Market Watch, September 2018

SEPTEMBER 2018 MARKETWATCHMAG COM MARKET WATCH 65has been a top priority for many producers Theres confusion when you say single grain in the U S Teeling says American consumers dont know what youre referring to but we find that when they taste it they enjoy the flavor profile Theres just a barrier for them in picking up the bottle Retailers have likewise noted the uncer tainty many consumers feel when faced with the growing number of Irish whiskey options available to them Some people feel overwhelmed by Irish whiskey shelves says Bob Zacharias beverage director of the Fountainhead Market in Chicago Theyll come in and want to expand their horizons but they dont necessarily know what single pot still or single grain whiskies are They dont know where to start To counteract this Fountainhead frequently holds staff trainings and invites brand representatives for in store tastings Additionally Zach arias breaks the whiskies apart in an accessible manner sepa rating them first by brand and then according to style age statement or special cask finish It leads consumers along a ladder of premiumization he explains At Cask in San Fran cisco the best selling Irish whiskies are the single pot still variants Redbreast and Green Spot according to Sheehy though unique barrel finishes and age stated single malts are also driving Irish whiskey sales at the store For Jon Dubin brand manager of Castle Brands Irish port folio which includes the Knappogue Castle and Clontarf labels education on Irish whiskeys storied past is key to its long term success Consumers want to understand the cate gory he says They know about Scotch and Bourbon but not many are aware of the history of Irish whiskey To that end Castle Brands holds seminars for distributors in its key markets which oftentimes include in depth presentations by whisk e y educator Philip Duff Given that Knappogue is a major player in the single malt Irish whiskey space Castle Brands has also put considerable effort into consumer tastings particularly in the on premise People often dont realize the Irish make great single malts Dubin says They think single malts and then they think Scotch We see a real opportunity to convert those single malt Scotch whisky drinkers over to the Irish side and its become a real point of emphasis for us to illustrate the difference between Scotch and Irish whiskies He notes that such efforts have thus far been successful pointing to the tremendous performance of Knappogue in recent years The brands core lineup consists of 12 45 a 750 ml 14 60 and 16 year old 100 single malt expressions as well as a recently launched limited edition 21 year old 200 which was matured in ex Bourbon casks Since opening the 50 million 600000 case Slane Irish whiskey distillery last September Brown Forman and their partners the Conyngham family have made education a key part of brand building The distillerys inaugural 40 abv expression 30 a 750 ml is a blend of single malt and single grain whiskies which are divided and matured in three differ ent cask types virgin American oak ex Tennessee whiskey and Oloroso Sherry before blending We do tastings where we deconstruct the liquid to explore the impact of each of the three different barrels because they all bring something very different to the table says Slane co founder Alex Conyngham We like to try and break down the complex ity of the liquid for consumers Rooted In History A relative newcomer to the Irish whiskey sphere is Louise McGuane founder and CEO of Chapel Gate Whiskey which launched in 2017 with J J Corry The Gael 80 a high end whiskey that blends 26 15 and 11 year old single malts with a 7 year old grain whiskey Chapel Gate is unique in that its the only independent Irish whiskey bonder opera tion in the country at the moment according to McGuane who believes Irish whiskey will find success through honor ing the past while keeping an eye firmly on the future Bond ing was a common practice in 19th century Ireland the term refers to whiskey sourced by non distiller producers aged in their own bonded warehouses and then finished or blended and bottled under their own brand names McGuane is reviv ing the practice with her company Its very important that what I do is rooted in heritage she says Irish whiskey in general needs to respect tradition but embrace change we have to acknowledge everything that went before us but embrace innovation to ensure that were driving the category forward in the right way Conyngham of Slane agrees The history of Irish whiskey is a nice story to tell he says Irish whiskey was once much bigger than it is today Were rising back and I think thats a powerful narrative But that shouldnt come with a sense of entitlement Weve got to deliver on quality too mwGlendalough Distillery co founders Brian Fagan Kevin Keenan Barry Gallagher and Gary McLoughlin pictured is one of Irelands preeminent craft distillers producing a number of experimental single grain and single malt whiskies