'India Is The Most Whisky-Open Market'

Born and bred in Glasgow, Scotland, Darren Hosie has travelled and worked extensively in Europe, living in Paris and the south of France. On joining Chivas Brothers, the Scotch whisky and premium gin business of Pernod Ricard, he was based at the Strathisla Distillery – the heart of Chivas Regal – in Speyside. He spent four years living and working in Speyside before moving further afield to continue promoting Chivas Brother's portfolio of Scotch whiskies.

Currently based in Hong Kong specialising in premium and super premium Scotch whisky, Hosie travels all over Asia Pacific promoting the different brands -- Chivas Regal, Royal Salute, Ballantine’s and The Glenlivet -- in his role as the International Brand Ambassador, Asia Pacific, Chivas Brothers.

In testament to Hosie’s passion and enthusiasm for his support of Scotch whisky, he was awarded the position of Keeper of the Quaich in 2012.

Hosie was in India as part of The Legacy Tasting tour which is an exclusive tasting experience for key influencers and selected patrons of The Glenlivet across the world. The Glenlivet is the number one single malt Scotch whisky in the world. As per the IWSR figures, The Glenlivet sold 10,65,000 nine-litre cases in the year ending 2014. Crafted in the remote Livet Valley since 1824, it is the only whisky with the right to be called The Glenlivet.

Hosie spoke to BW Businessworld during the Glenlivet tasting session at The Park Hyatt, Chennai, on the importance of the Indian market. Excerpts:


How important is India as a market for you?
Very important. I’ve been to India three times over the last year. In Asia, as a whole, India is the most whisky-open market. There are Indian whiskies so Indians already have a taste for brown spirits and Scotch is very popular. Whereas other Asian markets such as China are more of a white spirits market. It’s not yet open to the flavour of Scotch. It’s more like a drink that people have to show their success.

How large is the market?
The market for single malts in India is growing, thankfully for us (laughs). We have 60 per cent of the market share of single malts in India. We do not give figures for individual markets but globally we sell over 1 million cases, that’s 6 million bottles. That’s more than a bottle for every person in Scotland (laughs). The Glenlivet 12 year old is the most popular in terms of volume. For us, South India is a stronger market than North India. We are promoting the brand through small intimate evenings where we have tasting sessions and introduce people to The Glenlivet.

Where does India stand compared to other markets?
In terms of The Glenlivet we are number one in America and traditionally it has been our biggest market. In Asia, Taiwan and Japan are our biggest markets. Like India, Japan also has its own whiskies and malts and is a brown spirits market. Duty free retail is also very important for us. In the last 5-7 years the single malt market has grown manifold and India has contributed extensively to that, making it a very important market for us.

Where do you see the single malt market headed?
People have been drinking blended scotch for a long time. But as they grow and become more mature in their tastes and their income levels increase they are willing to try something a little more different. The Glenlivet, for instance, has four different expressions – the 12 year old, Founder’s Reserve, 15 year old and 18 year old – and they provide a great range of flavour. Malts have a huge variety and people are enjoying discovering them. I believe everyone is a malt drinker. If you say you don’t enjoy them, it’s only because you have not discovered the right one. Once you do, you will become a convert. So the market is going to keep growing.

How is a single malt best enjoyed?
Everyone is different. If you enjoy it in a particular way then that is the best way. A lot of people will tell you that you shouldn’t have single malt as a cocktail but if you enjoy it like that then go ahead. Purists believe it’s meant to be had neat but it varies. Our tasters and distillers in Scotland nose and taste nearly 3,000 whisky samples every week, that’s a lot of samples of whisky. If you have had a couple of glasses of whisky neat, your taste buds become quite numb. It’s like having a very spicy curry and then your mouth is on fire and you can’t taste anything else. So what they do is that they bring it down to 20 per cent alcohol by adding water and that releases a lot more of the aroma. Because when you drink scotch neat, that’s 40 per cent alcohol which is very high.

So a lot of time you only taste the burning sensation. That’s not the whisky flavour, that’s just the alcohol. Adding water takes away the burning sensation, the heat and releases different aromas and changes the texture. A lot of what you taste on your palate actually comes from your sense of smell. You smell the aromas before you taste. Also, when you are doing a lot of tasting it is the sense of smell which comes in handy as your nose doesn’t get tired. I’ve often heard people say that they drink their single malt neat because that’s how it is done in Scotland. No, that is not the way it is done there. That is just an urban myth.