"When the tide rises, row the boat" Whiskey's unprecedented popularity... New brands line up to challenge

Whiskey Market Unaffected by Recession... Expected to Reach Record High Again This Year
New Brands Secure Official Import Rights, Joining the Market One After Another

Despite the recession, the domestic whiskey market continues to thrive, prompting the liquor industry to actively secure new whiskey brands. The industry is expanding the market by officially importing brands that were previously imported in small quantities through parallel imports, while existing popular brands are expanding their product lines to meet the growing consumer demand.

Winstons Korea 'Glenfarclas 15 Years, Glenfarclas 105, Glenfarclas 30 Years'

According to the liquor industry on the 13th, liquor importer Winston's Korea officially launched the Scottish single malt whiskey ‘Glenfarclas’ in Korea. Glenfarclas is famous for being family-run for five generations and holding a large stock of long-aged old vintage casks. In particular, the flagship product ‘Glenfarclas 105’ is known as the world’s first whiskey produced using the cask strength method, bottled without adding water to the original spirit.

HiteJinro has also recently made a full-scale entry into the imported whiskey market. Last month, HiteJinro signed a distribution contract for the whiskey brand ‘Cutty Sark’ to expand its global imported liquor portfolio and newly launched the brand. Cutty Sark is inspired by the 19th-century sailing ship ‘Cutty Sark’ and was born during the Prohibition era in the United States in the 1920s. HiteJinro, which will celebrate its 100th anniversary next year, plans to expand its global liquor portfolio as a comprehensive liquor company starting with the launch of Cutty Sark.

Major whiskey importers are also strengthening their lineups by adding new products to existing brands. Diageo Korea introduced ‘Johnnie Walker Blonde’ last month, the first product developed for mixology under the ‘Johnnie Walker’ brand, and Pernod Ricard Korea expanded its lineup from the Irish whiskey ‘Redbreast 12 Year’ launched last year to ‘Redbreast 15 Year’ within a year.

The liquor industry’s race to officially import famous whiskey brands is because the whiskey market continues to grow despite weakened consumer sentiment. According to customs export-import trade statistics, as of October this year, domestic whiskey imports reached 26,703 tons, a 25.7% increase compared to the same period last year (21,251 tons). Considering that liquor consumption increases at the end of the year, it is certain that whiskey imports this year will break the record again following last year.

The industry is paying attention to the fact that the domestic whiskey market is developing multilayered and rapidly, from single malt whiskey to low-priced blended whiskey for highballs. Lee Hyung-bok, CEO of Winston's Korea, explained, "The domestic single malt whiskey market was considered insufficient in scale just two years ago, but it achieved rapid growth last year," adding, "This year, we judged that the market situation is sufficiently prepared, so we decided to proceed with full-scale business development."