Wine: ‘A favourite Chinese tipple is whisky with cold, sweet green tea on the rocks’

By Brian Elliott
Published on Tuesday 17 January 2012 00:00

UK economic recovery is believed to depend on our success in increasing sales around the world, so Scotch whisky – with exports topping £3 billion and rising – could prove a useful case study.

The oldest family-owned distiller, William Grant & Sons, certainly think so. It commissioned the Insight Connection to create a World Whisky Map, providing a detailed global picture of the industry. Findings showed a good deal of whisky’s popularity, especially in emerging economies, has social origins.

Advertisers of upmarket goods in these counties often include whisky as a style statement. Those same markets are increasingly interested in rarer and more mature whiskies, much as China values top wines like claret for prestigious commercial gifts. Indeed, China has now given the name ‘Scotch whisky’ official protection to ward off imitators.

Social fads are, however, only part of the story because whisky’s impact on the tastebuds is also a factor – with oaked and matured versions very much in demand. Brian Kinsman, master blender at Grants, senses this is part of a world shift towards sweeter drinks, and the casks used in maturation can play a part there. Those previously used for bourbon can imbue their content with crème brûlée and vanilla flavours, while former sherry casks often deliver firm hints of spice and dried fruit.

The demand for a wider spectrum of flavours – and whisky’s ability to meet it – may help explain why the value of its exports to traditional vodka countries such as Poland and Russia is currently showing an annual growth of 25 to 30 per cent.

Taste, in a much broader sense, forms another part of the equation when you consider the mixers added to whisky in different parts of the world. Brazilians, for example, often top it up with energy drinks or serve it long with coconut water, while a favourite Chinese tipple is whisky with cold, sweet green tea on the rocks. The Anglo Saxon world is rather less radical, with South Africans very fond of whisky-based cocktails and Australia going a step further by selling it ready-mixed. Cocktails are important in the US too, although there is also a social dimension when TV series like Mad Men refer approvingly to whisky. Clearly, there is plenty of scope to go beyond our traditional mixer of 50 per cent water as one way to expand the home market.

Global trends can also be useful pointers when you consider who drinks whisky rather than how they drink it. Certainly, the UK seems seriously out of step with the rest of the world, with women representing only a third of the nation’s whisky drinkers. In countries such as France and Russia, the comparable figures are around 50:50, with the growth in emergent areas like Latin America and the Far East often being led by women. The age profile also varies. Taiwan, for example, has a significant number of whisky drinkers over 55, while next door, in China, a staggering 60 per cent are under 35. Somewhere between those extremes come France and Russia, with the majority of whisky drinkers in both countries being under 45. In Britain, the average age is a sedate 48.

Even allowing for its inevitable single-distiller orientation, not only does Grant’s World Whisky Map illustrate how well whisky fits into almost any local drinks landscape, it also shows how capitalising on its sophisticated international image has translated that into substantial sales growth. The research goes on to suggest how the sweeter parts of whisky’s diverse flavour range may help to draw in new consumers – although other distillers may have a different story to tell.

2011 Waitrose Sauvignon Blanc Viña Valdivieso, Aconcagua Valley, Chile, 12.5 per cent

Clean, fresh sauvignon blanc from hand-harvested grapes that delivers balanced acidity and Marlborough-style grassy, gooseberry flavours. £5.75 (down from £7.69 until 24 January), Waitrose

2009 Kiwi House Merlot Hawkes Bay, New Zealand, 12.5 per cent

A very fresh and lively North Island red with ripe black cherry fruit and touches of mint that develops into a damson and cinnamon finish. Terrific wine. £9.99, Lockett Bros, North Berwick

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