Food & Beverage Development 6HO020

The World Of Whisky

A critical analysis of the social and cultural development of whsiky.

Submitted to: Ms. Christine Barnes Submission date: 1st April 2010

Student name: Zsolt Duska (BAH) Student number: duzs100288

A report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Degree of Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Hospitality Management

SHMS UC University of Derby 2002010

Table Of Contents
THE DEVELOPMENT OF WHISKY WHISKY AND SOCIETY SITUATION DEFINER STATUS INDICATOR STATEMENT OF AFFILIATION GENDER DIFFERENTIATION GLOBALIZATION OF WHISKY MARKETING OF WHISKY FUTURE AND NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT CONCLUSION REFERENCE LIST 4 6 6 6 6 7 8 10 12 13 14

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Introduction

In the 1820 s whisky started out as a new product for the British market but since then it has spread to the world and appreciated many people. As described by the history article much of its spectacular development is the result of the introduction of blended whisky. To illustrate this the article mentions that approximately 90 percent of all whisky produced in Scotland is used in blended whisky. However change can be seen because the interest for single malt whisky has increased in the past years and market strategists point out that this development is likely to continue. Today whisky is one of the most popular alcoholic drinks in the world. Archer in an online artice is revealing that whisky accounts for more than 40% of the UK spirits market. This number might be seen as a strong market share but the study also mentions that the whisky is struggling to keep pace with the growth of vodka and pre packaged spirits. The reason for this is that whisky is still viewed as an old mans drink. The youth market is also turning away from this spirit because of the so-called whisky snobs who are asserting that it is a disgrace to mix whisky with anything else other than a splash of water. The reaction from the whisky producers has initiated a new marketing concept to update the whisky s image. The current efforts are to introduce more contemporary bottle shapes and labels. The same author also mentions that this is not the same everywhere in the world and there is still room to maneuver in the malt sector. There are many different examples around the world to demonstrate what the public and private sector is doing to attract more customers. One of the biggest ironies of the whisky making industry in Ireland is that the public is not allowed to visit the establishment and to experience first hand how the whisky is being made. The Bushmill distillery has realized this and created a solution in one of their closest distilleries to the Scottish border. This operation is now open to the public and offers a tour where people can experience the mashing, fermenting, distilling and maturing in the same way it had been produced for years.

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The Development of Whisky

The online article that is discussing the history of wine is taken into consideration in the following section. In the time around 800BC the Asian people discovered the knowledge of distilling. In the beginning this technique was used to make different types of perfumes but there is also evidence that the Chinese used this method to distill liquor out of rice. It was much later when this knowledge has spread to the British Isles. The history cannot confirm exactly how this happened but there are strong indications that the Moors brought it to Europe. A common theory accepted by many historians is that around 432AD St Patrick brought the method with him when he came to Ireland as a Christian missionary. This knowledge than came to the Celts who started using it to make a drink called Uisge Beatha which is the Gaelic term for water of life . The Celts are the ones to take credit for the name of the spirit as whisky was derived from the Gaelic word Uisge . One of the major milestones in the development of whisky came in the year 1994 when there are records that Friar John Cor has purchased eight bolls of malt to start making aqua vitae. This was the first recorded written proof of whisky production in Scotland. Later this craft of knowledge slowly started to spread outside the monasteries and eventually it came to a point where almost every farm in Scotland has produced this spirit. This movement has continued until the 1829s when the government passed the Excise Act and it resulted in local government shutting down illicit distilleries. It is important to mention that the whisky produced around the 16th century had a very different taste from the drink that we enjoy today. At that time the spirit was consumed at a very young age, resulting in a raw and brutal taste. It wasn t until the 18th century when the discovery was made that the flavor of whisky improves and mellows if it is allowed to mature for some time. It is a very interesting accidental story how this discovery was made. At one of the distilleries the owner forgot about a cask and he found it years later. Luckily the owner didn t throw out the casket instead tried it and realized that the whisky tastes better than ever. F&B Development, Thursday, April 1, 2010 4

