Tay right on your doorstep. Are there any other local businesses in the
area you want to shine a light on for visitors?
Of course! We’re really
lucky in Dunkeld to have so many independent shops, pubs and cafes on our
doorstep. Too many to mention them all! We’re regulars at the Perth Arms
right across from our shop, Redwood Wines and Aran Bakery.
We love your Instagram account; do you have any tips for other
retailers to keep their customers engaged online?
Thanks! We just do our
own thing and keep our social media as authentic to DWB as possible. It’s a
great tool for reaching people and it’s worth putting time into engaging with
messages and comments etc.
Have you got any advice you would like to share with entrepreneurs
entering the alcohol retail sector?
When we started developing our ideas
for DWB, we spoke to some lovely people who had already been there.
Getting advice from potential suppliers and other retailers helped a lot. The
biggest learning point for us was the licensing process and the length of time
taken for vital paperwork to come through.
Do you attend industry events or tastings? If so which two, would
you recommend?
We don’t have a lot of spare time to attend events
unfortunately. There’s only 3 of us that work in the shop, and Helen and I
have a small child so there’s not a lot of free time for whisky events. We did
go to the Whisky Fringe in Edinburgh in August, which was great fun and
we’re hoping to get to the Fife Whisky Festival next year.
What are your top three whiskies, (excluding GlenWyvis)?
Today,
Helen says Old Pultney 15 Year Old, Will says Kilchoman and Alan says
Springbank 15 Year Old. But to be honest, this changes all the time
depending on the time of year, what we’re eating, where we are, who we are
with etc. That’s the great thing about whisky- there’s a favourite for every
occasion!
Have you had a memorable tasting? If so, where was it and what
made it memorable?
Probably our first zoom tasting at the start of
lockdown- we’d never done anything like that before so had no idea if people
would want to do it, if the tech would work or if it would be an enjoyable
experience! Turns out it was a hit, and we ended up doing nearly 70 zoom
tastings throughout covid restrictions.
We like your drop in drams themed tasting board. Do you think this
encourages your customers to try something different before they make
a purchase?
Yes, definitely and that’s why we offer whiskies by the dram
during shop hours. We try to offer whiskies that are interesting at a decent
price. We also try to open those bottles that are sometimes a bit tricky to
come across to buy, let alone taste. We get a lot of people in the shop who
are new to whisky and those who are enthusiasts, and everyone in between
so it’s important to us that customers can pop in and try something new. We
change the board regularly too. We’ve got a tasting special coming up for our
local Dunkeld and Birnam Unplugged Festival (climate change awareness
week) which will highlight distilleries at the forefront of sustainability in the
industry.
Do you think your profession changes how you drink whisky, or
would you say it deepens your appreciation for it?
We’re lucky that it’s
part of our job to taste whisky! We probably do spend more time than the
average person discussing tasting notes.
Do you follow any industry bloggers or social media accounts that you would like to share?
We keep an eye across the board to be honest. We have some lovely repeat customers who are pretty active on Instagram
but we don’t have favourites!
Do you have a favourite whisky bar?
Yes- The Diggers (also known as
Athletic Arms) in Edinburgh. Helen and I used to live a 5 minute walk from
there so it was our local. We try and go back whenever we’re in Edinburgh, partly for nostalgia and partly because of their incredible selection of whiskies
by the dram at extremely fair prices. Toasties are still only a couple of quid
too.
To keep up with the latest from Dunkeld Whisky Box visit their website, Facebook page and Instagram account.
