Q&A With George Keeble, London’s Soho Whisky Club

By Kurt Maitland

While I was in London last year for The Whisky Exchange’s show, I had the distinct pleasure of being a guest at the Soho Whisky Club. I have to say it was one of my favorite bars of my trip: great selection, knowledgeable staff, etc. Basically, it was everything you want in a bar.

I later reached out George Keeble, the manager of Soho Whisky Club, to talk to him about the establishment. Now if you get the chance, you will be well-informed for giving it a visit.

KM: Tell us a bit about yourself.

GK: I started out working in whisky the same way many industry folk do: by loving the stuff! I got into whisky when I was about 18 years old. After some traveling abroad, I found myself living in London and took a part-time job at Soho Whisky Club on its opening day, before progressing to manager. Outside of running the club, I write the occasional article on whisky, sit on the World Whisky Awards judging panel, host corporate and private whisky tasting events and broker whisky casks to investors and collectors. More recently, I passed the General Certificate in Distilling (Cereal) exam at the Institute of Brewing and Distilling, something I think will come in handy at some point in the future… I plan to start the Diploma in 2019.

KM: How did you start the Soho Whisky Club/What inspired its creation?

GK: Alas, SWC is not my brainchild but that of Malcolm Mullin, owner of the Vintage House Whisky Shop, above which the Club is located. The Club was something Malcolm had thought about starting for several years. And after fighting his way through the endless red tape of Westminster City Council, including during a period when the Council announced they weren’t going to allow any new licensed premises, Soho Whisky Club finally flung its doors open in November 2011.

KM: Can you tell our readers how it works?

GK: We’re a private members’ whisky bar. Membership costs £250 per year, which grants access to the bar and invitation to attend dozens of free tastings throughout the year. We have in the region of 700 bottles adorning our walls at any given time, with about half of them being single cask releases – unique to just a few hundred bottles. And with new bottles coming up every week, it’s not hard to agree that variety truly is the spice of life. We also buy entire casks and have them bottled just for us as SWC Exclusives. We also hold monthly cigar tastings on our terrace.

KM: How do you pick the whiskies that are in the bar? You had an amazing selection and when I visited and I wondered who curated it.

GK: That one’s down to me. Being twinned with the whisky shop downstairs means we get the pick of the bunch when it comes to quirky, fun, new and exciting bottles. Working in whisky, it’s important for one to have one’s finger on the whisky news wire at all times, with new releases coming out practically every day.

KM:  What can you tell us about what you offer your members in the way of benefits and special tastings?

GK: The free tastings we offer to our members are brand-sponsored, so we pass the savings on to the members. Last year, we hosted about 50 free tastings. On top of those, we also host ticketed tastings, which include a bottle of whisky for every attendee to take home. The vast majority of our tastings are of course whisky-focused. Though as I’ve learned over the years, those who enjoy good whisky tend to enjoy good spirits in general, as well as being open to good wine, port, sherry, champagne etc., so we also host the non-whisky tastings, such as this Wednesday’s Diplomatico Rum tasting. Though tonight we have a Sherry & Whisky tasting, in which we’ll be sampling three sherries alongside three whiskies. The three whiskies in question have been aged in the respective sherry casks. Every attendee will also be taking home a bottle of sherry. Something a bit different, I’m sure it’ll go down a treat!

KM: What are the hardest things about running the club?

GK: Someone once said to me “The key to a successful career is finding something you love and then finding someone to pay you to do it.” Well, I love teaching people about the wonders of whisky and that’s a very big part of what I do here. Honestly, it’s an easy job and, as one can imagine, incredibly enjoyable.

KM: In an ideal world, what do you want to your members to get from being a part of the Soho Whisky Club.

GK: The opportunity to expand their experience, knowledge, understanding and above all enjoyment of whisky. Whilst a big part of this comes from the tastings we host, it also comes from the very knowledgeable staff we have here. After all, the most common order we get here is simply for the bar tender’s recommendation. I’m sure our members would say we do a pretty fine job!