In 1735 an equivalent to the English malt tax act was applied in Scotland. This was the beginning of an era filled with illegal distilleries and many smugglers. An interesting fact is that in the beginning of the 19th century more than 50% of the whisky production came from illegal distilleries. Crime and violence was not uncommon during theses years and the administration of regulations became almost impossible to manage. This is the time when the government had enough and passed the Excise Act in 1820, which was mentioned earlier. This act had made it clear what kind of operations can produce whisky legally. Another important factor in this act was the increase in penalties for the smugglers making it very risky for them. This had the desired effects as only a few years after it was passed the illicit distilling and smuggling has reduced significantly. Another important year was 1831 when Aneas Coffey has invented a new version of the patent. This new and improved technique has resulted in lower production costs and it allowed the use of malted and unmalted barley with other kinds of corn at the same time. The Irish never really liked this idea but Coffey has managed to introduce it in Scotland. The Coffey still could produce larger quantities of compared to the traditional distilleries but the end product had far less quality. They came up with a solution to blend the spirit from the Coffey still with the one from the traditional stills. This idea was introduced in 1852 and was the year when the so-called blended whisky was born. This was a huge success as the Scottish volume of production has greatly exceeded the Irish. This was crucial because it was the same time when the American vine louse was introduced in France, which slowly traveled to the Cognac valley. This basically destroyed the whole brandy industry and slowly people started to view blended whisky as an alternative. By the time the French vineyard recovered whisky has was already established as a top drink. Today whisky is produced all over the world according to wikipedia. The most important whisky regions in alphabetical order are: American, Canadian, Finnish, German, Indian, Irish, Japanese, Scottish and the Welsh region. The whiskeys produced in these different areas are varying in the strength of taste and flavor resulting from different geographical factors and the use of different ingredients.

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Whisky and Society

An online journal describes how different alcoholic beverages have symbolic roles: From the ethnographic material available, it is clear that in all cultures where more than one type of alcoholic beverage is available, drinks are classified in terms of their social meaning, and the classification of drinks is used to define the social world. He also mentions that it is rare that a choice of beverage is made in a matter of personal taste. There are many different factors that define the choice of alcohol. The author describes these various categories.

Situation Definer
He mentions that on the simplest level alcoholic beverages are used to define the nature of occasion. An example is how champagne is synonymous with celebration. In case of whisky the occasion can be a social reunion for example where people sit and talk for a long time. This is because whisky is often drunk slowly to analyze the flavor. Whisky is often accompanied with a cigar, which also needs time to enjoy properly.

Status Indicator
The beverage people choose is also a significant indicator of social status. Generally speaking the imported drinks have a higher values than local ones. The author gives an example in Poland where drinking whisky and wine is considered, as a middle class drink with high status, while beer and vodka is associated with working class people.

Statement of Affiliation
To illustrate this the author states that certain drinks carry symbols of national identity. McDonald, 1994) gives this example: For Scottish Highlanders, for example, whisky represents traditional values of egalitarianism, generosity and virility, and to refuse a dram may be seen as a rejection of these values

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Gender Differentiation

The author of the article mentions that almost all societies make distinctions between masculine and feminine drinks. In today s society whisky is considered on of the most masculine drinks there is. The reason for this is that whisky has a very strong taste and cannot be mixed with many ingredients. In today s world the girl drinks are associated with a lot of colors and very light, often times fruity flavors. Since the introduction of flavored vodkas and the fact that it can be mixed very easily it had became the whisky equivalent to women. Even though the alcohol percentage found in both spirits are the same. To illustrate how whisky is viewed in today s society an example will be given from one of the most viewed television series in the world. In the popular show How I Met Your Mother co-starts, Neil Patrick Harris who is playing the role of Barney Stinson . In the show barney is representing the absolute masculine view of today s male individual. Barney is always well dressed and in many situations he is illustrated to know everything. During the show Barney can be seen in the bar many times always drinking scotch on the rocks and often makes remarks about whisky as the only real men s drink. He is always very confident and funny when drinking whisky and usually has no trouble in creating relationships with beautiful women. This can be a subliminal marketing massage as it associates drinking whisky with successful men. There are not many initiatives to change this perception. The Canadian Club s marketing campaign illustrates this perfectly. Mike Ginal the brand manager of Canadian club whiskies is describing their new multilayered national ad campaign in the last 20 years. The marketing campaign described by Mike Ginal is: Aimed at males younger than the traditional over-40 Canadian whisky consumer group, the Damn Right Your Dad Drank It campaign features masculine imagery from the 1960s and 70s. He also mentions in the interview that Canadian club whisky is perfect for mixing a masculine cocktail because of its uniquely smooth flavor. This illustrates what direction they are taking even though Canadian whiskies are the lightest in flavor that could appeal to the female society.

