It’s a premium world for booming whisky …or should that be whiskey?

Bordeaux, June 19, 2017 – Whisky is a world of premium opportunities at Vinexpo Bordeaux 2017, whether your brand is spelled without an ‘e’ (it’s Scotch) or with one. But especially for a new generation of distillers and whiskies with unusual expressions.

With whisk(e)y distilleries working flat out from Japan to Scotland, and new distilleries being built at a fast rate from Ireland to Kentucky, aspiring consumers in regions like Asia and Africa are queuing up to buy the malted spirit.

Scotland, global leader and producer of the world’s largest whisky brands marketed by multinationals such as Diageo and Pernod Ricard, is riding a wave of year-on-year growth. Sales of standard and premium Scotch whisky are poised to reach 87.7 million 9 litre cases by the end of this year. By 2020 they could reach nearly 94 million cases, forecasts Vinexpo data produced for the Bordeaux-based wine and spirit exhibitions group by IWSR.

World sales of all whiskies are bigger still. The new distillers are seeking a slice of this market. And they take as their models the achievements of brands from countries like Japan, Taiwan, India. Ten years ago whiskies from these countries were treated with disdain, said one of the new distillers. Now they are covered in international awards and fetching super-premium prices.

It is no surprise that among the 2,300 exhibitors at Vinexpo Bordeaux whiskey distillers are well represented. The presence of buyers from 150 countries worldwide are their lure to this very international exhibition.

Take Ireland’s Walsh Distillery producing The Irishman range of single malts and a brand called Writers’ Tears which evokes the country’s literary history. Built in 2007 the distillery produces 800,000 bottles at present. A new distillery will open soon with capacity to produce 8.5 million bottles.

Connor Booth, a sales executive for the Irish brands exhibiting at the fair says, “The interest is just so big. Asia and Africa are among the leaders, but the Middle East and Latin America also want to drink whiskey. Our brands are in 45 markets and Irish whiskey is one of the fastest growing in the world.”

Booth adds that the major growth sector is premium brands. This is born out by other exhibitors from around the world who have whiskey ambitions.

Among the most audacious is the plan to build two distilleries in a WW2 bunker on the Garonne river. Called Moon Harbour, a local name for the port at Bordeaux, entrepreneurs Jean-Philippe Bellanger and Yves Medina have invested 3 million euros to make malt whisky using local barley.

They plan to produce 200,000 bottles a year. Their target markers are “countries that like whiskey: France, Belgium, China, Brazil, Taiwan, the USA”. They start production this August, but in the meantime are selling two whiskies made in Scotland. One is finished in red wine casks from a famous chateau, and a third is corn whisky distilled from local maize.

The whisky to emerge from their still later shortly will be premium priced. “We are not interested in making cheap whisky, says M. Bellanger. “It must be good quality – and it must be fun or we don’t do it.”

The question remains, why is the world so interested in Premium whisk(e)y?

Mark Newton, MD of Whyte and McKay Private labels says; “Two words say why: craft and authenticity. That is what younger drinkers seek. They also want malt whisky. But let’s not forget that 90% of Scotch whisky global sales are for blends and standard brands.”

Scotch whisky is the beginning for many of the new whiskies. Black Mountain, a range of three Scotch blends, is aged in Armagnac barrels. Black Mountain has already won three international awards.  Co-founder Laure Maurin says that next year they plan to open a distillery in France.

The new distillers are clearly innovative. For example, age statements are the industry marks of premium quality. That might be about to change according to Earl Hewlette of Terressentia. Owner of O Z Tyler Bourbon from Kentucky.

Earl has patented an ageing process that has reduced the time spirit spent in barrel – during which the spirit refines and becomes less harsh- to as little as six months. The cost saving is huge. In January he relaunches O Z Tyler as a Bourbon aged using the Terrapure system. On the bottle Terrapure commands as much space as the name. It has the potential to shake-up whisky production radically.

In the meantime, the new distillers are a niche suppler of a niche market. Aspiring and high net wealth drinkers in other parts of the world still associate Scotland with whisky.

“This morning we met a buyer from Azerbaijan who wanted 12, 15 and 18 year-old Scotch whiskies for high income folk,” says Graham Taylor, MD of Glasgow Whisky, a bulk supplier. “The Ukraine is doing well too. The market is buoyant. Our Strathalan blend does well in supermarkets where people associate Scotch whisky with quality.”

For more information visit vinexpo.com