The term ‘influencer’ is used to describe people who have an impact on those around them. This month we highlight some of the people we have identified as among the biggest influencers in the Scottish licensed trade. We put a few questions to them.
BLAIR BOWMAN
Whisky Consultant & Author
Edinburgh
Blair Bowman’s name is synonymous with whisky. He’s penned many an influential book on the subject, including The Pocket Guide to Whisky: featuring the WhiskyTubeMap and regularly hosts whisky training sessions and multi-sensory whisky tasting experiences around the world.
Who is your biggest influence?
I find inspiration all over, particularly in my globe-trotting for events and tastings. More recently, Prof Charles Spence from Oxford and his work on multi-sensory experiences has been a particular inspiration in creating
new experiential tasting events.
What motivates you to do what you do?
The thing that motivates me most to do what I do, is to see people enjoying whisky and to see how that lights the spark in them. The urge to share it with them and hopefully encourage them to share it with others is what excites me most. Whether it’s through a tasting, an event or through
my writing and other work, it’s the ability to create that tipping point from which people can spark their own urge to go off and
explore the world of whisky.
Have you noticed any trends in hospitality/the Scottish licensed trade?
I would like to think I’m seeing a very slow move to whisky highballs, or whisky and mixers, which is very encouraging, but there is still a lot of work to be done to increase people’s understanding and appreciation, so
that it’s not seen as being so sacrilegious. There is still lots to be done in the industry to change this.
How do you stay ahead of the curve?
I’m always looking outside the industry for inspiration. I have a list of mad ideas that I’m always adding to.