The summarized story of whisky goes something like this—In the 60s onward the rise of vodka made edgier spirits like whisky unpopular. Whisky producers started watering their whisky down and adding age statements to popularize their spirits as being of higher quality. It worked. Scotch sales were up, and soon modern cocktail culture (based heavily on an interpretation of traditional cocktail culture) brought spirit-forward drinks to the market. The whisky boom reached new heights when the premium whisky market exploded to a much broader audience. Pappy became a "thing" and the demand far outstripped supply.