Russian media marvels: Chinese whisky is preparing to conquer the world!

The current world leaders in whisky production are India, can China do it?

On January 14, Russian media "China Today" published an article.

The French Pernod Ricard Group and the British Diageo Group have established alcohol production factories in China, mainly producing whisky.

Their total investment will reach about $300 million.

China is becoming one of the fastest-growing markets for whisky production, wrote the Nikkei News.

In China, whisky is still not as popular as the country's traditional strong liquor - baijiu.

However, experts calculate that whisky sales have grown by nearly a third over the past five years, exceeding $2 billion.

Yes, in terms of quality, Chinese whisky is still inferior to its Western competitors,

but the journalist of Nikkei Asia pointed out that given the overall production boom in Asia, this is just a matter of time.

Currently, this category of alcohol is still young in China, and most producers have limited or almost no aged whisky inventory.

Chinese brewers need time to develop levels of flavor depth, stability, and unique style comparable to those of historically rich regions in this category of alcohol.

It can be said that Chinese alcohol companies are latecomers in this market.

In the Asian whisky market, producers from India to Japan have been engaged in distillation processes for decades,

and producers in Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries have also recently joined in.

The emergence of numerous new distilleries in China allows them to launch higher quality products, which helps stimulate real consumer interest.

In 2023, after European and American whisky producers exited Russia, the supply of Chinese spirits increased 17 times, ranking among the top ten whisky distributors in Russia.

Regarding whether this drink is popular in the Russian market and what makes Chinese-produced whisky different, alcohol market expert "Master Drunkard" Denis Puzulev conducted an analysis:

Chinese brands have not been in the Russian market for long.

If we talk about whisky production, especially the production of local Russian whisky, we know that an import substitution process is currently underway, and many companies have started producing their own products.

Therefore, if a company, such as a spirit factory, decides to start producing its own whisky, they are likely to purchase equipment from China.

I have seen Chinese equipment installed in Russian factories, I mean copper stills.

This kind of classic equipment is usually made in Scotland, but first of all, it is expensive;

secondly, the delivery time is very long.

China, a country that can produce quite good smartphones, cars, and other complex technological products, undoubtedly can also brew high-quality whisky, there is no doubt about that.

Can China become a world leader?

It depends on how you define a world leader, because the current world leader in whisky production is India, and Indian whisky mainly targets the domestic market.

Original: toutiao.com/article/1854246699318299/

Statement: The article represents the views of the author.