Whisky by Time News Round Up – August 2024

30/08/2024

“I’ve always been drawn to the power and the confidence I feel when drinking quality whisky”.
Beyonce

As the August sunshine continues we share warm whisky news from around the globe. Consistent themes of “growth” and “investment” are supporting established and emerging whisky distilleries in equal measure. From the first community owned whiskey distillery in the US, to the expansions of England’s biggest Whisky Distillery and Diageo’s plans to grow its presence in Scottish Whisky tourism.

One announcement that generated many an international headline was the news that global superstar Beyonce is launching her own whisky label called SirDavis. Known for her astute business acumen, we’d say that’s another smart move by the pop icon and certainly good news for the profile of the whisky sector.

Closer to home we keep you posted on the lobbying taking place in the UK to reduce the tax on Scottish Whisky. We also share a recent article in the Express which highlights some of the tactics of unscrupulous cask traders. It’s important to us all at Whisky by Time to raise awareness of these types of issues, please take the time to give the article a read.

In the meantime, if you’ve got a question about whisky casks please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

We’re here to help. No bold statements – just trusted advice.

Oliver O’Donovan
Founder of Whisky by Time

Scottish Whisky Association Lobbies Chancellor to Reverse Tax on Whisky

The Scotch Whisky Association has urged Rachel Reeves to reverse the tax on Scotch Whisky in the forthcoming Budget on the 30 October. Nearly 70 percent of the cost of a bottle of Scotch in the UK is currently claimed in tax.

Mark Kent, Chief Executive of the Scotch Whisky Association said:

“The Treasury has now lost more than a quarter of a billion pounds because of the previous Chancellor’s decision to increase tax on Scotch Whisky and other spirits. It has been a calamitous decision, which has cost the Treasury money that could have been used for public services. It has stoked inflation, and it has hurt business, hospitality and households.
“We urge the Chancellor to use the Budget to reverse the economic damage caused by her predecessor and deliver on the Prime Minister’s commitment to back Scotch Whisky distillers to the hilt, and in turn boost growth in Scotland.”

Inspired by her Great, Granddad Beyonce launches her own whisky label

This August Beyonce announced she was launching her own whisky label SirDavis, named after her great-grandfather Davis Hogue. Davis had been a moonshiner in her home state of Texas during Prohibition.

Sir Davis has been created in partnership with the expertise of Moët Hennessy’s Scottish five-time International Whisky Competition master distiller of the year Bill Lumsden, a pioneer renowned for his work on Glenmorangie and Ardbeg.

Beyoncé said:

“I’ve always been drawn to the power and confidence I feel when drinking quality whisky and wanted to invite more people to experience that feeling.”

England’s largest whisky distillery seeks £5m

Spirit Business reported on news that Princetown Distillers, England’s largest whisky distillery, is aiming to raise up to £5 million (US$6.5m) to start production.

Plans to build Princetown Distillers in Devon were submitted to Dartmoor National Park in January 2017 and granted a year later.

The project, which is the brainchild of engineer Rowan Maule, is located within the Dartmoor National Park on the Duchy of Cornwall estate (owned by Prince William).

It is described as the largest whisky distillery in England with an annual production capacity of 1.5 million litres of pure alcohol and room to scale up.

Diageo to invest in Scottish whisky tourism offering

Diageo has appointed a new managing director as it looks to expand in the tourism market.

The company, which also owns Guinness and Smirnoff, has appointed Dafydd Pugh Williams as managing director of Diageo’s Scotland brand homes as they hope to further develop their tourism offering.

He said: “Scotch Whisky creates economic opportunities across Scotland, from our capital city to the communities of the Highlands and Islands. It’s an honour to be leading our work in making Scotch whisky an even more exciting and vibrant experience for our guests and powering the Scottish economy.”

Distiller seeks $5m for community-led distillery, Whiskey for the People

Former Bankhall and Widow Jane distiller Vince Oleson is seeking to build a community-led whiskey distillery where employees will be core members with full transparency over finances, data and recipes.

Oleson, who is currently on a tour of whisky distilleries across the world, is planning to create whiskey in “very innovative ways” and define a “new category of Bourbon and rye”. He aims to find one million people to contribute US$5 to bring the project, called Whiskey for the People, to life.

Express exposes unscrupulous traders

This Express article raises awareness of misleading scams within the whisky cask investment sector. Fergus Ewing, SNP member of the Scottish Parliament, has raised what he called

“the alarming growth in fraud in the sale of whisky casks. Many of those who were involved in the Australian wine index fraud back in 2000 where 8,700 people lost £87million have moved on to this whisky business,” he told the Scottish Parliament in April.

Last year the Advertising Standards Authority became so concerned about widespread misleading profit claims by whisky investment firms that it issued an Enforcement Notice to 28 of them.

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