The world’s most exciting new whisky regions, according to experts
As the saying goes, imitation is the highest form of flattery. But when it comes to whisky making, it is also innovation's biggest enemy. During a recent discussion on the future of the whisky industry, Eloise Feilden asked a panel of experts which regions around the world are successfully breaking the whisky mould. The post The world’s most exciting new whisky regions, according to experts appeared first on The Drinks Business.
As the saying goes, imitation is the highest form of flattery. But when it comes to whisky making, it is also innovation's biggest enemy. During a recent discussion on the future of the whisky industry, Eloise Feilden asked a panel of experts which regions around the world are successfully breaking the whisky mould.
As many as 66 countries around the world are currently making what would technically be considered whisky. The big players — the likes of Scotland, Ireland and the US — have producing the dark spirit for centuries and have established themselves as the trend setters when it comes to both flavour and style.
The challenge for up and coming regions is therefore in carving out market share as they compete against such established whisky-making countries.
"Why aren't we seeing different ways of approaching whisky?" asked Ryan Chetiyawardana, founder of the Mr Lyan Group, at a panel discussion earlier this month.
Chetiyawardana lamented the "homogenisation that's going on across the creative industries, particularly in the food world", and said that in whisky making, it materialises as newer regions trying to imitate well-established styles in the hopes of having the same success.
This is entirely the wrong approach, he argued, criticising what he sees as "people going 'well this is a success, we should all just do that'". He said: "It's meant that we've narrowed the field for something that should be wide and colourful and rich and textured, and it's become a little single mode."
Instead, Chetiyawardana encouraged whisky makers around the world to "follow their own route rather than falling in sync with the rest of the model".
The Mr Lyan Group founder was speaking during a panel discussion in London on 13 February organised by The Heart Cut, an independent bottler which collaborates with distilleries around the world to make unique limited-edition bottlings. Georgie Bell, co-founder of The Heart Cut, moderated the panel, which featured experts from some of London's best whisky bars including Dram, Black Rock, Milroy's, Mr Lyan Studio and the Soho Whisky Club.
There are, of course, exceptions to this homogenisation. Distilleries are popping up in lesser known regions and carving out their own niches, doing away with the traditions which have been set by the well-established players.
For many years Japan was the prime example, born in the late 2000s to major international success. But two decades on Japanese whisky is now part of the canon and there are other countries establishing themselves as the new kids on the block. db asked the panelists which whisky-making regions are proving to be home to the most exciting up and coming distilleries.
"Scandinavia and Nordic distilleries are really pushing," says Smyth. "They're taking what they have and using it instead of trying to fit the mould of what we expect whisky to be."
"What they've done is they've taken what is their provenance and made it into something that they enjoy drinking," he says, using the example of Finnish whisky makers — whose national food is rye bread — using rye as the base of their spirits.
"I think once people get to taste it on a regular basis it will be similar to what we what we now consider Japanese whiskey to be; part of the core of whisky drinking."
For Chetiyawardana, Asia offers the most potential.
"In the spirit of opening up new sets of flavour, one of the regions I'm very intrigued by is China," he said. "You've got one of the oldest cuisines in the world with a very different approach to flavour," he noted, suggesting that this different approach similarly influences whisky making. "They do things like solid state fermentation which blows my mind."
The challenge with Chinese whisky is spreading the word internationally. "There's been a lot of internal work and it's been very hard to discover some of those things that are going on," he said, but based on what he has seen, "I'm super intrigued".
South Korea offers similar potential "and that again had a completely different profile to what I'd experienced", Chetiyawardana said. "It seems super intriguing that they're going down their own path."
"Australia is doing some interesting things that, because it's so far away, you don't always hear about," the Soho Whisky Club GM said during the panel. "There's some cool, wacky stuff going on down under."
Australian producers are using what they have, ageing spirits in fresh wine casks rather than dried casks often used by Scotch producers. Hayes Elliott praised producers' "resourcefulness", saying they are using "what they have access to" and to some interesting results.
As many as 66 countries around the world are currently making what would technically be considered whisky. The big players — the likes of Scotland, Ireland and the US — have producing the dark spirit for centuries and have established themselves as the trend setters when it comes to both flavour and style.
The challenge for up and coming regions is therefore in carving out market share as they compete against such established whisky-making countries.
"Why aren't we seeing different ways of approaching whisky?" asked Ryan Chetiyawardana, founder of the Mr Lyan Group, at a panel discussion earlier this month.
Chetiyawardana lamented the "homogenisation that's going on across the creative industries, particularly in the food world", and said that in whisky making, it materialises as newer regions trying to imitate well-established styles in the hopes of having the same success.
This is entirely the wrong approach, he argued, criticising what he sees as "people going 'well this is a success, we should all just do that'". He said: "It's meant that we've narrowed the field for something that should be wide and colourful and rich and textured, and it's become a little single mode."
Instead, Chetiyawardana encouraged whisky makers around the world to "follow their own route rather than falling in sync with the rest of the model".
The Mr Lyan Group founder was speaking during a panel discussion in London on 13 February organised by The Heart Cut, an independent bottler which collaborates with distilleries around the world to make unique limited-edition bottlings. Georgie Bell, co-founder of The Heart Cut, moderated the panel, which featured experts from some of London's best whisky bars including Dram, Black Rock, Milroy's, Mr Lyan Studio and the Soho Whisky Club.
There are, of course, exceptions to this homogenisation. Distilleries are popping up in lesser known regions and carving out their own niches, doing away with the traditions which have been set by the well-established players.
For many years Japan was the prime example, born in the late 2000s to major international success. But two decades on Japanese whisky is now part of the canon and there are other countries establishing themselves as the new kids on the block. db asked the panelists which whisky-making regions are proving to be home to the most exciting up and coming distilleries.
Thom Smyth, general manager of 3 Greek Street and The Vault
"Scandinavia and Nordic distilleries are really pushing," says Smyth. "They're taking what they have and using it instead of trying to fit the mould of what we expect whisky to be."
"What they've done is they've taken what is their provenance and made it into something that they enjoy drinking," he says, using the example of Finnish whisky makers — whose national food is rye bread — using rye as the base of their spirits.
"I think once people get to taste it on a regular basis it will be similar to what we what we now consider Japanese whiskey to be; part of the core of whisky drinking."
Ryan Chetiyawardana, founder of the Mr Lyan Group
For Chetiyawardana, Asia offers the most potential.
"In the spirit of opening up new sets of flavour, one of the regions I'm very intrigued by is China," he said. "You've got one of the oldest cuisines in the world with a very different approach to flavour," he noted, suggesting that this different approach similarly influences whisky making. "They do things like solid state fermentation which blows my mind."
The challenge with Chinese whisky is spreading the word internationally. "There's been a lot of internal work and it's been very hard to discover some of those things that are going on," he said, but based on what he has seen, "I'm super intrigued".
South Korea offers similar potential "and that again had a completely different profile to what I'd experienced", Chetiyawardana said. "It seems super intriguing that they're going down their own path."
Adelaide Hayes Elliott, general manager of Soho Whisky Club
"Australia is doing some interesting things that, because it's so far away, you don't always hear about," the Soho Whisky Club GM said during the panel. "There's some cool, wacky stuff going on down under."
Australian producers are using what they have, ageing spirits in fresh wine casks rather than dried casks often used by Scotch producers. Hayes Elliott praised producers' "resourcefulness", saying they are using "what they have access to" and to some interesting results. 
