Blair Bowman sells World Whisky Day
The creator of World Whisky Day has sold the concept to luxury drinks title Hot Rum Cow to “explore other career opportunities”.
Blair Bowman (left) launched World Whisky Day in 2012, but has now sold the concept to Hot Rum Cow, under the guidance of publisher Fraser Allen (right)Blair Bowman, who founded World Whisky Day in 2012 as part of a university project, achieved global fame with the event which shone a light on whisky from all corners of the earth for 24 hours during May.
The event in 2014 saw 250,000 people participate in whisky-themed events in over 40 countries, and the concept now has 12,000 Twitter followers and 16,000 Facebook likes.
Bowman will continue to support World Whisky Day as a consultant.
He said: “I am delighted that the team at Hot Rum Cow are going to grow and develop World Whisky Day. I have no doubt that they will keep the flame alive and the legacy shall continue long into the future.
“Having created World Whisky Day from scratch on my own and built it up over three years this is the perfect next chapter. I am very excited about what the future holds.”
Hot Rum Cow, a consumer-facing drinks magazine, will simply “keep momentum alive” for the event on 16 May 2015, but intends to fully re-launch the concept come 2016.
Fraser Allen, publisher of Hot Rum Cow, which is owned by Edinburgh’s White Light Media, said: “Given the short time scales, we have to be pragmatic about this year. Therefore, the emphasis for 2015 will be very much on keeping momentum alive by promoting celebrations of whisky across the globe via social media in the same way that Blair began the event in 2012.
“To be able to take the event on and develop it in fresh directions whilst staying true to Blair’s founding principles is very exciting. Hot Rum Cow is all about celebrating and enjoying great drinks without pretension, which is very much the ethos behind World Whisky Day. Together we can take on the world and promote the wonders of good whisky and the stories behind an extraordinary drink.”
Bowman founded World Whisky Day while studying at the University of Aberdeen.
