Asia’s Whisky Capital (Episode 856: January 31, 2021)

Hong Kong has become a key center for the world’s whisky makers, and we had more evidence of that this week. Gordon & MacPhail’s new 72-year-old Glen Grant single malt won’t hit the market until the end of March, but one bottle went on the auction block Friday at Bonhams in Hong Kong. We’ll talk with Hong Kong whisky importer and retailer John Rhodes about that whisky and the growing role Hong Kong plays in the whisky business on WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival is joining the growing list of spring whisky events either being postponed or cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic, with plans to move this year’s festival to November. We’ll also have the latest data on how the pandemic and tariffs combined to cut into global whisky sales this year, and why the U.S. market may have been an outlier…and on Behind the Label, some sage advice on how we could all learn a lesson from the help distillers give each other.

Links: Caskells Hong Kong | Bonhams | Gordon & MacPhail | Spirit of Speyside Festival | Diageo | Distilled Spirits Council | Koval Distillery | Brown-Forman | Beam Suntory | Bowmore | Suntory | Buffalo Trace | Lagavulin | Balcones | BenRiach | Berry Bros. & Rudd | Scotch Trooper’s GoFund Me Campaign