Read the story with the young man behind Scotch.For.Everyone in Instagram. Although Carson is younger than most, his love and knowledge of whisky is quite extraordinary. The whisky community on Instagram is by far the most knowledgeable and generous community we are lucky to be a part of. Luckily with people like Carson around, there’s always opportunity to get your hands on something tasty to try.
Carson, as we do with all the others, let’s just kick things off with you telling us well, about yourself. Give us your life story in a 20 second elevator pitch.
CB: My life story is in the early chapters, really. I graduated last year from Davidson College as a Classics major (ancient Greek and Roman history, civilization, and language for the non-nerds out there) and now work at a law firm. I’m born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida, so at the moment we’re both proud of this crazy season the Jags had and mourning the tough loss to the Pats. I’m considering law school, but, hey, if a career in whisky presents itself, I won’t say no. They say do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life. We all love whisky, no?
Everyone starts somewhere, when getting into whisky. Tell us the first time you really fell in love with this brown spirit. Was it love at first sip?
CB: This is a funny story. It wasn’t really until college that I tried various drinks, and the only thing that remotely interested me at first was scotch. Kind of a strange drink for a beginner, I guess. My girlfriend and her family had gone to Scotland to visit her brother, who was studying abroad, and she brought back a small bottle of the Balvenie 12 Doublewood for me. After I got that first taste of Doublewood, I thought, “Hey, maybe I should learn about this magical stuff.” At the time, I was doing a ton of chemistry research, like four to six hours a day in the lab.
So, while waiting for something to boil or for a reaction to go to completion, I’d do all the research I could on scotch. All the while, I kept that bottle of Balvenie in my girlfriend’s dorm, and each time I visited, I’d have a taste. I wouldn’t say it was love with the taste at first sip, but it grew on me tremendously as I became more enthralled with the history and science behind what was in the glass (and at that point, not even a glass. I’d literally sip from the bottle. Oh, how far we’ve come.). Once I was somewhat whisky-competent, I started exploring this wonderful word of single malt. I was in love. The possibilities seemed endless. Learning the processes that made an Islay a brooding peat monster compared to what makes a Highlander so delicately fruity drew me in immediately. In all, I’d say it was really love at first research more than anything. I’d say the first whisky I had that was love at first sip was the Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban, and it remains one of my favorite pours to this day.
Let’s stay away from the word influencer and just talk about your love for whisky. Your posts on Instagram feature some very rare spirits, including a very impressive wall of the Glenmorangie collection. What is it about Glenmorangie that made you fall in love with this particular whisky?
CB: I’m more than happy staying away from “influencer.” One of the great things about whisky is its subjectivity. I think you’re doing yourself a disservice if you let others “influence” what you consider good or what you should buy or what makes your collection look impressive. Drink and buy what you want, because you’re the person that whisky’s gotta impress at the end of the day. Mini rant over, moving right along. Alright. I knew about Glenmorangie from an early age because of its partnership with the British Open.
My dad’s a massive golf fan and has passed that down to me, so while we’d wake up on those early weekend mornings (ok, maybe I didn’t always see the early rounds…), I’d see commercials and promos for Glenmorangie. Once I got to the stage of wanting to try scotch out, that was the first brand that popped into my head. But marketing and an early presence can only go so far, and it was Glenmo’s willingness to experiment and push the boundaries of what, at least from a young, inexperienced person’s view, was a largely “older person’s” commodity that was all about how old something could be. As mentioned before, I love how vast the world of scotch is, and to see a distillery doing so many different things, rather than operating within a worn-out framework, was so cool to me. And it still is. Questions like, “Man, I wonder how this would taste finished in port pipes?” were as easily answered as, “What would peated Glenmo taste like?”
They also encouraged me to try other kinds of wines and spirits. I mean, there’s little to no chance I would have tried or perhaps even heard of Sauternes before trying the Nectar D’Or expression. Sticking with that example, I found it thrilling to go backwards, in a way, and figure out just how Sauternes affected the base spirit. Like, “Ok, I always get a melon note out of the Glenmorangie Original, and with these two years with Sauternes, that melon seems like a honeydew melon dunked in honey,” or something along those lines. Doing that with all the various finished expressions is a worthwhile exercise to me, and it seems to constantly improve my palate. In keeping with the theme of constant innovation, the annual Private Edition range was an instant hit with me. Not only is the whisky itself delicious, but it’s exciting to have a new whisky come out yearly that could have any sort of wild tweak to it. Can’t wait to try this year’s! Plus, who doesn’t love giraffes?
