Chinese drinkers find the ‘water of life’

CGTN Europe

Irish whiskey makers  are hoping the Chinese market will give their sector a boost after a tough few decades.  Exports to China look set to climb above $2bn next year. But will the Irish distillers be lucky enoughto overtake Scotch whisky brands?  #China #Ireland #whiskey #exports

Transcript

00:00The Gaelic words for whisky translate literally to water of life, and now the industry is

00:09getting a new lifeline thanks to soaring sales in China.

00:14Whisky is reputed to have originated in Ireland around a thousand years ago.

00:19The country was once the world's dominant supplier with at least 28 legal distilleries

00:24by the 1890s.

00:26But failing to move with the times, Scottish whisky took over, wiping out all but two

00:30Irish rivals.

00:32The Renaissance in Irish whisky is now being helped by growing demand from China.

00:37Businessman Chad Huang has lived in Ireland for over 22 years, and his Chambers whisky

00:42brand is a top seller.

00:44Chinese people finally wake up for the brown liquor now.

00:47You know, especially the young people, you know, we say probably around 30 years old,

00:52we see huge growth.

00:54Still on the east coast of China, and people really start drinking whisky now.

00:58And then we truly believe Irish whisky has a brighter future in China.

01:03Just a couple of years ago, worldwide whisky imports to China were worth around half a

01:07billion dollars.

01:09That's set to grow nearly five-fold to well over two billion dollars by 2025.

01:15John Teeling is a near-mythical figure in Irish whisky history, and despite having never

01:20tried a drop, he's known as the father of the Irish whisky renaissance.

01:25Teeling broke the Irish distiller's monopoly in the 1980s, inspiring others to do the same.

01:30And now Ireland has over 30 distilleries, with many looking east.

01:36The future of Irish whisky is in Asia.

01:39China with 450 million coming into the middle class, and it's the middle class that want

01:43to drink imported spirits.

01:45And the young people, they're the ones who want to drink fresh, new drinks.

01:50For now, Scotch whisky still dominates with brands like Johnny Walker and Chivas Regal.

01:55But Irish whisky, with its smooth and mellow flavour and wide variety of finishes, looks

01:59set to rapidly mature and become a favourite in Chinese glasses.

02:04Ken Brown, CGTN, Dublin.

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