“What I like to do,” says Blair Bowman, “is cut through the myths.” Bowman is a whisky consultant. Someone who, in his own words, is trying to convert people all over the world into whisky fans, one by one. But he has no patience for fusty ideas about how the spirit, which has been distilled since at least the 1400s, should be consumed. The purists’ cardinal rules over whether or not to add ice, what temperature is ideal and whether one category of whisky is superior to another – all can be dispensed with, he says.

“You should drink it however you want and not let anyone tell you otherwise,” says Bowman, with refreshing nonchalance. One of his own mixtures of choice, for instance, is whisky with ginger beer. A fantastic combination – but he still gets asked in bars now and again if it should be “allowed”.

Few beverages have cultivated the reverence that Scotch whisky has. For some, it’s the very essence of Scotland distilled, matured and poured into a glass. The drink is rich with history, craftsmanship and culture. There’s truth in that – Bowman happily agrees. But there’s another side to Scotch. 

It’s also a booming export product that is taking certain foreign markets by storm. In 2018, Scotch whisky exports were worth £4.7bn in total, up nearly 8% on 2017. More than a billion bottles of Scotch were sent overseas that year. And these considerable sales made up 70% of Scotland’s food and drink exports, and 21% of the UK’s as a whole. 

The dominance of the whisky trade in Scotland’s economy is an example of specialisation taken to a fine art. It runs two ways: Scotland’s food and drink industry specialises in the spirit, while whiskies themselves are differentiated depending on the particular region, method or distillery that produced them. 

So far, this strategy has been successful for Scotch, but such a high degree of specialisation comes with its own risks. With increasing specialisation, there is also vulnerability. As new markets emerge and tastes evolve, whisky-makers that have crafted a spirit over decades are in a constant race to keep up with the demands of new palates. 

Matching a whisky to a particular export market is increasingly important for Scotland’s distilleries. 

Rachel Barrie is master blender at the BenRiach Distillery Company and has nearly 30 years’ experience in the industry. She says that three of the whiskies she helps to produce fit the expectations of three distinct markets. The rich tone of BenRiach Peated, for instance, appeals to consumers in northern Europe. And one emerging market there is Poland. “It’s just starting to explode – that was not really a market before for malt whisky,” says Barrie.

Meanwhile, another of Barrie’s malts, the much sweeter Glendronach, is popular with consumers in Taiwan. Its producers noticed this back in 2009, when 400 cases of the whisky were sold to Taiwanese buyers in just 15 days.

Finally, Glenglassaugh, another fairly sweet whisky, has proved to be a hit in Australia. 

But what is the origin of these distinct flavours that have such varied appeal in different countries? Barrie, whose background is in chemistry, says it has lots to do with cask-aging. Different substances in the wood, such as lignin or cellulose, get broken down gradually as the cask and whisky interact. This brings out specific compounds that impart aroma and flavour. 

For example, BenRiach has an “apple orchard” flavour that comes from the compound ethyl caprylate. Lipids in the spirit, fats from the barley, degrade during maturation to release this compound over time. It occurs commonly in Speyside casks more than in the casks of other regions, but why that is remains a bit of a mystery.

“We know the compound, we know that happens in Speyside rather than anywhere else,” says Barrie. “But we don’t know why exactly.”

It could, for example, be something to do with microbes in this area that act on the chemicals in the casks or the spirit ageing within them. But either way there’s a bit of an enigma here – which is of course part of the attraction. 

At Tamdhu, the whisky casks come exclusively from Spain. Oak from the north is transported south to Jerez, where the wood is made into barrels and then treated with sherry. Once properly seasoned, they’re shipped to Tamdhu in Scotland and filled with whisky.

When Blair Bowman does one of his tasting sessions, which he hosts all over the world, he likes to explain to people that there are all sorts of flavours waiting to be found in whisky. But there are also lots of different ways to discover those flavours. Take your whisky of choice and cradle it in a glass while you dream of the Scottish highlands – or, whack it in a cocktail. Mix it with ice cold green tea, even. Or try tasting it with chocolate. He’s no snob. 

But he does say that some groups can be particularly interested in the backstory and heritage of individual whiskies. “Whenever I do a tasting for Chinese groups,” he says, “they want to absorb every nugget of information.” 

This interest could be very much to the benefit of those in the whisky trade. China is seen as an enormous potential market for Scotch whisky. It’s the most populous nation on Earth and the largest spirits market in the world. But Scotch whisky only makes up 0.1% of the Chinese spirits market, according to Littlejohn. Breaking into a market like China's would be one way to bolster the spirit’s future.

Bowman, who insists there is a “whisky out there for everyone”, thinks Scotch is already enjoying a boom period. It’s good for distilleries – and good for him – but he says he always worries a bust may be around the corner. 

Whisky booms and busts have happened before – notably around the turn of the last century and again in the 1980s. That’s part of the nature of any business. But for a product of such increasing importance to Scotland, a bust could wipe out the livelihoods of many. The effects would not be confined to Scotland, but would reach places like Jerez where casks for whisky are a staple of the local economy.

To secure a truly global market for Scotch, Bowman thinks the spirit needs to progress from a purely antiquated image and ideas about how you “should” drink it, which can be off-putting to people unfamiliar with traditional whisky culture. At the same time, denying its heritage won’t do Scotch whisky much good. The spirit’s strong links to place and producers, and the unique taste that comes from that, has been largely responsible for whisky’s success. 

There is a balance to be struck between old traditions and fast-growing demand from countries new to whisky-drinking. Distillers who get the balance right won’t only reap the financial dividends, they’ll shore up the future of Scotch itself – and ensure we’ll still be talking about how it is evolving decades or centuries from now. 

Image credits: Lion TV, Getty Images

Graphics sources: Scotch Whisky Association

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The world’s trading routes have been crafted over centuries and yet remain in a constant state of flux. Made on Earth looks at eight everyday products – from bicycles to whisky, spices to semiconductors – and explores the people, countries and intricate global networks that go into making and bringing these goods to market.