Chinese liquor market gets a taste of 'water of life'

'Uisce beatha', the Gaelic words for whiskey, translate literally to 'water of life'. And it seems the industry is getting a new lifeline, thanks to soaring sales in China.

‌Scotch and Japanese labels tend to dominate the top shelf in China, but a growing middle class is developing a palate for new tastes and experiences from lesser-known distillers.

Whiskey or whisky?

‌Whiskey is the Irish spelling, whisky the Scottish spelling.‌ Some say the extra 'e' in Irish whiskey stands for 'Eire', the Gaelic name for Ireland; some claim it also stands for 'excellence.'

‌The Irish hold a proud claim on the origin of whiskey: legend has it that the tipple was first made on the Emerald Isle nearly 1,000 years ago. Ireland was also the world's dominant supplier at one point - back in the 1890s it had at least 28 registered distilleries.

‌But that success brought a hangover of sorts. The distillers failed to move with the times, refusing to adopt the new 'columns' which Scottish whisky producers started to use. By 1966 just two Irish whiskey distilleries remained.

Irish eyes are smiling

‌The industry is now enjoying something of a revival. It was worth almost $70 billion last year and analysts say it could grow to over $100 billion by 2032. 

‌Demand from China is helping drive that growth. And no one knows that better than Chad Huang, a Chinese businessman who's lived in Ireland for 22 years. Huang is the CEO of Chamber Whiskey, which produces one of the top-selling Irish whiskeys in China. 

‌"Chinese people are finally waking up to the brown liquor now," says Huang with a slight Irish lilt. "The young people have all started drinking whiskey. They see the other Chinese liquors as drinks for older people and think beer is maybe a little bit boring."

‌There's a culture of buying an expensive bottle at a Chinese bar, with white liquors like Maotai often selling for around $500. Huang thinks the habit of 'buying big' presents a crucial opportunity for Irish whiskey brands. 

‌"Chinese people really appreciate the value behind the whiskey," says Huang. "We really like to try the high-end part of the market, because Chinese spirits like Maotai could cost 400 euro [$425] for a bottle, and that's only a half liter."

'We must look to the East'

Experts say China will import whiskey worth more than $2 billion by 2025. M‌ore and more distillers are eyeing Asian markets, and the so-called godfather of modern Irish whiskey is leading the charge. 

John Teeling wrote two important papers on the potential of the Irish whiskey industry while studying for a Master's at Harvard in the 1970s. He then broke the monopoly held by industrial-scale brands like Jamesons, Powers, and Bushmills.

"The future of Irish whiskey is in Asia," says Teeling. "China has 450 million people coming into the middle class, and it's the middle class that want to drink imported spirits. It's the young people, they're the ones who want to drink fresh new drinks."

Teeling says Irish whiskeys are less "harsh" than Scotch single malts and blends. He reckons that makes them more suited to modern tastes.

‌"Irish whiskey has always been smooth and mellow, because of the temperate climate," says Teeling. "We really are competing on quality."

Scotch whisky is still king with total sales amounting to more than American, Irish and Japanese whiskeys combined. But the Chinese market presents a big opportunity after a tough few decades for Irish distillers. Most of them will raise a glass to that. 

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