Whisky with a “sweet gloopy mouth-feel”
July 22nd, 2008It’s not every day I get a press release promoting a whisky with a “sweet gloopy mouth-feel”, but that’s exactly what happened a few days ago.
The Famous Grouse is showing its plumage. Several years ago there was the introduction of a premium “Grouse Gold”. More recently, the brand owner introduced The Black Grouse–a smoky version of Grouse. Now, there’s The Snow Grouse, a whisky designed to be drunk extremely chilled, from the freezer.
The image and press release both say that this a blended grain whisky. There’s no mention of malt whisky at all. Having consumed more than my share of grain whiskies over the years, I have a pretty good idea how this will taste, but I am keen to give it a try.
Aged vodka?
The whisky companies have been trying for decades to tap into the twenty to thirty-something crowd and regularly try new and inventive ways to market whisky to achieve this. Grain whisky, in very rudimentary terms, could be viewed as “aged vodka”. (Yes, I know I am oversimplifying to make a point here.)
I’m surprised not one has tried this marketing angle before. (Or maybe they have and I just missed it.) We’ll see how this plays out.
July 22nd, 2008 at 8:51 am
I was just thinking about purely blended grain whiskies as aged vodka YESTERDAY. Odd.
Any clue what market this will be in? If I recall correctly Black Grouse only made it to Scandinavia.
July 22nd, 2008 at 8:52 am
Just great. Just what the world needed. Just what Diageo withdrew from the market. Just what has failed ever so often - white whisky.
The marketing blah blah talks of the first of course but JB -6 has already vanished again.
No other attempt to sell new make did work out yet. No Irish Haggler nor Potcheen nor Moonshine.
It is true that in the UK vodka overtook whisky in consumation figures last year. But to whitewash the whisky and trying to compete with vodka in this guise seems not to be the way to stop that trend.
Question is is that neccessary at all? That vodka is outselling whisky is no concern to the big players in the worldwide alcohol industry.
They all play all strings of the fiddle anyway. If their whiskies have to compete with their own vodkas the whole question melts down to the fact that it is never enough what either spirit earns for its mother company.
If whisky loses out to vodka who is to blame? The vodka producing whisky companies or the whisky producing vodka companies? And lo, they are identical in most cases.
Even in a world wide market there is a fixed rate of consumers that can drink only so much. Be it wine beer whisky rum or vodka. Trees do not grow into the skies they only seem to.
July 22nd, 2008 at 11:44 am
BA, for the first six months, the product will appear in Travel Retail (formerly Duty Free). After that, who knows?
July 22nd, 2008 at 11:49 am
Kallaskander, I can certainly understand whisky companies trying to gain market share by being innovative. But historically, as you point out, most of these new marketing experiments fail. We’ll see.
I’m sure there’s a reason why it is only being released in Travel Retail at this time. I imagine the owners will see how it goes before deciding to expand to other markets.
July 28th, 2008 at 6:52 am
Hello John,
just called up some old items about the Easy Drinking Whisky Company, Jon Mark & Robbo.
They tried the same John Glaser does backed by Diageo. Only the backer was - Edrington.
The EDWC products were taken off the British market (and others?) last year. Probably Edrington thinks that the travel retail market is a good testing field for the White Grouse, a new whisky product. That is what it is it is not whisky for the younger imbibers. It is a new product based on whisky. That is what all those innovators tend to forget. The Glaser range was nothing new in principle. Vatted whiskies have been around for a long time. And the gimmicks tried to make them appear innovative were not new either - or went against the grain of the SWA.
As to the young customers. Everbody fights everybody else for them!
All spirits and drinks and beverages in existence want to grow and they all fight for the same target group.
That is the key. Whisky is not only competing with vodka. But there are other “enemies” as well.
A win/win situation is therfore rather improbable.
Nothing against innovation.
At last years World Whisky Conference the Indians called for flavoured whisky analog to what is done to vodka.
It is a huge market and it is tempting.
I do not know if Edrington is into vodka yet. They bought themselves in to Brugal rum recently. If they do gin they surely want to become a drinks giant. Not that they are that small.
On the other hand, every whisky distiller is tempted to sell new make and unmature spirit. Helps the cash flow a lot.
Beats waiting ten years and more for return for your costs and investment. But I do not see that the scheme of selling white whisky in competition to clear vodka will work.
It is a case of “the attempted solution ist the problem”. Stop trying to sell white whisky to make a stand against vodka.
Make vodka and call a rose a rose.
July 28th, 2008 at 7:16 am
One thing is for certain. The whisky companies are making a huge amount of spirit right now and they aren’t going to wait 12, 18, or 25 years for all of their whisky to evolve into mature product. A lot of this whisky will come on the market as products with no age statements and relatively young ages. It’s already happening (Ardmore traditional cask, Benromach Organic, Bruichladdich Waves, Tomintoul “With an Peaty Tang” etc.)
July 29th, 2008 at 4:05 am
True. But…
Benromach, Bruichladdich, Tomintoul and others with young NAS whiskies have been closed for years on end. Their comeback with young products is a way to survive as a young business and to help the cashflow.
And here is a point I think. Not wanting to wait and sell young whisky is one thing. If customers buy young NAS whiskies they buy whiskies.
But what is the White Grouse? A vatted (blended) colourless grain whisky i.e. at least three years old? Does the special chill filtration remove any trace of colour? If so, why bother? Why wait three year at all to call it a “white whisky”???
Sell the new make grain spirits right after distillation. Make your vatting and sell it as vodka. Filter them 10 times or more through charcoal, sand or diamond dust to remove any taste and leave the spirit clear. No waiting immediate cash no maturing costs whatsoever.
One flaw though - it is no white whisky. But who needs that, really?