Why is Scotch Whisky self-destructing?

It started when a leading liquor company found price a salvation for achieving volumes, ignorantly eroding equity and deliberately destroying their whisky brands as well as other brands ignorantly benchmarking & adopting their policy.

I imagine the marketing director alienated, fighting a losing battle with his leadership team. Any gender in the drinks industry worth their salt will quote multiple lessons in our drinks business history exposing this thinking as irresponsibly destructive.

Nevertheless, this leading liquor company successfully bluffed the copycats achieving the beginning of Scotch whiskies decline driving volume over value to a point that it made no sense to trade. The damage is done, and Scotch will be recovering for many years to come at great expense to rebuild its premium cues. The bigger picture is even deeper. It is the winner of white spirits that will conquer!

The nagging conspiracy theorist in me smells an alternative rat! Is there a tactical & devious plan that thinks a world where 'Brexit' allows for an independent Scotland is a direct threat to English dominance in Scotch whisky - the second largest revenue stream for the English economy? Will it make more sense to focus and invest instead in white spirits & especially Gins to diminish reliance on Scotch? Then there is the other great brown spirit to ward off. The Irish is coming!

This post is not sinister but cheeky as in tongue in cheek.

Worth the EXTRA Wait!

BLOG RESILIENCE
So why the wait? Mostly to test the a 'long-term-content' blogs resilience. Would people care if regular posts were absent, but the overall content was legend? It turns out 'The Whiskey Notebook' blog is supremely resilient.

N.A.S. BRANDS
It was coincidentally opportune to be silent as the whisky world was doing an about turn on aged-stated whiskies. I refer to N.A.S. (non-age-stated) whisky. Today matters are settled and most leading whisky producers include N.A.S. whiskies in their range. One company is even promoting 'Flavour is King' without stating 'king over what?'. They mean 'king over aged whiskies' but the claim is wrong.
 
I have embraced NAS whiskies after extensive tastings across the latest offerings from various whisky suppliers. Some were awful and others awesome.

CHIVAS EXTRA
This brings me to this newest post and to a new passion - a N.A.S. whisky from Chivas Brothers - Chivas Regal Extra Blended Scotch whisky which won Gold at the recent 2015 San Francisco World Spirits Challenge in the category 'Best Blended Scotch up to 15 years old'.

 Photograph property of Mark Backhouse

"An incredibly rich and discerning interpretation of the Chivas Signature style".

Colin Scott

Chivas Regal Master Blender

There is nothing I do not like about this new expression in the Chivas Regal range. I prefer the uncomplicated studier gift box. The word 'Extra' fully encapsulates the rich, generous, and discerning taste of the new blend assembled by the world-renowned Chivas Regal master blender. The packaging is a mixture of deep burgundy-red and gold elements representing the REGAL and Classic character of the whisky. I am an immediate fan of Chivas Regal Extra. Chivas Regal further reinforces its credentials as the world's leading premium blended Scotch whisky with this fantastic addition in the range.

TASTING NOTES:
Colour: Dark in shade with a warm amber glow. Nose: Fruity sweet with notes of ripe pears and melon, creamy toffee, milk chocolate, cinnamon, and a hint of fresh ginger. Taste: Sweet ripe pears in syrup, vanilla caramel, cinnamon sweets, and almonds in the background. Finish: Beautifully rounded mouth feel, leading to a long, luxuriant sweet finish.

The Original Whiskey

The re-introduction of the original pure pot still Irish whiskey style takes us on a true journey of discovery into the original whiskeys of the world. A time when only spirit from copper pot stills were allowed to be aged into a whisky. A time before blended whiskeys. A time before quantity jeopardised quality. These extremely smooth Irish Pure Pot Still whiskies are rich in character and abundant in charm.

I am extremely excited about Irish Pure Pot Still whiskey's revival. The complete range of expressions of these Pure Pot Still whiskeys may be viewed on the Single Pot Still website: http://www.singlepotstill.com/
I recently introduced Redbreast Pure Pot Still whiskey to whisky friends and their consensus is a match: "You really haven't experienced whiskey before you taste the Original Whiskey." Redbreast is a perfect place to start, and it is now available in all reputable establishments.

The Age Matters - Royal Salute

The Age Matters - Royal Salute is a must see video about why age matters. Please click the link which will take you to the YouTube channel.

I am fascinated by the honesty of whiskies produced at Chivas Brothers. Almost every expression of the great Whiskies produced by Chivas Brother carries age statements on their labels. We know that whisky develops in character and especially smoothness when it spends more and more years aging in casks. The longer the whisky is aged in the extremes of the Scottish climate the more the aggressive alcohols escape & as the whisky rids itself of these harder alcohols over the many years, the whisky becomes increasingly smooth.

If you want a guarantee of a great Scotch whisky, look out for the age of the whisky stated on the label. This age statement will be the youngest drop of whisky in the bottle. It's no wonder Royal Salute is the best blended Scotch whisky range available in the world today.

The Balvenie launches 17 year old DoubleWood

Press Release

The Balvenie’s family of single malt Scotch whiskies has grown with the arrival of The Balvenie DoubleWood, Aged 17 Years – a significant new addition to the range from Scotland’s longest-serving Malt Master, David Stewart, which will be available in South Africa for the first time from June 2014.

The DoubleWood 17 Year Old is an elder sibling to DoubleWood 12 Year Old, The Balvenie’s most popular expression. The new aged version shares the same DNA and the honeyed, spicy characteristics as the 12 Year Old, but it is distinctly different, with deeper vanilla notes, hints of green apple, creamy toffee and a striking richness and complexity.

“The “cask finishing” technique is at the heart of The Balvenie DoubleWood – it sees the whisky matured first in American oak barrels, which impart soft sweet vanilla notes, before being transferred to European oak sherry casks. The second cask ageing adds a depth and fullness of flavour. We are very excited to be introducing the rich, spicy flavours of the 17 Year Old Doublewood to the South African consumers,” adds Marketing Manager Lauren Kuhlmey.
The Balvenie 17 Year Old DoubleWood has an MRP of R1 399 and will be available in all leading liquor stores nationwide.

Tasting notes:The Balvenie DoubleWood 17 Year Old is an expertly proportioned single malt with distinctive rich vanilla oak, with honey and layers of sweet spices. On the nose, it is elegant and complex with oak, vanilla, honeyed sweetness and a hint of green apple. To taste, it is sweet with dried fruits, sherbet spice, toasted almonds and cinnamon, layered with a richness of creamy toffee notes and traces of oak and deep vanilla