2016 was quite an hectic year for the whisky world, and while many (MANY) things made my whisky-loving self go “:o :/ :'(” this year (Minimum Pricing, Clichés about Millennials, Brexit, endless NAS/Gender debates…), some other things made 2016 a really fruitful malted year, and here are my top 7 \o/ moments!
Compass Box Transparency Campaign (quickly backed by Bruichladdich), launched early 2016 was probably the most noticeable event in the whisky industry this past year (at least to me…). In a famous statement, John Glaser, founder of Compass Box, urged the Scotch Whisky Association to amend the outdated rules and allow full disclosure of all the elements entering in the composition of a bottle of whisky as a choice for whisky producers/bottlers. This has been followed by numerous debates on transparency, and while nothing has officially been changed yet, Compass Box opened a loophole towards a much-needed and relevant debate.
French Whisky getting more and more international recognition. #ChauvinismMoment. I can’t help myself but feel pretty proud for my home country when coming accross the increasing number of articles written about our national booming whisky industry (42 distilleries so far and still counting!). I’m definitely not part of those thinking French whisky could soon take over Scotch or any other but I do believe that the quality of our whisky is in no way inferior to well-established whisky producing countries’. Check it out drammers!
“Terroir” becoming a central issue in the industry. Almost all distilleries seem to have realised that terroir/provenance matters and are now adapting to consumers’ thirst for local, authentic & meaningful products. There’s been countless articles written about Terroir In Whisky this past year, and there will probably be even more in 2017…
Seeing an increasing number of youngsters & malted newbies attending whisky events. When I first started to attend whisky shows, I always felt a bit like a clumsy kitten at a tomcat’s house party (Sorry, never been the queen of metaphors… But I’m trying hard… ) and I couldn’t be happier to announce that this feeling now belongs to the past. So yes, maybe whisky is now attracting a crowd of tattoed-bearded hipsters – but whoever’s responsible for this (Monkey Shoulder? David Beckham? Cocktail Bars? TV shows? I Don’t Give a Sh*t?) generational shift is a f*cking genius (pardon my French).
Cointreau taking over Westland Whiskey & Le Domaine Des Hautes Glaces. Because seriously, when you see how Bruichladdich is doing, I couldn’t be more optimistic for the future of those 2 distilleries. #WorldWhiskyFTW
Cover pic: http://www.whiskyforbundet.no/