What led you to start the Instagram account Scotch.for.everyone, and share your passion for whisky with others in this community?
CB: Scotch.for.everyone started purely out of being a 21/22-year-old scotch drinker at college surrounded by a bunch of other college kids who were crushing Natty lights and calling it good enough. Of course, that’s somewhat of an exaggeration (does anyone like Natty light?), but it illustrates the feeling well. Not many others got fired up discussing the growing NAS trend, or even knew what single malt meant. That passion for whisky needed an outlet, and, for the most part, college just wasn’t the place for it apart from a couple other like-minded nerds. Thus, scotch.for.everyone was born as a way for me to talk whisky with others who were equally as passionate, as well as far more knowledgeable than me. I can’t begin to measure how much I’ve learned from others on Instagram.
The name “scotch.for.everyone” came from a desire not only to showcase scotch in a way everyone could appreciate, but also quite literally to help as many people try the scotch that they wanted to try. I became somewhat disenchanted with accounts that threw up pictures of five unopened bottles worth thousands of dollars each, as I wanted to run an account that would actually review and share mainly attainable bottles. I also wanted to show that scotch is for drinking! Looks good on a shelf, tastes better from a glass. Of course since the account’s inception I’ve gradually added several rare bottles from my favorite distilleries, but generally I try to review bottles that other people are actually drinking themselves as well. And if I came across a very rare bottle, I told myself that I’d do my best to share it with people who were dying to try it. Hence, scotch.for.everyone.
Your posts feature some dynamic visuals. If I am asking man to man, what is your secret for such spectacular yet at the same time simple shots? Is it all about the location or the lighting, maybe the editing or the angles, maybe it’s just the right time right place?
CB: Oh man. This is one aspect of my account that I’d love to improve. I’m not a photographer by any stretch of the imagination, so there’s truly no secret! There are other accounts out there that post pictures whose quality I can only wish to come close to! One goal of the account was to put as much emphasis on the whisky as possible. Only recently have I started using an actual digital camera for pictures. The majority of the pictures were taken with an iPhone as well as in my dorm room. With that being said, my main thought is to get as crisp a shot of the bottle as possible. I tend to gravitate towards a blurred background to keep the bottle the center of attention. Once I start learning more in the photography realm, I may start experimenting a little more with my style. Of course if I’m in a cool spot or know I’ll be somewhere nifty, I’ll make sure to have a bottle along to photograph. To directly answer the question, though, it’s really about the right time and place. In fact, recently, I’ve been racing home from work just to have enough light to snap a shot with this pesky daylight saving time ruining evening photo-ops.
I am sure in your time you have tasted some phenomenal whisky. Are there any that have escaped your grasp that you’re still trying to acquire?
CB: This is a (relatively) easy one for me. I’d love to acquire the Glenmorangie Sonnalta to complete my collection of the Private Edition. I actually got to hold two bottles of it while at the distillery, but I think it might’ve been frowned upon to crack into those… There are all sorts of other whiskies that I’d love to have, mainly the older siblings in various distilleries’ family trees, but the hunt for a Sonnalta is the main focus. The tricky thing with this question is the distinction between “acquire” and “taste.” This is near blasphemous for me to say, but I don’t think the Sonnalta is the whisky I want to actually taste the most. And for that question, I don’t have a solid answer. I would say any unusual bottle from a distillery that wouldn’t typically release a bottle of that specific character.
I think the best solution to this is to dive into the independent bottlers, such as the Single Malt Whisky Society. I’ve seen some crazy good-looking bottles from them, specifically 4.224, which is a 20-year-old Highland Park matured in second-fill Sauternes casks and bottled at cask strength. Getting a unique perspective on familiar distilleries, and a cask-strength perspective at that, is the next step for me. Needless to say, I’ve got to do more research soon!
If you could pass on a message to the ambassadors, and distillers for some of your favorite brands, what would you tell them?
