I can never quite adjust to all the strange Scotch whiskies one sees for sale in foreign lands. I am convinced that half the Scotch brands on this planet are created in other countries after the whisky has been bulk-blended here and tankered overseas to be bottled and labelled there.
To be fair, this is not a situation unique to Scotch. I’ve seen bourbons on UK shelves that have been bottled in the Netherlands and of course many wines we drink are brought to Britain in bulk from other countries and bottled here.
However, by law all our single malts must be distilled, matured and bottled in Scotland and many if not all the “great” blends are also bottled here to ensure quality and deter counterfeiting.
On the continent one can even buy blends that openly state they are a mix of “American, European and Indian whiskies” and are sold at rock-bottom prices. I have bought the odd bottle, more out of curiosity than hope, and I must confess the contents weren’t that bad. Definitely not your after-dinner nectar, but eminently drinkable with a mixer.
Interestingly, many continental supermarkets offer a far wider range of well-known blends than one sees in UK outlets. Even a small street-corner supermarket I visited had a dozen well-known blends, running from Ballantines, Chivas Regal and Dewars to Vat 69, William Lawson and two colours of Johnny Walker.
Among the “unknown” blends were Highland Glendon and Goldfield, plus an unnamed Speyside eight-year single malt at less than 10 euros a bottle. However, the most intriguing whisky I saw was a blended malt shipped in bulk to southern Spain to be finished in sherry butts in Jerez. It had the singularly appropriate name of “Nomad”.
However, top prize for the most stridently named drink was a Canadian whisky-based liqueur, spiced with cinnamon and chillies, which rejoiced in the brand name Thunder Bitch. I could not see many bottles being given as Mother’s Day gifts….
Without being sentimental or chauvinist, it is great to see Scotch prominently displayed in so many outlets in so many countries. It is our universal liquid ambassador and this country’s bellweather industry that will still be thriving even when North Sea oil is a distant memory.
