Best of CASE District V Award
 

Institution: Miami University

Title of entry: Charter Day Tasting

About this entry: Miami's Charter Day bourbon tasting is an annual tradition that celebrates our school's founding in a fun, entertaining way. The goal is to engage alumni, wherever they are, by reminding them of a school tradition and giving them a reason to gather and celebrate.

The first key for us was to build a regular webinar program that gives us the expertise to run live events smoothly and includes a regular email marketing campaign to attract viewers. Next is ensuring key talent. We are very lucky to be able to combine our two favorite types of experts for this event: faculty and alumni. Phil Kollin is a Miami grad who is a professional bourbon host, and we pair him with a chemistry professor, Mike Crowder, whose lab on campus specializes in analyzing distilled spirits.

This event is popular each year. The 2025 version had 154 people register to watch live, 102 show up to view it live, 1034 total archived views, and an average Net Promoter Score of 9.31/10. These are mostly people connecting to Miami who couldn't otherwise because of proximity to campus. Of the 154 that registered, 8 specifically requested more information about giving.

"Charter Day Tasting - The Best American Whiskeys to Try in 2025" was a popular way to keep Miami and our traditions close to our alumni and friends.