That Highland Mystique - By Amitabh Joshi

Highland Distillers owned by the Edrington Group has got great plans for India. And its legacy is one which will find many takers in the country - where legend still has value. Highland Park has its own ways of doing things.
It does not believe in cutting corners and values quality and uniqueness above all else - including quick profits. Ambrosia caught up with Gerry Tosh - Head of Brand Education. Tosh was in India on an 'educational tour'. Here are excerpts from the interview:

India blends with single malt
The company is aware that the Indian market has a long history of whisky. Over the last twenty years or so there’s been a consistent trend in this market. And they believe that once you’ve been into this market for a while - your experience changes, your palette changes and you start looking for the best in life, namely the premium side of the whisky. "And that’s where I come in", says Tosh. "My job over the past ten days has been to come into India and go to Mumbai, Delhi, Chandigarh to sit down with whisky connoisseurs and even hotel staff to talk about how we make single malt and why its different from blended and Indian whisky and why it’s regarded as the being on top of the whisky tree".

Exclusive tasting and nosing sessions with the single malt were organized to tickle the finer cravings of the Indian connoisseurs. The range of Highland Park spans not just its 12- year-old, but also its 18, 25 & 30-yearold products.

The Scots know that Indians understand whisky. But they feel that whereas Indians understand that Scotch whisky is special-they’re not sure why it’s special.

Says Tosh: "What I’ve been doing is taking them stepwise through the production of Scotch whisky and getting them to understand scotch distilleries. I get them to understand how Highland Park is the best spirit in the world. I show them that it’s the balance between the smokiness of the peat and the sweetness of the sherry casks that gives that wonderful taste and texture."

Gentle, smokey & sweet
Highland Distillers’ brand education chief believes that it’s easy to make a very cheap whisky - whether smokey or sweet - but extremely difficult to make a smokey, sweet whisky. And that’s what Highland Park is. And their production methods haven’t changed for over 200 years.

"It’s also been important for me to understand the flavours which are a hit with Indians because it’s intrinsic to learning the ropes in this market", says Tosh.

Highland Distillers still do something called floor malting - a process that every distillery 200 years ago would have done. Basically, barley is grown on stone floors and constantly hand-turned to keep the temperature nice and cool. Then it’s dried - usually with peat.

Nowadays, there are only four to five distilleries which still use this method. The peat used by Highland Distillers is special - because there’s no wood since there are no trees on Orkney. So the smokiness obtained is extremely gentle and special. "When you smell Highland Park, the smoke doesn’t jump into your nose, it’s very subtle. We only use special seasoned sherry casks from Spain .We’re about an expensive a whisky as can be made", remarks Tosh.

If you don’t like Highland Park whisky-you probably don’t like whisky" says Tosh.

At Highland, it’s the best of both worlds. “What we do is use peat that has no wood in it. That means the peat burns very gently and gives a smoke which is unique. And then we use sherry casks and when the wonderful sweetness blends with the smoke right in the middle - we get our class product. If you don’t like Highland Park whisky-you probably don’t like whisky" says Tosh.

Quality quietness
“At the distillery, we produce 2 million litres of alcohol a year. The bigger distillers go up to 15 million litres. We’re content with our operation because Highland Park is all about quality. We don’t compete mindlessly. You won’t see Highland Park advertised on billboards and on television. We spend all our money on production. We don’t cut corners like others", said Tosh while summing up his company’s mission statement.

Their biggest market is actually Scotland. That’s followed by US, Canada, Sweden, Denmark, Russia and Germany.
And when asked about China, they simply say they’re not ready for that country yet. China is seen as a growing market where consumers are beginning to understand Scotch whisky at the entry level. They tend to jump between the entry level and the big brands they hear about. "Because Highland Park is not one of those brands which spend money on big advertising, we’ll probably wait till that market matures - as India has. I’m actually going to Hong Kong in April and testing the waters so to speak", says Tosh.

Grouse & beyond
But moving away from the single malt legend, Highland Distillers continue to take pride in another flagship of theirs - the Famous Grouse whisky which is available in India. It’s a mixture of blended whiskies and grain whisky. Famous Grouse is upwards of thirty million bottles in production.

Apart from being number one in Scotland, it sells mostly in Britain, followed by Greece, Spain, and Sweden. Whereas in other drinks like vodka, gin - the biggest selling is usually the cheapest, in whisky, Scots choose Famous Grouse even though it’s the most expensive. One in four whiskies in Scotland is a Famous Grouse bottle.

And it also seems these Scots are finally moving their castles beyond their shores. The umbrella group has bought a major rum from the Dominican Republic called Brugal - with an 83% stake. It’s the first move to diversify.

Interestingly, the Scottish company is owned by a charity called the Robertson Trust - so the focus remains on quality and not quantity.