Malt Mission 2011 #402

Scotch Blue

Blended Scotch Whisky

40% abv

??? WON

Scotch Blue calls itself "the #1 selling blended Scotch whisky in Korea" (it isn't) and was launched in 1997 by drinks giant Lotte Chilsung. It has 17 and 21yo versions very much targeting the more premium Ballantines expressions and local market leader, Windsor 17.

Scotch whisky was the biggest South Korean import from the UK in 2010 with the local brands dominating the market: Diageo's Windsor, Pernod's Imperial Classic and Lotte's Scotch Blue. As expected, Macallan and Glenfiddich dominate the malts but what is most fascinating for me is that Scotch Whisky as a category accounts for more than 90% of the spirits market in S. Korea.

When the South Korean government changed their tax policy on imported alcohol earlier this year, the whisky industry, especially those looking for an opportunity for malts to expand, had a party in their pants. Said Whisky Magazine's Rob Allanson, "South Korea is already the sixth largest export market in the world for Scotch by value and the ninth by volume, so we see this as having a fairly significant benefit to the whisky industry."

TASTING NOTES:

Waxy and buttery the way only PET packed whisky can be. Grape juice sweetness and pleather Michael Jackson Beat It-era jackets. Sweet, simple, and welcoming.

Buttery again, rounded. Garibaldi biscuits, raisin sweetness offset by a lemony zest. Chewy and perfectly quaffable.

SUMMARY:

Shocked. Utterly shocked. Probably lovely with tons of ice.

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