend money on it and talk to their friends about it and start visiting distilleries. Such occasional consumers are an important part of the whisky fabric, but they risk being left behind by brands chasing the vote (and dollars) of enthusiasts. There is still too much focus in the industry on marketing to those who are already dyed-in-the-wool whisky fans. Consequently, there are a lot of people the industry isn’t trying to reach (our contributor Kristiane Sherry gave an eloquent explanation of this topic on her Instagram page). Over time, this neglect entrenches the belief that whisky is ‘not for them’. Or, even worse, they may begin taking their own steps into whisky and encounter behaviours that make them feel unwelcome.

This gatekeeping attitude is reasonably indiscriminate in who it targets, although there are documented lines along gender and race. Serving behind the World Whiskies Awards stand at our Whisky Live London show this year, I lost count of the number of (male) ticket holders who asked me if I “actually liked” whisky. When attending meetings or events with men, I am rarely the first person that a brand representative will talk to. Other women and those from minority communities will doubtless have similar stories. The presence of organisations such as the Black Bourbon Society and Women Who Whiskey or the launch of Bourbon & Belonging in Kentucky this year demonstrates demand outside the ‘traditional’ sphere; a greater effort toward integration should come next.

If we want to welcome more people into the whisky fold, a good starting place would be to minimise obfuscation in marketing — be it flowery language that speaks far more of brand image than it does of the whisky, or a density of technical information that could be intimidating for a less knowledgeable drinker. Good examples of angling marketing away from the aficionado are Atom Brands’ &Whisky bottlings that simply list a bottle’s notable elements (for example, Christmas Cake & Dark Chocolate & Medjool Dates & Cinnamon), or Woven Whisky’s independently bottled blends that give ‘experiences’ on the label rather than cask types or age statements. Yes, these are both examples from bottlers, not distillers, but perhaps it means there is a lesson for producers to take note of.

On my travels, I have regularly heard the whisky world’s community spirit praised as its greatest asset. Why wouldn’t you want to share that spirit with as many people as possible?