Beer52 expands into the world of whisky

Co-founder and CEO Fraser Doherty MBE gives Eloise Feilden a sneak peak into the new venture.

Beer52, the UK-based craft beer subscription club, has entered into the spirits category with the launch of its third drinks venture, Whisky52.

Launched this week, Whisky52 offers members a 35cl bottle of whisky from a different distillery each month, plus an issue of Stramash magazine, providing background on the distillery that produced it.

Based in Edinburgh, Scotland, Doherty says that half the whiskies released by Whisky52 will be from the company’s home country, and half from around the world.

The club’s first box features an exclusive 10 year-old single malt Scotch, matured in Bourbon barrels and Port pipes, from Tullibardine in the Scottish Highlands.

Whisky52’s next release, available from December, is one from a “really cool” distillery in Sweden, named Agitator. “”They distill in vacuum, and the whisky we’ve got is finished in orange wine casks,” Doherty says.

The new whisky venture gives the company the opportunity to cover all bases. Launched in 2013, Beer52 expanded into wine in 2021, and is now hoping to give its subscribers “an accessible, fun way to discover the world of whisky”.

“We’re based in Edinburgh so we’ve always got friends around us in the whisky business. We started with beer, and then with wine, and that worked, so it seemed like the logical next step,” Doherty explains.

His goal is to counteract the “inaccessible or stuffy” perception of whisky that still prevails, while at an “affordable price point”. He says: “It feels like there’s a lot of interesting stuff happening in whisky, but it can also be a bit confusing for people.

“It’s for people who have an interest in learning more. There are customers we have who are real experts, whether about wine, beer or whisky, and they really enjoy the deep dive we do into each region. Bu then there’s also people who are just starting out on their journey of tasting new things and we make it easy for them to learn as they go.”

At £35 a month, Whisky52 has wheeled its new subscription service out to subscribers first, using its database of more than 3m people in the UK who have tried out Beer52 or Wine52. “We’ve got a big database that we can tell about this,” Doherty says, noting that Whisky52 plans to send out 10,000 bottles in the first month. Whisky52 also collects reviews from customers to share with partnering producers, offering insights into consumer tastes as part of a collaboration.

Doherty hopes distilleries will “see it as a great way to tell their story in the magazine and introduce their brand to new consumers”.

The business’ co-founder spoke to db during the HKTDC Wine & Spirits Fair in Hong Kong last week, where he was scouting potential collaborators. He says: “I’ve met some Japanese producers here, and they’ve got so much history and passion, so it’s been nice to meet them in person and hopefully start a relationship to do business together”

Whisky52 currently has the first four or five distillery releases lined up for its subscribers, but the company is “now talking to loads of different distilleries all over the world” for upcoming collaborations. Doherty has his sights set on whiskies from Scandinavia, as well as the US, Australia, Japan and Taiwan.

Having expanded into wine and now whisky in less than five years, Doherty is now keen to focus on its three core categories, with “no plans for any other spirits” in the future. He says: “It feels like there’s a lot more we can do with wine, beer and whisky.”

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