Starting with the basics

Where to start?

With so much information and lots to cover, today has been a toss up of talking about the news of expansion in Speyside and the forth coming Festival. Sadly with work commitments I won't be attending this years Festival, but a colleague will return with a full report.

However, with the press following and discussing Whyte and Mackay owner and Indian drinks tycoon, Vijay Mallya, on the subject of his accusations that the Scotch Whisky Association (S.W.A.) are in danger of undermining the prospects for scotch whisky in India.

This is due to the S.W.A.'s aggressive lobbying in relation to India's tax on imported spirit. At one point this tax was as high as 550%, although it's now currently sitting at 150%. The consumption of Scotch whisky is 1% of the Indian market (some 100milion cases), but remains one of the largest countries whisky is exported to globally.

With the re-opening and expansion of distillery's in Speyside and the rest of Scotland some people are asking is there enough to go around if countries like China, India and others in the Asian Market increase drink whisky as predicted?
Personally, i think there is still lots out there and even more interestingly from other countries.
For example the likes of the Indian produced AMRUT (also rum producers), which is the first Indian whisky to pass EU standards. With 3 main expressions currently available, those being the 10 year old, cask strength and peated, they have a lot to offer. The 10 year old is a great introduction to their whisky range, but is out done by the cask strength and peated. - Too be continued