The quick rise of craft beer popularity has also put focus on another industry: craft whiskey. This fact was not lost on the world's premier spirits maker Diageo.
The idea of a craft beer or whiskey carries with it certain strong connotations. It implies greater care, better quality, and support for the local community, the Wall Street Journal reported.
With this in mind, Ivan Menezes, chief executive officer of Diageo, shared in an interview, “Craft is just a label. The real question is, how do you engage with consumers around authenticity, craftsmanship and stories that resonate?”
Diageo already has two brands under their Whiskey Union label, Smoky Goat and Boxing Hares. These are so far limited to Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, and Vienna. The two brands are the start of Diageo's serious delve into the craft business and promise to be experimental.
The bottlings from these new brands are described as “unorthodox, weird, and wonderful,” The Spirits Business said. They are playing around with the many possibilities and are willing to release Scotch whiskeys that adhere to industry standards and non-Scotch whiskeys as well.
“It’s worth stating here that we think the SWA regulations are a good thing,” David Gates, head of premium core spirits at Diageo, said during an investors’ conference. “They give consumers complete reassurance that when they buy a product labelled Scotch whiskey, they know exactly what they are getting and that it is of the very highest standard.
He added, “But there is room to play. When our innovations comply completely to the SWA regulations we shall call then Scotch whiskeys and when they don’t we won’t.”
Smoky Goat is priced at €24 and is described as a “smoky sweet” blended Scotch whiskey. Boxing Hares, on the other hand, is priced at €22 and is labeled as a “spirit drink” made from Scotch whiskey and hops.
They also plan to release Huxley, a “unique” blend of Scotch, Canadian, and American whiskeys. All these brands will be released under Diageo's “new business model.”
