Raising Spirits: On the rocks?

Adam Withrington examines a spirit that is often quite daunting for licensees and also struggling somewhat as a sector - whisky.

The second spirit to feature in the Raising Spirits series is that most traditional of drinks, whisky. A look at bourbon (or whiskey) and the huge impact it has had on the spirits market will follow later in the year but right now it is time to have another look at the product that my predecessor, Ben McFarland, called the "Benny Hill of the drinks world". According to Ben, scotch whisky, like that terror of the big-bosomed ladies Mr Hill, is favoured by older, male consumers and is appreciated more overseas than on these shores.

To be honest it's a pretty good analysis. Wherever you look in the UK on-trade whisky faces problems. The scotch whisky market has, for some years, been stagnating. There has been a nine per cent decline in scotch drinking in the on-trade over the last year, according to the latest AC Nielsen statistics. Scotch has been losing out in the battle to attract 20 to 30-year-old drinkers to vodka and RTDs.

And then we come to single malt whiskies, where you have even more problems. Very few customers are equipped with the knowledge of the subtleties and heritage of single malt whisky.

Basically it is confusing for licensees, leaving a minefield to negotiate when it comes to choosing drams for your pub.Where should you go? How can you attract more of your customers to the whisky category? There is no simple answer. The secret is to know what your customers want and adapt accordingly.

Here is the Raising Spirits guide to making the most of your whisky offer.

How is whisky made?​

Find a suitable cereal crop​

• All whisky is made from barley, wheat or corn.
• All single malts are made from malted barley
• Corn or wheat are used in making grain whisky

For single malts: it's a bit like beer…​

• The malted barley is dried (sometimes using a peat fire which can give a whisky its "peaty" flavour) and water is poured on it to make wort
• Yeast is then added to the wort to make a strong beer
• This "beer" is then put into copper stills and distilled twice.
• The resultant liquid is then aged in wooden barrels which affect the flavour
• Distillers often use barrels which previously contained bourbon or sherry. According to Drink! by Susy Atkins and Dave Broom, aging in ex-bourbon barrels will give the whisky an orangey, coconut flavour, while aging in ex-sherry barrels gives clove-like, raisiny flavours
• The final bottled product will not be one single batch. Distillers often add small amounts of older whiskies. The age of a whisky is always determined by the youngest whisky in the mix. For example a 15-year-old single malt could also contain both 16 and 20-year-old malts
• All single malt whiskies are made from malts produced in the same distillery.

So what is blended whisky?​

• Blended whisky, generally known as scotch in the UK, is made using a mix of single malts and grain whiskies
• The process for making grain whisky is very similar but using corn or wheat as a base and the distillation process takes place in column stills
• It accounts for nearly 90 per cent of all Scottish whisky sold worldwide.

Despite what has been outlined here, there is continual argument and confusion over the definitions of different Scottish whiskies.

Not only are there single malts and blends, but in the wide and wonderful world of whisky we find whiskies sold as pure malts, pure single malts as well as vatted malts. There are also continuing arguments over the exact definition of the different regions which produce single malts. The Scottish Whisky Association (SWA) recently outlined proposals to try and end such confusion and further protect the category.

Currently under consultation, the proposals would mean the different types of Scottish whisky would be clearly labelled; therefore all "Single Malt Scotch Whisky" would be labelled as such and no other lettering could be as prominent on the bottle.

David Williamson, public affairs manager for the SWA, says that if made law the proposals would have many benefits for licensees and consumers: "The proposals should stop consumers from being deceived as the labelling will help build understanding of the different categories."

If accepted the proposals could be put up in front of the Scottish Executive late next year.

Pictured: Some whiskies are finished in sherry barrels, such as this single malt from Isle of Jura.​

Blends​

This is the biggest category in the whisky category by some distance - in The Publican Brands Report 2005​, the top whisky brands were all blends, with Bell's and The Famous Grouse in the top 50.

Nevertheless the category is a fallen giant. Only having two blends in the top 50 is a concern, with brands like Teacher's now down in the top 140. "The blend category has been in decline for some time. It has been haemorrhaging volumes for a good ten years and this is not something you can turn around overnight," says Bob Dalrymple, senior brand manager for The Famous Grouse at Maxxium.

In an effort to solve this problem some of the big drinks companies have decided to try and attract new drinkers to the category - in other words drinkers in their 20s. They are attempting to do this through quirkier and edgier marketing campaigns, new brand innovations (see J&B -6? in New kids on the block, opposite) and practical solutions to making the drink more attractive to consumers.

This year The Famous Grouse is going to embark on a campaign to, as Bob Dalrymple puts it, "deformalise the way whisky is served". He continues: "Traditionally it is drunk neat or on ice or over water. This has the impact of alienating drinkers in their mid-20s. The traditional serves for whisky tend to show a more old-fashioned image of whisky."

Examples of new serves for scotch​

• Innovative mixes​ - e.g. The Famous Grouse with ginger beer
• Frozen Serve​ - e.g. Johnnie Walker recommends serving its Gold whisky at a frozen temperature by keeping the bottle and glasses in the freezer.

Single malts​

Single malt whisky is a curious animal. It is widely talked about, highly revered and has captured the imagination of drinkers the world over. And yet it really does sell very little in pubs. Only two single malts made it into the top 200 in The Publican's Brands Report​ this year: Glenfiddich and Glenmorangie. Despite this, licensees continue to stock single malts in alarmingly high numbers. This is not to say that there isn't a place for single malts - there absolutely is. But surely there is a more scientific approach to the process?

Colin Dunn, business development executive at Fior Brands, believes there is. "Ultimately a bartender has to hand sell a single malt to the customer. Just having lots of whiskies isn't enough. If I walk into a bar and there are 150 single malts behind the bar I won't necessarily be impressed. But if I walk into a bar and there are 30 whiskies and the barstaff all know about them then I will be impressed."

Colin extols the virtues of a system he calls AST - whi