Scotch whisky Winnie the Pooh would love
Dewars is betting a spoonful of honey will help the whiskey go down
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When the iconic Scotch brand Dewar’s describes its newest release, it tells
of its “well-rounded and harmonious taste profile” and “captivating blend of
sweetness and bite.”
But the key word may be “sweetness,” for this isn’t quite the Dewar’s that generations of Scotch drinkers have known and loved. Instead, it’s a honey-flavored version: Dewar’s Highlander Honey, to be exact.
As heretical as it may seem to old-school sippers, the whiskey world has taken a cue from the vodka one and gone the flavored route. “There’s a desire to expand the base for these iconic brands, not the least of which among women drinkers,” says Frank Coleman, senior vice president of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. “It draws them away from wine.”
While Dewar’s may be the first major Scotch label to embrace the trend, bourbon makers have been on the bandwagon for the past few years: Wild Turkey has its American Honey, Evan Williams has its Honey Reserve and Cinnamon Reserve, and Jim Beam has its Red Stag line with Black Cherry, Honey Tea and Spiced varieties (and separate from Red Stag, there’s a Jim Beam Honey, too).
But the key word may be “sweetness,” for this isn’t quite the Dewar’s that generations of Scotch drinkers have known and loved. Instead, it’s a honey-flavored version: Dewar’s Highlander Honey, to be exact.
As heretical as it may seem to old-school sippers, the whiskey world has taken a cue from the vodka one and gone the flavored route. “There’s a desire to expand the base for these iconic brands, not the least of which among women drinkers,” says Frank Coleman, senior vice president of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. “It draws them away from wine.”
While Dewar’s may be the first major Scotch label to embrace the trend, bourbon makers have been on the bandwagon for the past few years: Wild Turkey has its American Honey, Evan Williams has its Honey Reserve and Cinnamon Reserve, and Jim Beam has its Red Stag line with Black Cherry, Honey Tea and Spiced varieties (and separate from Red Stag, there’s a Jim Beam Honey, too).
And even before Dewar’s launched Highlander Honey, flavored whiskey was going
global: Last year, the Irish brand Bushmills came out with Bushmills Irish Honey
and Canada’s Crown Royal introduced its Maple Finished whiskey.
In short, flavored whiskey is hotter than a hot toddy. Research firm Technomic says the category grew by 19.6% in 2012 (as measured by sales volume) compared with growth of 3.7% for non-flavored American whiskey and 6.3%for single-malt Scotch. Granted, flavored whiskey accounts for a relatively small share of the marketplace — 3.5 million cases in 2012 versus 48.1 million cases for non-flavored whiskey, according to Technomic. But the evidence suggests the category is only going to get bigger over time.
Spirits brands make it clear that they’re indeed trying to woo novice drinkers — especially men in their 20s and women overall — who find straight-ahead whiskey too harsh. So, why not make it more approachable by providing the same boost of sweetness that’s come to define many flavored vodkas? The idea is a variation on that classic Mary Poppins song: In this case, a spoonful of sugar makes the spirit go down.
Then again, it’s not all that new an idea. “The notion of flavoring spirits goes back to Prohibition, when illegal moonshiners used fruits to mask the flavor of their harsh hooch,” says Linda Losey, chief operating officer of West Virginia’s Bloomery Plantation Distillery, one of a number of small-scale spirits distillers that’s also embraced the current flavor trend.
In short, flavored whiskey is hotter than a hot toddy. Research firm Technomic says the category grew by 19.6% in 2012 (as measured by sales volume) compared with growth of 3.7% for non-flavored American whiskey and 6.3%for single-malt Scotch. Granted, flavored whiskey accounts for a relatively small share of the marketplace — 3.5 million cases in 2012 versus 48.1 million cases for non-flavored whiskey, according to Technomic. But the evidence suggests the category is only going to get bigger over time.
Spirits brands make it clear that they’re indeed trying to woo novice drinkers — especially men in their 20s and women overall — who find straight-ahead whiskey too harsh. So, why not make it more approachable by providing the same boost of sweetness that’s come to define many flavored vodkas? The idea is a variation on that classic Mary Poppins song: In this case, a spoonful of sugar makes the spirit go down.
Then again, it’s not all that new an idea. “The notion of flavoring spirits goes back to Prohibition, when illegal moonshiners used fruits to mask the flavor of their harsh hooch,” says Linda Losey, chief operating officer of West Virginia’s Bloomery Plantation Distillery, one of a number of small-scale spirits distillers that’s also embraced the current flavor trend.
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