Q&A With Emily Ross-Johnson of The Astoria Whiskey Society

A Casual Chat With The Founder Of One Of New York’s Busiest Whiskey Clubs

By Kurt Maitland

“It’s pretty simple, every month Astoria whiskey enthusiasts get together to enjoy some fine spirits, good conversation and neighborhood pride in a casual and laid-back environment.”

That is the credo of the Astoria Whiskey Society. I’ve run into Emily at many an event in NYC and I figured it was long past time we sat down and talked about the whiskey society she created and how she got into whiskey in the first place.

KM: So how did you get started in whiskey and cocktails? 

ERJ: I got excited about whiskey in college after I had my first whiskey, which happened to be a single malt, Oban 14. After that, working in finance I was surrounded by people that drank whisky frequently so I got to learn more and more about that particular spirit. It seemed like a natural progression that I would become interested in cocktails as the rebirth of the “classic cocktail” scene was happening here in NYC a few years ago. Ever since I had my first Queens Park Swizzle at Milk and Honey, I was hooked!

KM: How did you leap from there to founding the Astoria Whiskey Society?

ERJ:  After I started getting more interested in whiskey, I took several whisky classes to learn more. I found them to be informative but quite costly. With these classes being so expensive at some of the bigger venues in Manhattan, I decided to start the society in Astoria for several reasons: 1) to offer a more economical way for people to learn more about whiskey, and 2) for people in my neighborhood to experience more varieties and brands of whiskey that they might not otherwise have the opportunity to enjoy.

KM: What makes Astoria a good base for your whiskey society? 

ERJ: Astoria is great because it’s so diverse. You have an opportunity to reach a lot of very different people. With whiskey, sometimes I find that a lot of brands focus their outreach efforts more on well-to-do white males. That is rarely our demographic in Astoria. We have a large female contingent to our core membership, over half our core members are women, which is awesome!

KM: What has been the best part of running the Astoria Whiskey Society? 

ERJ: The best part of running the AWS is getting to know so many people in my community. I enjoy talking with them at every tasting and getting to know them. It’s great to see so many returning guests, but I love seeing new faces that in turn invite more friends to join us. It’s a great community of people all seeking more knowledge, which is wonderful.

KM: So I know you are a big fan of cocktails –  How do you go about picking whiskies that you want to use for cocktails? 

ERJ: Because I reach out to specific brands each month, the whiskies I choose to work with in cocktails are always part of the brand’s portfolio that they bring for our tasting. That way people in the group can see not only how delicious they are on their own, but also how to use them in cocktails. I always put together a recipe card for each of our featured cocktails for our events so that our members can learn how to make them and enjoy them at home. Because whiskey isn’t just for sipping, and cocktails are part of the whisky education that I’m trying to bring to our members.

KM: How do you go about picking your events? 

ERJ: A lot of it has to do with brand availability. We also tend to program our events with more world whiskies during the winter and primarily American whiskies during the summer. It’s just something we see our members respond to better. People associate Scotches and Irish whiskies as more of a winter thing and Bourbons and the like more for warmer months. Personally I’ll drink a Scotch whenever I feel like it, but for many people that doesn’t appeal to them when the weather is hot.

KM: As it is early in the year, what events do your members have to look forward to? 

ERJ: We have some exciting events coming up this year. Our February event coming up next week on Feb 3rd will feature Diageo and their smoky Islay Scotches. March is still in the works, but will likely be an Irish whisky event with some of the lesser known Irish whiskies, which will be fun. Stay tuned for more #dramgoodtimes with the AWS.