Whisky REGULATIONS AND REVELATIONS
Tash McGill – aka The Whisky Girl – shares an update on the New Zealand Whisky Guidelines and global sales of the most popular brands.
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pening the books for year-end has shown finally the truth of what COVID-19 has meant for whisky around the world in 2020. Despite plenty of attention being given to the high volume of alcohol purchased by consumers over lockdowns and online liquor outlets being deemed essential services, it hasn’t been enough to buoy the financial results for some of the industry’s biggest global producers. For Diageo, home of Johnnie Walker, one of the biggest whisky brands on the globe, the impact on key markets lead to a 47.1% decline in operating profit and an 8.7% reduction in net sales. In Oceania and Asia-Pacific, overall sales fell by 16%. For Pernod Ricard, Asia-Pacific sales dropped 14% overall, while globally Jameson (arguably Ireland’s highest volume brand) dropped 1% and the Pernod Ricard Scotch Whisky portfolio slumped by 11%. Both LVMH and Rémy Cointreau reported sales decline of 14 – 16.2% globally in the spirits sector. However Beam Suntory, which owns a diverse portfolio of American whisky, Scotch, Irish and Japanese brands, only reported a 3% slump for the first half of 2020. 24 THE SHOUT NZ – MARCH 2021
While all brands are putting strong and resilient business strategies into place for 2021, including reducing discretionary spending and refocusing on building new consumer reach plays, it paints a telling picture of exactly how global lockdowns in hospitality, travel and tourism have impacted high volume parts of the market. It’s also a tale of shipping woes, with the complexity of moving product around oceans of congested shipping lanes, backed up ports and failing infrastructure. New Zealand importers and retailers have all felt the impact of slow ports and seemingly endless shipping cycles as products inch their way here from other corners of the globe. As one of the few markets where hospitality venues are clawing their way back, it’s a doubleedged sword. While off-premise distributors had to open and close their online stores to manage the demand, on-premise venues are faced with rapidly changing protocols and consumer behaviour when open and then a stock shortage crisis that continues to play out. I was sitting in one of my favourite New Zealand venues when I first saw one of my favourite whisky destination bars,
Tash McGill is a spirits and hospitality writer who regularly hosts tastings and education classes for those wanting to know more about spirits and their uses - from cocktails to culinary food matches. She has been in the spirits and cocktail industry for more than 10 years, writing, tasting and judging competitions.
Jack Rose Dining Saloon in Washington D.C., begin to put its iconic 2700 bottle whisky collection up for sale, sometimes at a discount of up to 50%. Owner Bill Thomas made the choice to sell by the ounce (dram), 100ml sample or the bottle. “I was determined to get out of this debtfree, even if it means selling a s***ton of whisky,” he says. The endeavour was quickly supported by thousands of American whisky fans, all of a sudden able to access premium and rare malts for a fraction of the cost and experience them all over the United States. Here in New Zealand, once we opened the bars again, selling the stock was the issue – keeping it on the shelves was. Owner Alex Ricketts from famed whisky bar The Last Word in Christchurch says he has had less issues