Elmer Fudd once said : "Be vewy vewy quiet, I'm hunting wabbits." And perhaps the First Minister of Scotland can say the same thing. The only difference is that instead of hunting rabbits, Alex Salmond is hunting down the Chinese whisky market. The Chinese not only have a thirst for whisky, but have a sense of taste in choosing it as well. Whisky's popularity is soaring with a newly affluent Chinese middle class. These groups and individuals don't waste their time with blended scotches. They go straight for the jugular with single malts such as: Glengoyne, Glenfiddich, Macallan and Bowmore. Scotland's exports of whisky to China alone was worth £57 million in the 12 months leading up to June 2011.The scotch whisky industry is so busy that the surge in sales might even lead to a major supply shortage. During his visit to the Xiamen Spirit Empire store - accompanied by David Kilshaw of Scotland Food and Drink - the First Minister met Spirit Empire Chairman Ding Wei and Stephen Notman, recently recruited by Spirit Empire as a 'whisky ambassador' to work in Scotland representing Chinese sellers.
Sources:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2011/12/04160905
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/dec/02/scotch-whisky-export-sales-asia-shortage
http://blogs.wsj.com/scene/2010/10/29/chinas-new-status-drink-single-malt-scotch/
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