4 minute read
Emerging Whisky Producers, Ken Gargett
WHISKY
The Global Spirit
Advertisement
Think whisky and one is automatically transported to the moors and hills of Scotland, its barren, rugged islands and ancient castles. And of course, the wonderful distilleries that have made this glorious spirit so famous. Or perhaps one might consider Ireland. Naturally, the bourbons from America will play a role. The younger amongst us might immediately look to the East, to Japan and the exciting whiskies that are now standard. Perhaps patriotism will come to the fore and the exciting, emerging whiskies from Tasmania will spring to mind.
These days, that only scratches the surface of whisky-producing nations, though these do take pride of place in terms of output and history. As well as these ‘usual suspects’, estimates suggest that at least 25 nations now make whisky.
For example, it turns out that not only can Belgium play soccer, they can make cracking whisky. The Belgian Owl Distillery in Hesbaye region of Belgium has made numerous awardwinning whiskies.
Friends, who have become devotees, continually praise the whiskies that they are seeing from the Kavalan Distillery (owned by the King Car Group, because alcohol and driving go so well together) in the Yilan County of Taiwan – and they guard them jealously. Best New World Whisky 2012, evaluated in the World Whisky Awards and also the New World Whisky of that year, as judged by Jim Murray in his 2012 Whisky Bible suggests my friends are not alone in their admiration.
Switzerland has around two dozen distilleries, a veritable explosion of production given that distilling grain was illegal up until 1999. Even Norway has ten distilleries.
Many in the West have no idea of the extent or the quality of the spirits industry in India, not just with whiskies but across the board. But whisky rules, occupying almost 60% of the spirits market in that country, which equates to around 175 million cases.
Radico Khaitan is India’s fourth largest spirits company. Originally known as the Rampur Distillery, the name used for its premium whisky, production has been going on for over half a century. Malted barley, for blends, has been produced since 1990, but the first malt whisky was only released to the world in 2016. It did not take long for word to spread and for aficionados to hear about this malt, ranked in the top five whiskies of 2017 in the prestigious San Francisco competition, picking up double gold.
Paul John is another highly regarded Indian producer of both single malt and single cask whiskies. They use Indian malted barley, imported Scottish peat, traditional copper pot stills crafted in India and charred American oak casks (first fill ex-Bourbon casks) for maturation. Headquarters is in Bangalore but the single malt distillery is located in Goa. They have offered blends since as far back as 1992 and made the decision to add single malts to their production in 2008. The high temperatures and humidity in Goa give the whisky its own inimitable characters, but this also means a much higher loss – 10 to 12% rather than the usual 2% – to the Angel’s share (evaporation). These conditions also see whisky maturing much faster than in countries like Scotland, a commercial advantage if ever there was one. The malt received a score of 94.5 from expert, Jim Murray.
Do we consider Japan as the home of emerging whisky? Surely not as these days, their whiskies are world famous and well known by anyone with even a passing interest in good spirits. And they have been for many years. Perhaps we should consider an emerging producer. The Matsui Shuzou Distillery, which was founded back in 1910, is located in Tottori, which is a coastal prefecture found in southern Honshu region. This is the least populated prefecture in all Japan, although everything is relative, and the region is best known for its sand dunes. In time, it might become more famous for the Matsui Shuzou Breweries, which also produces shochu and traditional sake. As well, of course, as whisky, although the whisky did come well after the shochu and sake.
Sand dunes might be a focus but the distillery, near the Sea of Japan and to the northwest of the old capital, Kyoto, is also within spitting distance of Mount Daisen, a volcanic peak. It means that the water used at the distillery has been seeping through volcanic stone for centuries, providing the unique character and contributing to the purity of the spirit produced.
The distillery has no visitors’ centre and does not offer direct sales, all contributing to the extremely low profile it has managed to keep for so long. It releases ten single malts which appear under the Kurayoshi label and a further five grain whiskies under the Tottori label. The first of the whiskies, Kurayoshi Pure Malt Whisky, is a 100% malted barley Whisky, sourced from distilleries around Scotland, and forwarded to Japan, for blending with the local product. Their spirit is distilled in copper pot stills and aged in ex-Bourbon casks for at least three years. It is then bottled at 46% ABV.
Whatever your definition of ‘emerging’, we can look forward to many more great whiskies in the coming years, and no doubt some will be from countries yet to produce a drop.
