SCOTCH LINKS WITH AMERICA LAST ORDERS
ell our world did not collapse following Brexit indeed I see that representatives from the Scotch Whisky Association accompanied the prime minister on her recent visit to India. Scotch whisky sales make up only 1% of the Indian spirits market. There is currently a 150% import tariff on Scotch imported into India and therefore a revised trade agreement would go down well north of the border. So we may survive Brexit but then came the American elections. Whatever you make of Donald Trump no one can argue that he is a very colourful character. It also seems he has a whisky connection. Cast your mind back to 2012. A momentous year dominated by the Olympic games, strange then when the nomination for Scotsman of the year, sponsored by William Grant and in particular the Glenfiddich brand, selected one Michael Forbes. His claim to fame was that he refused to sell his 23 acre farm to his neighbour Donald Trump to allow the American billionaire to expand his Scottish golf course project. Now as we have seen in recent times Donald
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Trump is not a good looser and it appears he took exception to what appeared to him to be a ‘rigged election’. Given the exploits of Messrs. Hoy and Murray in that year on this occasion one might have a little sympathy with Mr. Trump’s point of view. His response to this was to ban all whisky produced by William Grant & Sons from his venues and resorts. In fact he did have his own single malt produced by Glendronach so patrons of Trump establishments did not go without. What is perhaps a little more surprising is that following the ban revenue from William Grant & Sons, Glenfiddich’s parent company, increased by 12.5 per cent! Is this a foretaste of Anglo-American relations? As they say we live in interesting times.
Whisky expert Dave Pickard of Old School Wines, Tittensor. T. 01782 372888