The 2019 Annual Brands Report by Drinks International has just been released, and it makes for fascinating reading. For those that consider themselves a whisky connoisseur or, perhaps more accurately, a hardcore enthusiast, it also suggests you’re possibly out of step with what’s happening on the on-premise scene…
When did you realise your fondness for whisky went next level? At what point did you graduate from being someone who merely liked whisky to someone who was interested in whisky?
Was it the day you went into a bar and ordered a neat single malt rather than a JW & coke? The day you joined a Facebook whisky group? Or was it the day you corrected someone for mispronouncing Islay?
Once your relationship with whisky transitions from merely liking to exploring, you join an enlightened group of comrades. You learn and speak a new language; you make new acquaintances; you form new strong friendships; you grow a collection; and you devour all the information you can about whisky. And, importantly, for the purposes of this piece, you find yourself part of a very small minority. For it turns out that the rest of the world – even those that like and drink whisky – are marching to the beat of a different drum. There is a huge disconnect between the priorities and purchasing habits of a whisky enthusiast and the common imbiber. And this becomes very apparent when you look at what’s going on in the bar scene…