Whisky Business

Scottish Spirits – It’s Getting Strange

January 28, 2011

Inspired by last week’s Scottish Spirits news about whisky in cans I was venturing around the nether regions of the whisky industry with the help of my favourite search engine. I came across an interesting company

Diageo’s Classic Malts – Taken Hostage by Johnnie Walker?

January 23, 2011
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For a whisky blogger these days there are few things as convenient as joining the Diageo bashing game. But it often gets forgotten that many of their distilleries make a bloody good whisky!

SWA Response to Scottish Spirits Ltd.

January 21, 2011
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Not much to my suprise the recent news about Scottish Spirits Ltd. launching whisky in cans created quite a bit of publicity. Dozens of search engine queries found my article about the company.

Scottish Spirits – Scotch Or No Scotch?

January 18, 2011

Yesterday saw the announcment of Scottish Spirits Ltd. to offer whisky in cans in some markets in Central and South America. The company was in the news last year because of misleading ads. I think it’s time to look a little closer.

Hot from the Rumor Mill – Will There Be A Crystal Macallan?

January 2, 2011
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Well-informed sources say that Macallan is secretly working on a revolutionary new line of whisky epxressions – The Crystal Macallan.

Guest Post – An Overview of American Craft Distilling

November 15, 2010
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There is a revolution in distilling taking place in America. The craft distillers are starting to draw attention, and not all of it positive. Most of the bottles come with a steep price tag, so how is a malt-head to know what to make of it all?

Whisky Makers on Twitter – From #epicfail to #wow

November 13, 2010
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The whisky industry uses Twitter in many different ways. Let me introduce you to a couple of industry tweeps – the selection is not exhaustive but should give you a good overview on what’s happening.

How to Exploit US Whisky Regulations

November 4, 2010

I have to tell you a secret: I am a masochist. Sometimes I just can’t resist the urge to read whisky regulations. In the Standards of Identity for Distilled Spirits of the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau belonging to the US treasury I found an interesting passage

Duty Free – Whisky for the Chosen Few

October 23, 2010
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In recent years there has been a trend among whisky producers to use Duty Free shops as either a testing ground for new releases or as an exclusive platform for entire product ranges.

Diageo – The Innovative Dinosaur

October 17, 2010

End of September 2010 saw a major public relations effort by Scotch market leader Diageo to convince journalists and bloggers of the qualities of their new Roseisle distillery in Elgin on Speyside.

A Bastard Malt Gets Proper Parents

June 30, 2010
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Yesterday indpependent bottler A.D. Rattray announced that their undisclosed malt Stronachie is distilled by Benrinnes.

The Macallan Ice Ball Serve – Cool or Chilly?

March 16, 2010
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The Macallan officially launched their new “Ice Ball Serve” machine yesterday, a heavy brass device that can mold chunks of ice into spherical shape. It basically is a branded adaption of a Japanese invention already on the market.

No Tasting Note: Mortlach 70 yo

March 12, 2010
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Regular readers will know that I usually don’t comment on each an every new whisky bottle on the market. But with the newly released Mortlach 70yo by Gordon & MacPhail I will make an exception for three reasons.

A Broken Down Roallercoaster at Ardbeg

February 15, 2010

Today, thousands of Ardbeg fans were sitting in front of their computers with itchy fingers and increased saliva flow, eagerly awaiting the launch of the new Committee realease Ardbeg Rollercoaster. In the official announcment mailed out a week before the launch, Ardbeg had recommended them to order from their website as it would be quicker than by mail.

Has Macallan Finally Run Out of Old Sherry Casks?

January 28, 2010

The Whisky Store, a major German online retailer for whisky, just reported in their German language forum that at a tasting for the company staff, Macallan officials had confirmed that there will not be any new bottlings of sherry cask Macallans of age 18 and older anymore.

The SWA Strikes Again

November 18, 2009

Every once in a while, the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) opens up a new battlefield because they see the traditional values of Scotch Whisky under attack. Examples include the lawsuit against the Glen Breton whisky from Canada or the threat against Compass Box.

Learn Whisky Marketing with LVMH #4 – Conclusion

November 12, 2009

In the first three parts of this series I looked at Glenmorangie, Ardbeg and the SMWS. Now let’s try

Putting it All Together

Learn Whisky Marketing with LVMH #3 – The SMWS

November 11, 2009

Glenmorangie plc bought the SMWS just a few months before they sold everything to LVMH, plenty of room for speculations here. Anyway, what exactly is the SMWS?

Learn Whisky Marketing with LVMH #2 – Ardbeg

November 11, 2009

Glemorangie plc bought Ardbeg in 1997 and re-opened the distillery that had been mothballed since 1981, with just a low level production between 1989 and 1996. After the relaunch, Ardbeg managed to attract a huge following of whisky enthusiats because of various reasons.

Learn Whisky Marketing with LVMH #1 – Glenmorangie

November 10, 2009

In October 2004, French luxury goods conglomerate Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton S.A (LVMH) bought Glenmorangie plc from the Macdonald family who had been in possession of the company since 1918. The portfolio included Glenmorangie, Ardbeg and Glen Moray distilleries as well as the Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS).

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