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Globalization of Whisky
Whisky has spread across the globe in tremendous pace resulting in many distilleries across the world. Today people can easily recognize the most popular brands of the biggest distillers. However the technique and ingredients came from Scotland the whiskies produced in different parts of the world vary greatly in flavor and texture. This is the reason why American companies are trying to emerge in the Scottish market. At firs it might not seem like a feasible idea but Jonathan McCormick explains his insight in the topic. He explains how bourbons tend to be sweeter and have a different taste that many Scotts are not aware of. He explains that the customers at the Whisky Live Glasgow who approached him were very educated about Scotch whisky but had absolutely know idea about bourbon. They are expecting to attract customers by providing something unique and different. Another way to illustrate the globalization of whisky is to take a look at the new distilleries opening up all over Europe. An online journal mentions that some of these operations are using poor equipment resulting in a poor quality spirit. However this is not the case with most of them as many of the owners share passion and commitment in creating a good quality whisky. These businesses are often situated in touristic areas, which offer the tourist many attractions. This is a perfect way to bring closer the people to the whisky production resulting in an unforgettable experience. The distillers are often experimenting with a range of different grains and wood types for the barrels creating spirits with unique taste.

The globalization and globalization of whisky has led to many difficulties legal issues that companies are facing today. One of the biggest problems for companies is to fight counterfeit products that are spreading across the market. The article by Christopher Mackie talks about the worldwide fight between scotch producers and counterfeiters. The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) has been pursuing an Italian businessman who has been selling his brands of whiskies labeled as scotch since the 1980s. This is a very difficult task because

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there are 200 different markets where Scotch whisky is being sold and each one of them has to be pursued individually. The aim of the association is to protect Scotch whisky from imitations. Mr. Barclay explains that they don t want Scotch whisky to be produced everywhere because the geographical location of Scotland is effecting the unique flavor, and this cannot be imitated. The article describes the negative effects of counterfeiting. If someone buys a scotch whisky that is not from Scotland a sale is lost. The other problem is if the customer has a bad experience with a fake scotch he or she might associate that with all the scotch whiskies and refuse to buy more. To illustrate the significance of this problem Mr. Barclay mentions that at any one given time there are about 70 cases underway with hundreds more under the investigation process. Another challenge faced by the industry is the growing green revolution which is now starting to affect the distilleries. The Scotch Whisky Association has set goal for both 2020 and 2050, with many challenging targets concentrating on renewable energy and reduction of energy waste. The association describes it as a noncompetitive agreement to make sure the initiative benefit everybody. There are economic factors that influence the production of whisky, which results in prices floating up and down. The article describes the main factors affecting price: including the cost of distilling and aging, glassware, labels, distribution, excise duty and vat, not to mention the retailer s profit margin. The key factor is the price of the main ingredient, which is barley. In the UK there was a tremendous rise in the price of barley from 90pounds / Tonne in 2006 to 200pounds/Tonne in 2007. Douglas Cruinckshank the spokesperson for Chivas Brother states that: We ve never seen such high costs for two consecutive years making it very difficult to have a stable price. Fortunately the price is coming down but producers have to take economy into account when planning for the future.

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Marketing of Whisky
The marketing and advertising of different whisky products is a very challenging task because there are many laws today concerning this issue. Therefore the advertising channels and messages are very limited. The law states that advertisements need to contain realistic information about the consequences of consuming alcohol. The advertisements are mainly focusing on the male generation because as mentioned before whisky is a masculine drink. The advertisement often show successful and handsome male models many time accompanied by beautiful women. In this case they are trying to establish it as an elegant and stylish drink in order for people to associate whisky drinking with success. This report will focus on specific advertisement campaigns to illustrate the efforts of the global whisky industry. The Jameson Company has launched a very interesting marketing campaign to make whisky more popular. They main idea of the company was to get people to vote their brand as the official St Patrick s Day drink. This can be seen as a creative idea bringing the history of whisky in today s culture (St. Patrick introduced the distillation process). The article mentions that: Through a combination of social media, advertising (radio, print and outdoor), off-premise, and in-bar promotions, over 80,000 votes were cast by March 7th, with many more expected. The company states that the marketing campaign is very successful because it doesn t rely only on the traditional masculine values. The Canadian Club Company s advertisement campaign was mentioned earlier which can be seen as revolutionary. As the study mentioned before whisky is often viewed as an old mans drink, the company realized this and came out with a campaign targeting young people. The main motto of the campaign is: Damn Right Your Dad Drank It which is very straight forward and a bit aggressive in order to capture the attention of today s youth society.

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There could be a change seen in the future of whisky advertizing as an interesting study has been revealed. At the EuroMedLab conference in Glasgow, Dr Jim Swan has reported that whisky can reduce cancer risk. The doctor explains that this is due to the high levels of powerful antioxidants found in whiskies, which can kill cancer cells. He continues to explain that single malt whiskies have a large amount ellagic acid in them, which are responsible and highly effective in destroying rough cells that occur in the body. This is crucial because once these rouge cells start breaking down the healthy cells the formation of cancerous cells can occur. The exact words of Dr Swan: whisky can protect you from cancer. If this theory is proven to have significant positive effect, whisky companies can start advertizing in new directions.

