Emerging Whiskies

There was a time when whisky/whiskey came from Scotland/ Ireland or North America. Anything else was nothing but a shallow pretender. How things have changed. So many nations around the globe now have a whisky industry, some truly thrilling. I’m not talking about that bottle of Syrian whisky, as clear as gin and sitting next to an equally clear bottle of Syrian gin on the shelf, which I picked up for a few bucks while backpacking, down a back alley in Damascus. I’m talking about the real thing.

Japan was one of the earliest new nations, a curiosity for many years but now acknowledged as making some of the great examples of this spirit found anywhere.

Of course, we all know that there are some crackers being made here in Australia but for most of the world, we are merely aspiring to be a curiosity. It will take time, and a sufficient volume, but we will get there.

WHERE ELSE?

We have touched on India already, a huge name in whisky and certain to be one of the most important over the coming decades. Also in Asia, Taiwan, notably Kavalan, has developed a cult following.

Head south from Scotland and we have the Cotswolds as a locale with an emerging whisky production. Wales and even the Isle of Man have seen a number of whisky distilleries open in recent years. A touch east and France is getting in on the fun. Belgium and Switzerland have quality whisky emerging from operations there. Go north and Scandinavia, which does have a long history of quality distilling, is focusing on whiskies. Cross the pond and there is a long history of whiskey, but even it is spreading. Whiskey from Utah, anyone? Go south again and Mexico? Sierra Norte and Abasolo are both putting Mexican whisky on the map. Of course, like many of these, your chances of finding them at your local bottleshop in Australia are slim.

Israel is hardly the first name one thinks of for whisky, but the M&H distillery (Milk & Honey), which might be niche, is making waves, especially impressive as it is an urban distillery in Tell Aviv.

Who knows, maybe in time, the Syrians will also make something one can actually enjoy.