Name: Daniel Humphrey
Company: Summerton Whisky Club
Job: Founder
Website: summertonclub.com

How long have you been working in the whisky industry?
Summerton Whisky Club launched in 2018. Although there were two years of research before then, that was when I officially joined the whisky industry.

What has been your biggest career highlight to date?
Picking just one is difficult. My first bottling, running Europe’s first full-scale virtual whisky festival, and the first time one of the old guard of Scotch distilleries wanted to supply a Summerton Club bottle were all highlights.

But if I had to choose just one, it would be the first couple of years of running Summerton Whisky Club. There was a community of people all learning together: reviewers, creators, makers, brand ambassadors, marketeers, retailers and many more. There was such a great spirit of togetherness, with people supporting one another, helping each other and wanting everyone to succeed. It made the whisky industry the place we all wanted to be.

During that time, I made so many friends who will be with me for life. It’s not just a career highlight; it’s a life highlight. It’s also been great to watch that community progress in the whisky world. While some have moved on, many are now deeply involved in the industry, doing things they enjoy and are great at. Most importantly, everyone is still there to support others. It’s a beautiful thing to feel part of.

Can you remember your first dram, and indeed what it was?
My first whiskey experience was Jack Daniel’s and Coke as a teenager. I still remember the first time I moved on to Bulleit at Fabric in London because they didn’t have JD. That’s when I started to realise there was so much more to whiskey.

My first Scotch was Auchentoshan Three Wood. My best friend’s brother was a Scotch drinker, and I bought him a bottle that he shared with me. I didn’t like it, and it held back my progression into Scotch for a number of years. During that time, I continued to explore bourbon and rum.

It was Monkey Shoulder that got me to cross over into Scotch, and I haven’t looked back since… although one roller hockey tournament in Spain would probably have preferred it if I’d started a little later.

What does whisky mean to you?
For me, whisky is best enjoyed as a shared experience. It’s part of my memories with friends, whether travelling or at home, celebrating or having a quiet chat, and it helps bring those memories back.

Whisky is more than a drink. It has been part of making so many new friends, as well as creating shared memories with old ones. A bottle can often be an aide-mémoire. This is something I hope I’m sharing with our club members.

Where would you like to see yourself in five years’ time?
The simple answer is still running Summerton Whisky Club, with an amazing community of members at the heart of everything we do.

The longer answer is that I have a number of plans for the future of the club, building out our ecosystem and sharing more with our members. We’re producing more of our own bottlings for the club shop and improving the club experience for members. I also have some ideas for bringing my background in the food industry into what we do, alongside more events, club clothing and, hopefully, continuing to enjoy it as much as I do now.

What was your last dram?
I’m always tasting, discovering new things and learning how our casks are progressing. My last dram would have been a Glen Garioch cask sample. It’s a distillery I’d love to feature as a club bottle. So far, I haven’t been able to get the brand team to talk to me, so I’ve been exploring whether I can buy some casks for us to bottle in the future. The cask sample was delicious and I really hope I can share it with the Club at some point.

Do you have a favourite whisky and food pairing combination?
I’ve had so many happy nights with friends at the St Albans Whisky Club, where cheese is always brought out during the evening. As whisky is all about shared experiences, cheese will always be my go-to food pairing because it’s part of so many happy memories.

What’s your favourite time and place to enjoy a dram?
Always with friends. That’s the most important thing; the rest just follows.

What do you think is going to be the next big thing on the whisky horizon?
Whisky is becoming affordable for drinkers again. We’ve had a few years of prices moving further and further out of reach for fans, which has changed what we drink and how we drink it. The economic slowdown is forcing brands to start talking to us again. We’re the foundation that keeps things ticking over, something many have forgotten in recent times.

Unfortunately, that also means we’re going through a period in which we’ll lose some staples of the whisky world. Independent bottlers were the first to go, but, gradually, we’ll see distilleries being impacted too. Familiar brands and faces will be lost and it will hurt. Much of the fun we enjoyed during the good times has dissipated, but that’s a necessary part of ensuring as many as possible get through this period. It’s always important to remember, though, that whisky is a cyclical industry, so better times lie ahead.

What’s the one dram you couldn’t live without?
Bain’s. Simple, affordable and great on a hot day. It’s a bottle packed with so many memories for me, particularly from the early days of the club. It’s such an interesting distillery and a brand I’ve tried to bring on board for the club a number of times, but I’ve never been able to make it work.

Many thanks to Daniel Humphrey. Who will be our next Whisky Insider? Click back soon to find out!