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Future and New Product Development

The whisky industry is in a very difficult situation when trying to come up with ideas for new products. The procedures have been specialized throughout the years to produce the best combination of ingredients and methods of distillation. The companies today are following these guidelines and there is very little effort to create something completely revolutionary. The biggest whisky companies are experimenting regularly in order to create new unique blends. These blends are usually very similar to each other and this is the reason customers don t see it as a new product. However there are companies that are trying to change the conceptions about traditional whiskies. One example for this is can be seen in case of the Nosing Glenmorangie producers. They came out with new whiskies that offer a range if citrus notes like orange, lemon and mandarin. They use fresh fruity flavors like apples and pears but butterscotch and vanilla can also be found in the flavor. The hotel industry however is trying to capitalize on the whisky drinking society by coming up with new cocktails and bars that are specializing on the consumption of the spirit. The JW Marriott in Phuket has a designated liquid Chef who is responsible for creating new exciting cocktails. The hotel has taken the word cocktail to a whole new level. The Paramount Premium Cocktail is described by the inventor Tom Warden: it combines Hennessey Paradise 150 year old eau de vie from France with Quinta de Noval Vintage Port, lime juice, Madagascar vanilla infused syrup, pasteurized egg whites, Johnnie Walker Gold Label Whisky, orange peel and Veuve Cliquot Ponsardin Champagne. He then wraps a strand of Anadaman pearls around the stem of the glass. They state that they are not afraid to create new cocktails with spirits that are often not used to mix cocktails.

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Conclusion
To conclude this report the author will briefly elaborate on the most important points in the report. The development and history of the whisky production illustrated how the industry has evolved and what were the most important milestones during these years. As the consumption of alcoholic beverages have a further meaning in today s society the report focused on the most important aspects and demonstrated them with clear examples to have a better overview of today s perception of whisky. The globalization process of the spirit is explained briefly to illustrate the current challenges that whisky producers are facing. The marketing concept is described and further examples are given to demonstrate how companies are trying to attract customers. In the last section the report focuses on the future development of the industry and new products that are introduced to the market.

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Reference list
http://www.whiskymag.com/magazine/issue79/12009255.html http://www.whiskymag.com/magazine/issue77/12009093.html http://www.whiskymag.com/magazine/issue79/12009253.html http://www.hotelsmag.com/article/358615Building_Up_Bar_Business.php?q=whisky http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_advertising http://www.whiskymag.com/magazine/issue78/12009176.html http://www.whiskymag.com/magazine/issue78/12009178.html http://www.whiskymag.com/magazine/issue77/12009080.html http://www.hotelsmag.com/article/365932The_Balmoral_Gleneagles_Offer_Joint_Taste_Of_Scotland_Package.php?q=whisky http://www.whiskymag.com/magazine/issue78/12009166.html http://www.whiskymag.com/magazine/issue77/12009070.html http://www.whiskymag.com/magazine/issue77/12009072.html http://www.whiskymag.com/magazine/issue77/12009087.html http://www.whiskymag.com/magazine/issue77/12009089.html http://www.whiskymag.com/magazine/issue77/12009082.html http://www.whiskymag.com/magazine/issue78/12009170.html http://www.whiskymag.com/magazine/issue77/12009091.html http://www.whiskymag.com/magazine/issue79/12009246.html http://www.whiskymag.com/magazine/issue77/12009075.html

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http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/features/The-worldwide-fight-toscotch.5473531.jp www.scotch-whisky.org.uk http://www.whiskymag.com/magazine/issue79/12009244.htmlhttp://www2.p otsdam.edu/hansondj/inthenews/Etc/1116870021.html http://www.whiskymag.com/magazine/issue78/12009179.html http://www.hotelsmag.com/article/360272A_Cocktail_To_Remember.php?q=whisky http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=A241 D5A253E35E35CD2AFDEC17A23E29?contentType=Review&contentId=145749 6http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=A241 D5A253E35E35CD2AFDEC17A23E29?contentType=Review&contentId=156163 6 http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do?contentType=Art icle&hdAction=lnkpdf&contentId=857304 http://www.hotelsmag.com/article/365932The_Balmoral_Gleneagles_Offer_Joint_Taste_Of_Scotland_Package.php?q=whisky http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whisky http://www.hotelsmag.com/article/358615Building_Up_Bar_Business.php?q=whisky

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