CB: To the distillers, first, I’d say experiment as much as possible! While we all have our favorite bottles we don’t want to see changed, it’s always exciting to try new things! There are certainly the financial constraints and market expectations for distilleries to keep in mind, but innovation in anything is what keeps it fresh. In a booming industry that seems to be seeing a budding interest in the younger generations, I think pushing the boundaries is vital. Secondly, and oh how this is a sticky subject, continue to be or be more transparent! There are distilleries and blenders that do a great job of this (I think we all know who…) and there are distilleries that seem to be having a bit of a trust issue with consumers in the midst of the explosion of NAS. Personally, I don’t care if there’s, say, eight-year-old whisky in a bottle as long as the whisky tastes good. I’m by no means against NAS in most circumstances, but we consumers like to know what we’re getting. Lastly, keep on keepin’ on! We all love whisky, and I can’t wait to see what comes out of the distilleries in 2018.
To ambassadors, I’d mainly say thank you. They provide that personable bridge between product and consumer, and, man, are there some awesome people out there! The amount of energy they spend sharing their passion for and knowledge of whisky is what makes tastings is crazy. If you follow them on Instagram, you see them running a huge tasting in London, and then, bam, they’re getting ready for another one in Atlanta the next day. Talk about an awesome job. From Glenmorangie to Highland Park to Balvenie to people from distilleries closer to home, I’ve had the most incredible experiences with ambassadors. They make the world of scotch that much closer, and for a Florida boy, that’s much appreciated! It’s quite the haul to go to the source.
The Instagram whisky community is very generous when it comes to sending samples, or offering knowledge and support. What do you think is responsible for such a great culture?
CB: Two things. First is the social aspect of whisky’s subjectivity. You don’t get nearly as much out of a dram if you don’t talk about it with other people, in my opinion. Sharing notes and discussing where each flavor or aroma might come from is an indispensable part of enjoying the whisky culture. We all want everyone to get the most out of a whisky as possible. I think when a group of people shares a passion, everyone does their best to help each other out because it really benefits the whole group. Second is a more practical reason, but it really demonstrates the generosity of the community. Not everyone has the same budget (and we all know how much this passion of ours can cost) or access to whisky. I’ll share a story.
My dad’s a bourbon guy. What do all bourbon drinkers want to try in their lifetime? Pappy Van Winkle. I was hoping to surprise my dad with a taste, but there was no way I could afford a bottle even if I found one. I’d seen a certain Instagrammer post a picture of an open bottle they had, so I messaged them asking if by some miracle they’d be willing to share. “Will the 15 work?” was the immediate response I got. I mean how awesome is it that someone would share from a $1,200+ (and that’s conservative. Sigh.) bottle with a complete stranger just because of a shared passion? It’s that kind of desire to see others get to try something new or aid in making a birthday special that makes the community great.
Is there a certain direction you hope to take your Instagram account, and should we look for something special in 2018 and the years to come?
CB: I was actually just having this conversation with a fellow IG’er last weekend. Short answer: more social interaction. (Gee, on social media, what a revelation.) To be completely transparent, I was intensely hesitant early on to reveal anything about my age (huh, how fitting in the whisky industry) because I just didn’t know how seriously I’d be taken, which unavoidably meant no face-time. Man, how wrong I was. No one’s batted an eye, other than the occasional, “That whisky’s older than you!” It just goes to show how great this community is. If you’ve got a passion for whisky, you’re welcomed in right away.
Right, back to the question: more social interaction, more face time, more collaboration, more giveaways, more tastings. Posting textual reviews and commenting back and forth is great, but, back to the social subjectivity thing, nothing beats face-to-face, live conversation, even if that’s over video. Instagram has provided an unbelievable platform to talk whisky with great people all over the world. I’ve started doing video reviews via Instagram stories, and I’ve seen a really encouraging response to that. I did my first live video over the weekend, which was an absolute blast.
I’ll potentially be doing some YouTube stuff, as well, so keep an eye out for that! Next, I’ve actually never been to a formal tasting. I’ve only met a few brand ambassadors and distillers themselves, though those have been rad encounters like mentioned above, so I’m hoping to have posts on tastings and various other whisky-related events coming up. And, as always, scotch is indeed for everyone, so I’ll continue sample trading and giveaways.
Anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
CB: Thanks for having me! Keep exploring. And if you ever find yourself in my neck of the IG woods, shoot me a message and we can geek out together. If you see something you’d like to try, let me know! Whisky trades are possibly the greatest deals in the history of deals. Cheers!
