An explosion of popularity around the world has made scotch whisky the biggest growth industry in Scotland.
More than 90% of the whisky produced in Scotland is exported. Exports have increased by 87% in the past decade and its annual revenues are now in excess of $5 million.
In 2017, more than 528,000,000 bottles of scotch were sold around the world, with India leading the way in sheer volume. Whisky sales have also skyrockets in China and in Brazil.
Scotch is more than twice as popular as American whisky and nearly 10 times more popular than Irish.
Its popularity in the US has been increasing by double digit percentages every year recently.
Scotch is a superstar all over the world.
Phewww!
That’s a lot of math. Have a sip and take a breath.
Glad we got that out of the way.
Those stats are all real and they’re all very impressive. But that’s not what our movie is about. That story has been told. And, if you’re interested, you can read all about it.
But we’re telling the story of craftsmanship. Of people. We are interested in the ancient techniques and the new. We are interested in the experimenters who spend decades learning a skill so that they can then take it further down the field.
Two of our featured distillers are Jim McEwan (Ardnahoe, Bruichladdich, Bowmore) and Dr. Bill Lumsden (Glenmorangie, Ardbeg).
McEwan has been in the whisky business since he was a boy. He’s held nearly every job one can hold in the whisky business, from cooper to global ambassador. He is now one of the most respected and revered distillers in the world and he’s about to launch a brand new distillery (and we’ll be there for it).
Dr. Bill, as he’s known, was recently described as “a machine built to make great whisky.” he has a PhD in biochemistry with a focus on yeast. He is currently at the helm of two of the biggest and best distilleries in Scotland, Ardbeg and Glenmorangie. The only things that they have in common are him and their quality.
Both men come at their craft from very different places, but they’re titans.
And with a globally expanding audience the challenges get even greater. The average scotch drinker gets smarter by the day, and they’re no longer so easily distracted by good marketing. They want good whisky.
The best distillers need to keep pushing the boundaries of what whisky is and what it can be. The rest will take of itself.
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