A Whisky Decade In Review - The 2010s

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My first trip to Kentucky was in late 2013. I was doing research for my book. We arrived in Louisville after a long ten hour drive, and we went to the first bar we found—Doc Crow. The crowd was just starting to get busy. They had Pappy Van Winkle flights for either $18 or $23 depending on whether you wanted the Pappy 23 Year Old in your flight.

If you’ve been to Louisville of late, you’ll know how ridiculously cheap that is. Today, your standard Old Rip Van Winkle (10 Year Old) costs $40 or more per ounce. Pappy Van Winkle 20 is well into $150 an ounce. Each time I go back to Louisville, the price seems to go up another $25. 

When I travelled to Scotland in 2010, it seems like things were just starting to hit their stride. I came home with Bruichladdich Octomore and Ardbeg Supernova releases like it was nothing. I paid about $100 for each of the bottles, and that seemed like an insane price at the time. Those original bottles (had I not drank them) are worth over $500 in secondary markets. Brand new releases of Octomore are over $200. 

Whisky continues to be made the same way (thanks regulations!), but the way whisky is distributed is interesting. Things we couldn’t have imagined seeing in wide distribution before the 2010s include: 

  • Bourbons finished in European oak 

  • Single malt scotches finished in new oak

  • The tequila and mezcal barrels used by single malt makers

  • Basil Hayden (and other strong US brands) blending Canadian and American whisky into premium products (this trend was already ongoing in more affordable whiskies)

  • The release of super-premium Canadian whiskies 

  • The huge success of the “other world” whiskies

Yet, as Fred Minnick points out, there have been casualties along the way. Maker’s Mark brief decision to lower the proof point has affected the whisky world. Booker’s price increase was controversial. Japanese whisky, despite all the concerns, continues to be impossible to buy.

The Dark Time of Whisky in the 2010s

Admittedly, there was a lot of pessimism somewhere between 2010 and 2015. In some ways,this was a dark era for whisky (especially single malt scotches). We lost a lot of age-statement regular releases to no-age-statement (NAS) whiskies that cost more. It was an era where marketers seemed to get overzealous, thinking they were printing money. They took the distillery’s name as a brand equity, and replaced the age statement with a new fancy name and a poor younger whisky. 

Whisky prices in 2013

They called it a day. It didn’t go well. When talking about the last decade, it’s hard not to talk about pricing. But even back in the early 2010s, there was a round of old school drinkers that were already complaining about the inflated costs of whisky. Price always matters. 

Bourbon was skyrocketing in popularity and it was far more affordable. The single malt distilleries in US and Canada were just becoming ideas, and other-world-whiskies were capturing people’s interests (Japan, Taiwan, India, Australia). While the marketing and naming behind whiskies continues to be strong, I would say that today’s liquid has drastically improved from some of those early no-age-statement releases. 

Meanwhile, during this era, the whiskies that stuck around went up in price. Supply and demand, a key fixture in capitalism, took a hold of the whisky market like never before. In the defense of whisky makers, though, it wasn’t just greed. They needed products to keep shelf-space. 

Whisky twitter kind of sucked during this era. There was a lot fo complaining. Thankfully we had #whiskyfabric to get us through it. And some great bourbons! 

Prices Have Gone Up, but So Have Options

The growth of whisky has killed off a lot of “fan favourites,” but we have so many new options today that didn’t exist previously. I just look at Wild Turkey Distillery. Rare Breed is still available, we’re able to get some terrific store picks, and the product line has expanded to the Russell’s Reserve line. Sure, Elmer T. Lee is impossible to find, but Rare Breed remains as strong as ever! 

What we once enjoyed is no longer affordable. What’s not affordable, we can’t find. I wish I knew who first coined this concept, but it was a brilliant point to make: Whisky is the one thing billionaires can’t buy. I mean, I’m sure they can, because they have people. But even for a billionaire, it must be a least a little challenging to buy an original Pappy Van Winkle 23! 

So yes, prices have gone up. But because we’re riding the wave, there’s so much whisky available that wasn’t available in the early 2000s. Maker’s Mark released cask strength versions of their products! We have whiskies being finished in insane casks. Canadian whisky is just starting to flex. The micro-distillery sector in the US is going to be huge. Plus, there’s Ireland coming online with twenty-plus distilleries. 

Sure, I’m super upset I can’t just pick up a bottle of Blanton’s and Eagle Rare on a whim, but I can get so much more other whisky I couldn’t get before. We have options! They’re not the same options as before, but arguably the new options are more exciting.

Distilleries Are Selling Whisky that Never Sold Whisky Before!

Most distilleries in Scotland sold whisky into the blended scotch market. Today, they’re selling their own whiskies. Sure, some of these “newly discovered” old distilleries sold just okay single malts trying to capitalize on the times. However, we are tasting some terrific new stuff. And some even better “old stuff.”

One of my favourite whiskies of the decade, an Inchgower Single Malt aged for 31 years, was likely never going to see the light of day in the 90s or early 2000s. I’ve tasted a few more Inchgower Distillery single malts, and they’ve all been great! 

The reality is, there are so many players in the game now that need to produce fantastic products, whisky is no longer a commodities game for many smaller distributors. It’s their livelihood. Barrels that might have been blended away are now being sold to consumers. 

The Marketplace has Changed, But We Are Living our Best Whisky Time

I’m sure there’s still someone out there saying “I used to pay $40 for Macallan 10, and now blah blah blah.” I’m not convincing anyone from back in the day. But I can say, for the general whisky consumer, there’s so much more to cover. 

Here’s to a new decade, with new whiskies, and new stories to cover!