Glasgow gets a whisky club for women

Feature writer/fashion columnist

Monday 23 July 2012

Historically it's always been a bit of a man's world, but now Glasgow is about to get its own women-only whisky club – thought to be the first of its kind in the city.

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Elizabeth McMeekin

The exclusive organisation is being launched by 29-year-old Geraldine Murphy, assistant manager of the city's Pot Still bar, who hopes the club will attract female whisky enthusiasts.

The club has scheduled its first meeting for the start of next month in the Pot Still. Already 11 women have signed up for the society, membership of which costs £50 per year.

Ms Murphy said: "The first meeting is going to be on August 1 and at that we have Rachel Barrie, the master blender from Auchentoshan distillery, coming to speak to us. Then, hopefully, the plan for the next couple of months is to go and visit Auchentoshan distillery, or go to whisky festivals that are on as well. It will depend on what the girls in the club would like. I'm open to what they want to do as well."The idea of establishing a female-only whisky club was to create a relaxed environment where women could come and find out more about the science behind the dram. "I felt that the Pot Still in general has a very guy-heavy client base," said Ms Murphy. "For females who are not so sure about whisky but who are interested in it, I think in general it's quite intimidating to come in and ask questions. I thought a female-only environment would be easier and a lot more relaxed for them to not feel like they were asking silly questions."Kerry Coubrough, a 33-year-old whisky enthusiast who has already signed up to the club, thinks it will provide an opportunity for women to find out about the drink. She said: "Women can feel a bit shy. If it was a club for men and women I think some women would feel intimidated, because a lot of women don't know that much about whisky, so I think they would be shy about coming forward and asking questions."I have an interest in whisky, and when I heard Geraldine was setting up her own women-only whisky society I thought that was a fantastic idea because a lot of women think whisky is for men – that it's a man thing – which it's really not. It's just fascinating. There's a lot more to whisky than just drinking it."The Pot Still has already hosted two female-only whisky tasting nights this year, in February and in April, each of which attracted more than 20 guests. Ms Murphy added: "We had our first tasting session in February. We had about 26 women at it and the tickets sold out in about six days."Whisky writer Bill Mackintosh, chairman of Glasgow's Whisky Club, believes an all-women club will be a hit with the industry, which is trying to change its image and attract a wider audience. He said: "Whisky is seen as an old bearded man's drink and that's an idea the whisky companies are desperately trying to put to bed. Their ideal would be a young woman aged 18 to 25 years old. So I think this club is a fantastic idea."This club has a number of things going for it: it's got the Pot Still, which is a fantastic whisky bar, and it's got Geraldine who is very enthusiastic. It's also got the whisky industry, who will love it."

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Glasgow gets a whisky club for women

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