The Death of the Whisky Bar

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Whisky bars are a rare establishment. Whisky drinkers are a passionate but rather small community, and with hospitality under a lot of financial stress, opening a bar that caters solely to this niche is becoming more unfeasible by the minute. I have seen articles stating that bars will have to charge £20 a drink to survive. That isn’t true. They’ll go under long before it gets to that.

So, you can’t blame the industry for trying to cater to a big market. Boring bars with neutral walls. Jacks of all trades and masters of none when it comes to the drinks. That’s what I see when strolling down a modern city centre.

But out of the crevices of quiet side streets, another market has arisen. Establishments that cater to niche interests – but broaden their appeal to include the general consumer. Think cat cafes, board game hangouts, and golf bars. These hobbyist spots have been shooting up in every city, capturing crowds of curious customers and teaching people what makes their passions so great. Perhaps whisky could learn a thing or two?

Alex Mennie certainly agrees. He describes whisky bars as “clinging to tired old cliches of tartan and haggis, perpetuating the myth that Scotch is an ‘old man’s drink’.” He speaks of the boys club atmosphere and lack of innovation – with no gateway for any curious newcomers to crawl through. Enter the new bars.

Zooming back a few months now, we wrote about La Whiskeria, a bar in Barcelona that had beautifully crafted a modern whisky experience infused with respect for tradition. Sure, you might scoff at the idea of drowning your Lagavulin in soda water, but wouldn’t you rather someone tried that over Walmart’s finest highball? Slowly but surely, they would learn.

Which is why La Whiskeria and other bars like it (London’s Black Rock being another stellar example) have a range of cocktails alongside their traditional whisky flights. Without a modicum of judgment, they’ll pour you a Glenmorangie in a Glencairn-tasting glass before giving your nervous friend a JD and coke. And then guess what happens? That friend has a good time. Maybe he can bring a date next week. A group of friends the next. He gets enchanted by the dry flavour of a rye whisky and wants to learn more. Next time you see him, he’s telling you about the latest Whisky Road article. All the while, the bar is raking it in.

The new age of whisky is coming. You can come along, and enjoy the innovation, or get left behind. We know where we’d rather be.

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