Whisky, Gender, and Language

Is whisky a man's drink? I should think so. That's not to say it can't be woman's as well. And yet, when I saw a post on Laphroaig's website concerning the language the distillery uses to market its whisky I was struck by the commentor's sentiments regarding the gender of whisky drinkers.

The female whiskyfan exclaims,
"Women enjoy whisky too! The language in the pamphlet really needs to be updated. '...we tend to think that malt whisky is every man's business and also very much his own.' Aside from that...really enjoying this delicious single malt. "

I was torn between two points of view. On one hand, whisky can and ought to be enjoyed by women who may otherwise shy away from it because it's considered a "masculine" beverage. On the other hand, it is. Furthermore, as a person who relishes the subtleties of English I shudder when, for the sake of political correctness or gender neutrality, common sense is discarded and replaced by "he and she" or some other kind of pluralized forward/slashed pronoun.

Two men replied to her, and were in agreed that "men" was gender neutral and that British people are not "overly concerned by PC."

I appreciated their inclusivity of women. I replied, "Exactly. There is no need to skew the phrasing if the meaning remains intact. A good example of why gender neutrality should be taken from context: Jacques Cousteau's brilliant ultimatum, 'When one man, for whatever reason, has the opportunity to lead an extraordinary life, he has no right to keep it to himself.' This quotation appeals to the idealism in all of us, and celebrates the potential of the individual regardless of sex. "

But what about whisky?

I continued, "Some things are, and some things are not. Scotch is an inherently masculine thing. That does not prevent women from enjoying it to the fullest degree. Poetry, for example, has a feminine quality, and the great majority of poets I know of are men. Things deserve to be gendered. Words and languages themselves should have a gender, in some sense. And any Scotch lover knows that for a thing to be truly good, it must strike a unique balance between light and dark, bitter and sweet. The beauty of anything of substance is a result of the marriage of these contrasting elements, some masculine, some feminine."

I don't know if this made any impression on the woman who posted, but I thank her for bringing up the point. For me, it reminded me that whisky is full of potential energy. The raw spirit gives to and takes from wood to produce aged spirit. For the sake of taste, some whiskies are blended to create myriad styles and appeal to a wider variety of consumers. A single bottle brings men and women together, and from that blossoms conversations, realtionships, new ideas, and memories. "... whisky is ever man's business..."

So, if I may, allow me to settle this once and for all. While I personally concede that Laphroaig is marketing to a male, the language can't be updated without losing the essence of the message. Try replacing man with woman, or his own with his-or-her own. It all gets fouled up. We know women enjoy whisky. So ladies, start drinking more of it and the language we use to talk about it will naturally evolve to reflect your presence as whisky enthusiasts.