The market for whisky in India is so vast, complicated, obscured and diverse it’s all but impossible to do it justice in any snapshot or soundbite. Last year, though, I was given a tiny taste of its extremes while a guest of Indian whisky maker Amrut in Bangalore. We had toured the distillery, tasted rich and wonderful new Amrut whisky, and were heading…

WHEN IAN MACLEOD DISTILLERS decided to relaunch Tamdhu single malt after purchasing the mothballed Speyside distillery from the Edrington Group in 2011 it needed to do something that would make this previously ultra-low key brand stand out from the crowd. It settled on some distinctive packaging options, but when it came to the liquid itself it struck gold. As managing director…

“There are only two real ways to get ahead today – sell liquor or drink it.” That’s according to American comic actor WC Fields, who lived from 1880-1946. Now usually we talk about how times have changed. But, according to research company Marketline, the global alcohol industry is set to exceed $1 trillion by next year. A figure Fields probably wouldn’t have…

ARGENTINA’S SOARING INFLATION, exchange rate and protectionist policies are shaping the future of the country’s wine industry, both domestically and internationally.  Under the leadership of President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, now two years into her second term, inflation has reached 25%, according to private sector analysts, spiralling living costs and, consequently, the expense of labour. “The salaries of workers increase with inflation,…

BEFORE A MAN in dark glasses trotted into the world’s consciousness, lassoing 1.7 billion You Tube viewers and making fools of dads at weddings, the concept of a Korean icon was not altogether familiar.  In Psy the world has one. In the soju brand Jinro it could one day have another. At 65 million 9-litre cases, the word’s largest brand is big but,…

IT MAY ONLY BE THE KOREAN STRAIT   that separates South Japan’s shochu and South Korea’s soju but, in terms of global outlook, the spirits are oceans apart.  Soju is more akin to vodka – big brands with big ambitions, selling on a pitch of neutrality. While shochu can swing that way too, in the form of its mass-produced Korui, its crafted Otsurui style…

> I HAVE SEEN many interesting cocktail trends on my travels over the past 12 months. The most original and inspiring has been the evolution of the Gin & Tonic. The Gin Tonica is a progression of a simple drink that incorporates all kinds of garnishes and little extras – depending on the venue and the drinker. It has been driven in…