Flavoured, low-alcohol Scotch? Distilleries test whisky’s limits
Some have been experimenting with flavoured or lower alcohol spirits, but British law states Scotch must be at least 40 per cent alcohol
Demand for more variety in Scotch whisky from fast-growing emerging markets and the request for lower alcohol varieties among health-conscious drinkers are challenging a closely guarded centuries-old tradition.
Drinks giant Diageo, producers of market leader Johnnie Walker, sent shock waves through the industry earlier this year when a “highly confidential” document, leaked to The Wall Street Journal, revealed potential innovations such as flavoured infusions, low-alcohol variants and whisky finished in tequila casks.
But it is operating within very tight restrictions as British law states Scotch must be at least 40 per cent alcohol – which means distillers cannot reach out to health-conscious millennials or tap into the lucrative Middle Eastern market with lower or zero alcohol Scotch.
“There is a lot of interest in lower alcohol spirit drinks across the spirit sector to do with things like the Dry January craze and minimum pricing of alcohol,” says Matthew Pauley, an assistant professor at Heriot-Watt University’s International Centre for Brewing and Distilling.
“A few people have been experimenting throughout the sector with lower alcohol spirits, and no alcohol spirit variants. Not all of them have been well received.”
Pauley’s shelves are packed with herbs, spices and flavourings used in experiments with gin – but they are kept well away from the whisky stills.
The law restricts Scotch ingredients to barley, water and yeast aged in oak casks, meaning flavoured infusions and tequila-cask finishes are also likely to attract the attention of the litigious Scotch Whisky Association (SWA).