I track news of whisky, especially scotch whisky on-line through Google. I have quite a bit of information dump into my inbox on a daily basis about the industry. What I am noticing, or thinking, is that the Whisk(e)y industry world-wide is at a tipping point. That is, it is gaining amazing potential. While this is a good sign for them, I think they should all (from Balvenie to Beam) be aware that there is an awful lot of people paying attention to the products hitting the shelf.

I do not think that the ‘ol US of A is merely content with any random whisk(e)y anymore. It must be good, no, it must have something special to offer! Do not just throw out some old stock with some clever marketing campaign! It better be right, or it better not hit the shelves.

I do feel strongly about this. This morning I saw that a whiskey from Waco, Texas beat out Balvenie and others in a tasting competition in London recently. This is being compared, whether it should or not, with California’s wine beating out Bordeaux (which I love) in 1976.

In the end, I think that the consumer of dark whisk(e)y is about to be in the driver seat, and the distiller chasing their loyalties. In the end, it’s a win for all of us.

Cheers!