There’s been some buzz around the editorial and blog post that appeared in the recent (2009 winter) edition of the US publication Malt Advocate and it has some interesting points and comments afterwards, so feel free to go read it and then come back here for my thoughts. But you may want to pour a dram, this is a long one…
The editor, John Hansell, is a very good friend of mine with one of the longest-running and enjoyable whisky blogs and websites. He is a wonderful ambassador for the Scotch whisky industry in the US and a powerful champion and voice for the American whisky consumer – a hard balancing act to achieve, but one that John does with style, humour and grace.
When he talks, we listen. And like all good editors, his commentary raises some interesting questions and challenges for us in the business of making and selling whisky.
This latest whisky post is not just John speaking, but John reflecting what he is hearing from whisky fans and readers. But in this case, when it comes to rare and justifiably expensive stock, I have to disagree with his comments. His view on making whisky that is inaccessible and “makes your blood boil” would be true if all we did was produce $20,000 bottles and nothing else – but we don’t, something I addressed when I was a guest blogger on his site earlier this year.
We make a range of whiskies, a range of expressions, with a range of prices, to meet the many and varied needs of ALL our consumers. Some people have the money to spend on exquisite and rare products like The Dalmore Sirius and Oculus, and others don’t.
We would not be doing our jobs properly if we did not meet the needs of the luxury consumer as well as the whisky aficionada, or the collectors, or even the man or woman who wants to enjoy a dram of quality but value whisky at the end of a hard working week.
It’s no different from car manufacturers having a range of vehicles available from $20,000 to $500,000 dollars, or a watch company selling a basic entry level model for $50 but having a top of the range, limited edition available for $100,000.
We are just reacting to consumer demand. We are delivering what the full range of different whisky consumers want. If they stop demanding it, we will stop supplying it!
John also states that only a few people will have an opportunity to sample these rare beauties! I certainly try my best to ensure that is not the case.
I have always been there to support and share as many of our whiskies as possible at masterclasses and whisky festivals – and that includes supporting John’s events – with those very rare expressions when available. We’ve taken these expressions and shared them with people at events – many of which wouldn’t get into countries like America otherwise.
For example, this year I created and donated a rare and commemorative 1969 Dalmore “Moon” decanter which was only available at John’s show in the US. Willie Tait from Jura has also been very generous with the Jura whiskies.
Finally, John talked about the subject of un-aged whisky.
Again, I think consumers are slowly recognising that an age statement does not guarantee quality, and un-aged products like The Dalmore Gran Reserva, The Dalmore King Alexander III, Jura Superstition and Jura Prophecy (I hope you’ve all signed up as Diurachs on Facebook and the homepage – remember, there’s free vacations in it!) are beautiful liquids that do not need an age statement to verify the quality or justify the cost.
In fact, stating an age can restrict my ability to create whisky which is truly versatile and can met the needs of different palates and tastes.
Whether there is an age statement or not, John and others can be assured that the quality of the product remains sacrosanct, which is why we recently won Global Distiller of the Year. We will always strive to achieve the highest quality, and our record breaking year for medal and award wins is testament to that.
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Tags: Malt Advocate
Thanks Richard for taking the time to respond. (I appreciate your kind words.) Regarding my editorial, I was trying convey the concerns and gripes of whisky enthusiasts, based on issues they have raised on my various blog postings over the past year.
You’re right about simply responding to demand regarding upmarket whisky. As long as you have good, affordable whiskies for us regular folk–which you do–then I personally see nothing wrong with bottling some whisky for the ultra-wealthy too.
And you’re also make a very good point about whiskies without age statement. It does give you more flexibility to make good whisky, but also gives you (and other producers) the opportunity to charge a lot of money for younger whisky. As long as it’s the former and not the latter, we’ll all be happy and no one will be complaining.
You really defend yourself here, Richard, and I understand why you or any corporate whisky ambassador would feel the need to.
If really you want the negativity to stop, my sincere recommendation is that you stop sending press releases regarding hyper-expensive whiskies to media outlets that serve people who aren’t hyper-wealthy. Here’s why:
You justify your hyper-expensive whisky with a gesture to your hyper-wealthy clientele. You praise economic diversity as if it were ethnic diversity.
As compelling as this argument is, most folks experience it as both overwhelming and irrelevant. No sooner have whiskybloggers sworn to eachother that they simply must agree with it, than they have furiously banged out a hundred comments expressing their disapproval of the absurdity of the pricing on recent bottlings from Dalmore and other distilleries.
Why?
The reason is that most whisky bloggers are strictly middle class and half the bottlings that they hear about are aimed strictly at the hyper-wealthy. The dissonance this produces is too overwhelming to be brought back into harmony by the reminder that “these bottles were never meant for you.”
Red,
Do you think maybe these whiskies are not “aimed” at anybody at all other than the press? They get everybody talking and who cares if nary a bottle is sold. The whisky’s name is kept in public view, all the bloggers are talking about it, and so are we.
Davin
Davin, a tad cynical! As I’ve said, it’s about having whiskies at all levels for everyone.
Hehehe, yes, I’ve been called that before. I see both the Selene and the Candela are on offer now at World of Whiskies and the Sirius sample you sent the Malt Maniacs got a score of 90 from one of our toughest markers. OK, so I get grumpy sometimes