Sales of Scotch have been slipping. (see this, h/t MA).
The number of bottles shifted worldwide fell 5% to 1.19bn...
To tell the truth, I think that in the calendar year 2012, we did our bit to help the Scotch industry. If sales fell, it was despite our efforts. One reason for the decline, of course, was the continuing economic uncertainty in Europe and elsewhere. But increased taxes also played a role.
Sales were hardest hit across the eurozone, as the economic crisis continues to hit luxury industries.
In France, the biggest importer of UK whisky, sales dropped 25% after the introduction of a new 15% whisky tax*. The fourth biggest market, Spain, also fell by 20%. It follows years of strong growth for the industry, which accounts for a quarter of the UK's food and drink export market.
At the same time, though, discerning drinkers have been spending more on Scotch.
[T]he value of the sales grew 1% to £4.27bn as discerning drinkers in the US and Asia turned to more expensive brands.
The biggest winner, according to the International Wine & Spirit Research group, was Johnnie Walker, which took top spot for sales in Asia, the Americas, the Middle East and Africa. Its sales grew 7.6% worldwide.
Johnny Walker?? JOHNNY WALKER??? Good grief. What are they moving up from? Bell's? Grant's? Wal-Mart brand?
Ms. Eclectic, after considerable experimentation, has pretty much settled on Balvennie as her Scotch of choice. There are also certain batches of Jura (the non-peaty batches) that suit her.
My own preference has been for Lagavulin or Caol Ila, the smokey-peaty Scotches from the island of Islay. I've also enjoyed some blends from Islay, but they seem to come and go, whereas the single malts like Lagavulin and Caol Ila are fairly stable brands. [see this, and for my pilgrimage to Islay, see this].
*Note to all economics students: Yes, despite our apparent addictions, it makes sense that the the price elasticity of demand for Scotch is 1.67. There are lots of substitutes, including very decent Scotch-type whiskeys from Japan and Cape Breton Island, not to mention all the other whiskeys.