A Close Look at the Ridiculously Sweet Trans Whiskey Commercial

Listen, this viral whiskey ad may be old-ish, at least in terms of the internet, but it’s significant for a few reasons:

  1. The company that made it apparently has a history of supporting LGBTQ initiatives (hey, support AS!),
  2. It came out for the holigays of 2022 after a year of devastating anti-LGBTQ and anti-trans legislation in the US and around the world, and
  3. It made everyone on the Autostraddle team cry when they saw it.

Okay so first, before we get to the analysis, go watch the ad!

It’s also, being a largely wordless advert, up to some interpretation. I feel like it can go one of two ways. For one, there is the idea that the grandpa, aware his grandkid will be arriving, sets out on a quest to ensure that his trans grandchild will be welcome and accepted. In this interpretation, obviously, the grandfather has heard anything from a whisper to something more explicit through the family grapevine about the trans grandchild. So, he sets out on a quest to learn the ways of femme makeup and presentation. When his grandkid arrives for a holiday family gathering, a beautiful warm dinner with a table set with candles and plenty of food, he beckons the grandkid into a bathroom where he helps the grandkid to do their makeup. You might think, then, that this grandfather has been practicing, all this time, after all, not because he is trans himself, but because he wanted to show his grandkid love and acceptance. It is an important moment, in either interpretation, when the patriarch of the family emerges with the grandkid and stands with them (or maybe her?) in front of the family, in full support. In the parents’ eyes, I don’t see understanding for the first time, but relief and love, because they know. They know their kid is trans, but now they know the whole family stands with their kid. Now, everyone can have a beautiful holiday.

In the other interpretation, it is not just an altruistic act, but one of seeking connection. In this version, the grandparent is transfem and is learning to apply makeup not just so she can be a supportive grandparent to her grandkid, but for herself. There are many small choices that support this, from the minute acting decisions where the expressions of the actor show a poignant longing, disappointment at less practiced lipstick application and deep satisfaction at more adept application of eye shadow. Then, there is the final moment, when the grandparent(transparent?) is applying makeup to her grandkid and you realize that there is just a touch of glitter on her eyelids. Perhaps she is not quite ready to shine, but she’ll allow herself a little sparkle while she supports her grandkid.

And that’s important, too, and something that I very much feel as a queer person in my thirties sometimes, that as an older person, maybe you are more tired, more set in your ways, but that doesn’t mean you can’t clear the heck out of a path, and support the heck out of queer and trans youth. Maybe the grandparent wants to take her time exploring her gender identity, but she is ready to support her grandkid who is ready, and the complexity in this representation, if this is the intent, is a really beautiful sentiment.

A close-up of the grandparent from the trans whiskey ad with glitter

And, because I paused, because I think I saw the glitter, I am willing to believe that’s the real message, that this is a commercial, of all things, about inter-generational, intra-familial queer and trans connection, in 2022, in a hostile political environment for trans people, just ahead of when family will be coming together for the holidays. It’s made by a company, a commercial entity, but in a world where just anyone might see this ad on TV, I’ll take it.

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Nico

Nico Hall is a Team Writer for Autostraddle (formerly Autostraddle's A+ and Fundraising Director and For Them's Membership and Editorial Ops person.) They write nonfiction both creative — and the more straightforward variety, too, as well as fiction. They are currently at work on a secret longform project. Nico is also haunted. You can find them on Twitter and Instagram. Here's their website, too.

Nico has written 238 articles for us.

39 Comments

  3. awh, thank for for sharing this. i had not seen the ad and am not used to things making me teary, but this did and i’m impressed. so sweet. would love to see more of this expression hence less repression in the world! and now i think i’ll have j&b at the mixer i am attending tonight! lol, they should support autostraddle❣️

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  7. The thing that bothers me the most about the commercial is their need to include the young woman’s age. It is as if once we know she is not a minor, no one will accuse the grandpa of “corrupting” a minor. To me that’s an indication that trans kids still have a long way to go before they are accepted.

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  8. I’m not crying, you’re crying! I also support the second interpretation, because of the way that the grandparent looks at herself in the mirror, and the longing gaze towards herself in that image, and also the pride but also sadness in the end? It’s such a layered story for a commercial!

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  9. I don’t ever remember seeing an advert that touched me so deeply.
    I came out as queer to my children two months ago when I separated from my partner (rest of family don’t know, that’s work for next year). I’m not able to stay in the family home because of my partner, mother in law and one son’s wishes.
    My other child has come out to me as trans in the last few weeks, nobody else. I can’t imagine the family in the advert ever being right now but I love its beauty and hope.
    It will be no surprise that I see the grandparent wanting with all his heart to be there for his grandchild, not only because of love, but also the deep desire that it will be different for them in a way it hasn’t been possible for themself.
    I also see a glint of hope in that glitter…

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  10. Beautifully story and like a little film. A gem! Thank you for sharing it, never saw it before. I totally thought the grandparent was trans based on so many moments of real feeling they expressed. I don’t think it would have been so deep if it was only for helping the grandchild. Also, there was secrecy, which wouldn’t have been necessary if it was purely altruistic. Sequel!

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  11. awww i wouldn’t have seen this! cryingnnnnnnggggg. def love the possibility & ambiguity for the grandparent!!!! and i need to buy whiskey for recipes, so HEY IT WORKED J&B, give AS some $$$$!!!!

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  14. I don’t always feel like a unicorn around here, but then—

    “I very much feel as a queer person in my thirties sometimes, that as an older person…”

    —sometimes my almost-61 year old bad self wants to crawl through the screen and throttle a punk! [Bah Humbug! 🤬]

    P.S. It’s a very nice commercial.

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    • Hah, sending some elder solidarity. As in, I’ve been clearing this path for forty years, any fatigue is earned.

      It looks like that ad was set in Spain; if so, those grandparents grew up under Franco.

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  15. The fact that this is being shown in Spain, where the anti-trans discourse has been given so much time and visibility the last couple of years makes it even more important, I think. Good to know that the brand has a history of support to back it up.

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