APPEASEMENT, NOT RECRUITMENT

Most activity currently seems to be coming from whisky, and though there is some genuine innovation there, most of these are truly launches geared towards consumers who already love the stuff, and know a fair bit about it. They are not about recruitment. For example, English whisky brand White Peak has launched a new liquid called Alter Ego, distilled with alternate cut points to its Wire Works whiskies. These cuts are said to give more fruit and add a different nuance to its peated flavours.

Meanwhile, brands such as OakPacker (which is sold through global travel retail, as well as in the US) is looking to make some noise with the world’s first air-harvested whiskey. To unpack that for you, the American brand has infused the product with air-harvested water, or water collected from the atmosphere. It sounds cool, but we remember Hangar One’s Fog Point Vodka which gathered the fog of San Francisco to make it. And that was in 2016.

Indian spirits are perhaps one of the most interesting categories in development that we’re seeing genuine momentum behind. And perhaps, that’s because there’s a formidable amount of investment behind it. And therein lies the point.