A longtime friend, an evolving pastime, and the COVID-19 lockdown led to the fast-growing Southwest Florida Bourbon Society. Sean Farrell, a Naples attorney who lives in Fort Myers, founded a social media group with a simple goal: to serve as “an information hub where you could find out about bourbon events,” he says. It was a group of like-minded individuals trying to learn more, find tasting information, and share experiences. “It was fun to create a Facebook group,” he says, “then it turned into this crazy thing we have now.”
Shortly before the pandemic, Farrell visited an old buddy who had just opened a distillery. “I was always an occasional whiskey drinker, but this put the bug in me,” he says. When the country shut down for the pandemic in March 2020, Farrell’s wife and daughter were stranded in Hawaii and Farrell was on his own. He passed the time on video chats among fellow isolated bourbon lovers. “We were practicing social distancing, so we’d leave whiskeys on everyone’s doorsteps and then we’d all get online,” he says.
Part of bourbon’s appeal, Farrell believes, is “the mystery and intrigue. It’s an American product, and there’s all the romanticism of the whiskey-making history and process.” Five years after its founding, the private Facebook group has more than 4,900 members. Some live outside the area, some are snowbirds, and not all are active, but plenty remain.
The group has had the good fortune to be offered whole barrels from accomplished distillers, starting with Elijah Craig in April 2021. “We picked the first barrel,” Farrell says. “A group of four of us went to Kentucky, made the selection, and then sold 165 bottles. We sold out in 30 minutes.” Some 75 barrels from various distinguished distillers have followed.
Society members do more than sample whiskey—they also contribute to local charities. They raised $10,000 last fall with a second annual charity golf tournament. Funds aided those in need, including people with autism and children grieving a parent’s death. All bourbon aficionados are welcome to join the group on Facebook, Instagram, and Discord, as well as attend group events. “The fun part is it pushes away politics and backgrounds and brings people together,” Farrell says. “You make new friends.”
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