A whisky rep with over a decade of experience in the industry has plans to start a new LGBTQ+ whisky club for the trade in an attempt to make the drink more welcoming to a broader demographic of people.
Luke Fenton, channel lead at CVH Spirits, the company behind Bunnahabhain, Tobermory and Deanston distilleries, is now heading the LGBTQ+ network at CVH as well as working with the company’s HR team to provide advice on how the business can be a more inclusive place to work.
And he reckoned there is work to be done to make whisky more accessible to trade and consumers alike.
He said whisky is still working to shed the ‘wing-backed chair by a fire with a rocks glass’ image that has been cultivated over decades, and which can be alienating to newcomers.
While the spirit’s traditional audience will always remain important to the industry, Luke argued that expanding its appeal to a broader demographic can only be good for the sector.
He said: “You’re asking people to part with quite a bit of money sometimes on the whisky front. And the pink pound is not a myth. It’s genuine. You have lots of people who are very career-driven, usually don’t have kids. Not to say that some don’t, but they have disposable income, and they’re looking for luxury goods to purchase.
“There’s an element of ‘I don’t want to purchase that, it’s an old man’s drink’.
“We want it to be trendy. We want it to be something you actively seek out on a night out, or to drink at home or to share with your friends.
“And the story element for me is so hugely important because within the LGBTQ+ community everyone’s got a story, and some of them are not great. So offering them an alternative on the whisky front is definitely an element I want to look at.”
With the aim of establishing a friendly and inclusive atmosphere for enjoying and learning more about whisky, Luke is planning to launch an LGBTQ+ whisky club, initially for people in the trade, which would meet quarterly to sample and discuss whisky.
As the club would be organised by Luke himself rather than by CVH, he said he would be keen for other drinks companies to participate, with the club open to any bar staff or owners that were interested.
The club would initially meet in Glasgow. The goal, he said, is ‘just to get more people involved in whisky in an inclusive environment’.
“And not just inclusive on the LGBTQ+-friendly side,” he said. “Inclusive on the whisky front – don’t make whisky intimidating. Make it accessible, fun, friendly, all that sort of stuff.
“I think that’s what the industry would benefit from right now – some positivity.”
In his role as head of CVH’s LGBTQ+ network Luke has been having regular conversations with LGBTQ+ staff members to make sure they feel supported as well advising the HR team on guidance for the company.
This can include advice as simple as adopting more neutral terminology, such as asking new contacts/colleagues if they have a partner, rather than a wife or girlfriend.
It’s something that he says is sorely needed in the industry, even in 2026.
“I can give a sales person’s angle, particularly from my own personal experience: you don’t stop coming out,” he told SLTN.
“Because you’re meeting new people all the time. You’re meeting customers. You’re meeting suppliers. You’re meeting people that work within the industry. And it’s never ‘have you got a partner’. It’s always ‘have you got a girlfriend or a wife’. It’s just something you have to consciously come out about sometimes.
“Particularly when you’re dealing with customers – someone you need to do business with. They might have personal views.”
And he argued that making drinks companies more inclusive places will be better in the long-term for those businesses, and for the industry overall.
“The wider your base for trying to recruit people into the business, the larger the pool of skills is going to be,” he said.
“And the more people you have available to you the better chances you have of recruiting someone that’s very effective and good for the business.
“Diversity is good. Diversity almost feels in some circles that it’s become a bit of a swearword recently. But there’s a reason we do it – it’s to give everyone an equal opportunity so that you can further your business.”
You can find out more about the whisky club by emailing Luke directly at Luke.Fenton@CVHSpirits.Com
