The discussion, using the #WBOT (WhiskyBrother Online Tasting) was an enormous success, and saw high levels of positive, authentic engagement with online whisky pros and novices alike.

The WBOT was planned and driven by Pendlebury, and involved 10 Johannesburg-based participants. These Twitter users - including notable online personalities such as Kojo Baffoe, Amanda Sevasti and Mark Hughes - each hold varying degrees of both whisky knowledge and online influence. “The activity was entirely brand-independent, which is also unusual for online tastings of this nature that are normally sponsored by a particular label or distillery,” explains Pendlebury. “The three different whiskies selected for the tasting, as well as the fourth ‘mystery dram’, were chosen based on their merits and interesting features as opposed to promoting a particular brand.”

Pendlebury continues to explain that the purpose of the WBOT was to encourage unbiased, engaging and interesting conversations and reviews, rather than as part of a marketing strategy. On the effectiveness of holding a tasting in a format like this, Pendlebury remarks that there are certainly more advantages to using Twitter as a communication tool. “When you hold a traditional tasting in person, only the people in the room have access to the whiskies and the discussion,” he says. “However, while only some people received the sample packs for the online tasting, many other spectators were able to taste their own sourced whiskies, as well as follow and participate in the discussion, which allowed us to reach a much wider interested audience. We had really positive feedback from our chosen participants and a wide range of casual viewers as well.”

Not only is an online tasting more engaging than its traditional counterpart, it also allows for more varied interaction. “I often find, when holding a tasting with a group, that one or two of the more confident attendees tend to speak up the most - which is a great thing, but can often dominate the conversation - while the more timid or novice tasters can sometimes hold back,” explains Pendlebury. “In an online format, we found people tend to be less reserved, and many more were confident in sharing their thoughts.”

Each of the ten chosen participants received a tasting pack - hand-crafted by Pendlebury himself – containing the chosen whiskies in 50ml numbered samples, as well as an introduction letter and brief step-by-step for the tasting itself. The first ever South African WBOT officially kicked off at 19:30 on Wednesday, 16 April, with WhiskyBrother leading the conversation using the #WBOT. Each whisky sample was introduced by WhiskyBrother with some information and facts on each bottle, such as a map of the region that each whisky originates from tested and discussed, inviting members to give their thoughts on the nose, palate and finish. “I made sure to encourage my invitees to be as geeky and inquisitive as they wanted, and we were able to have a hugely valuable, insightful and authentic discussion, albeit fairly fast-paced,” says Pendlebury. “In fact, we’ve received an enormous number of requests to participate since our flagship WBOT, and we’re now planning to run this as a quarterly activity, with plans to expand our reach country-wide in the near future.”

While this new take on the traditional idea of holding a whisky tasting is indeed a look into the future of engaging with customers online, this project is by no means new territory for the WhiskyBrother brand, which was originally born as a Twitter handle, and grew in popularity into the successful mix of physical and digital elements that it is made up of today. While the WhiskyBrother brand has always had strong support within the online whisky community, the resulting 38 000 accounts reached and 138 000 impressions from the WBOT certainly present a powerful marketing tool.

However, Pendlebury sees this more as a bonus than a core driving reason. “The main aim was to get people talking about whisky and to facilitating the start of conversations and introductions between people with similar interests,” continues Pendlebury. “We saw many fantastic new connections being made, and the growth of organic conversation and relationships within the whisky community, which was enormously gratifying. At the end of the day, what we really wanted to do was try something new and have a bit of fun – and we happily achieved that,” he concludes.

To find out more, follow @WhiskyBroShop on Twitter, visit www.whiskybrother.com, or visit Marc Pendlebury in person at his unique Hyde Park Corner speciality store, WhiskyBrother.