<div><strong>George S. Gran</strong>t, the brand ambassador of Glenfarclas single malt whisky was in India recently to launch a premier brand ‘Blend Glenfarclas’ at Rs 25,000 a bottle. He chatted with <strong>BW|Businessworld's Smita Tripathi </strong> about his Indian plans and why India was more important than China. Grant’s Scottish sense of humour was evident throughout the interview. <em>Excerpts.</em></div><div> </div><div><strong>Tell us a little about Glenfarclas</strong></div><div>We were established in 1836 which was the saddest year of our established history as in that year we became legal and had to start paying taxes to the English. My family bought Glenfarclas in 1865 for 511 pounds and 19 shillings, we hope the distillery is for a little more than that considering that one of the bottles of whisky we sell is actually 20 times the price we paid for the distillery. I’m the sixth generation Grant to own the distillery.</div><div> </div><div>Glenfarclas is our main brand, the company is actually called J&G Grant and we have other business interests including a 50 per cent share in a bottling plant just outside Edinburgh. We also have other highland blends and whiskies.</div><div> </div><div>We are right in the heart of Speyside, around a three-hour drive north of Edingburgh.</div><div> </div><div><strong>What makes Glenfarclas different?</strong></div><div>Our biggest differentiator is that we are family-run and owned. Most distilleries are owned by multinationals and corporates. In terms of taste, Glenfarclas has no smokiness or peatiness at all. It’s a very sweet whisky. All our whiskies are matured in sherry casks which gives it a really dark, rich colour and also a sweet finish. It has a kind of bitter chocolate flavour.</div><div> </div><div><strong>What are your annual production and sales figures?</strong></div><div>I’ll answer half that question. Since we are a family run business we don’t give out our sales figures. But production-wise we are capable of producing three and a half million litres of alcohol in a year which equates to 11 million bottles. Around 60-70 per cent of this will be Glenfarclas and the rest will be used in blended whiskies.</div><div><strong><br /></strong></div><div><strong>How important is the Indian market for you?</strong></div><div>India has always been a whisky drinking country. It’s traditionally been a brown spirit market and not a vodka market. The potential for India is huge. A few years ago everyone talked about how China and India were the future markets. But India has become potentially more important. For one, everyone in India can read the labels while the Chinese struggle with that. Also Indians have always drunk some form of whisky while Chinese have traditionally consumed clear liquids.</div><div> </div><div>So potentially the Indian market is massive. Only 10 per cent of the Scottish population drinks whisky. That’s 500,000 people. So if we tell ourselves that only 1 per cent of the Indian population is going to drink single malt, that’s still over a million people.</div><div> </div><div><strong>Are you competing only in the single malt market?</strong></div><div>I think initially it’s less about competition and more about education. What’s important is to educate the public. It’s not just about blended whiskies versus single malts but also, Indian liquor versus Scottish liquor. For instance, Indian whisky is made from molasses so technically it should not be a whisky but a rum. There are several such key learnings in the world of whisky and we have just now started the education.</div><div> </div><div><strong>How are you going about it?</strong></div><div>We are making presentations to bartenders and others in the trade trying to tell them what Glenfarclas is all about. One interesting thing in India is that people rotate their jobs very quickly. So you have trained a fellow in a particular hotel and before you know it he is at another hotel and you are reaching out to a larger audience. So even if I manage to speak to only 6 hotels, in another six months time those people will be working at other hotels and I won’t need to go there.</div><div> </div><div>The other thing is to have events, get a small group of people and do a tasting session. Word of mouth really counts. What you need are a few people who unwittingly become your brand ambassadors.</div><div> </div><div><strong>Are you looking at catering to the younger generation?</strong></div><div>You have to cater to the younger generation, the older generation keeps dying.</div><div> </div><div><strong>Who is your target audience in the country?</strong></div><div>Everyone.</div>
