If you’ve been keeping up with booze trends these days, you know our dark liquor friend, whiskey, is making a come back. Naturally, large global beverage companies, such as Diageo, are taking note and moving big moves. In fact, Diageo has just announced its launch of “Whiskey Union,” an exploration of flavour and blending in the Scotch Whisky category.
“They are unorthodox, weird and wonderful and possibly like nothing you’ve ever tasted before,” David Gates, head of premium core spirits at Diageo shared during Diageo’s investors conference in New York last week. The company aims to target the new segment of whiskey drinkers with these varieties that push “the 55 boundaries of blending.” While some will be labeled as Scotch whisky by strict SWA regulation, the more “wild” varieties will not bear the official Scotch whisky designation.
The Whiskey Union will start with the release of two products on a trial basis in Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, and Vienna before their global launch. They will include Smoky Goat, a smoky sweet blend, Bosing Hares, made with infused hops, and down the road a third whisky called Huxley– a blend of Scotch, Canadian and American whiskies. So, hang tight– this is a game of patience. A wait well worth it.