Scotch whisky suits prospering Chinese to a tea

EDINBURGH, Scotland — Already possessed of all the tea in China, the Chinese are making a serious run at all the whisky in Scotland, and they do not seem averse to mixing the two.

Chinese imports of Scotch whisky have zoomed from $2.9 million in 2001 to more than $90 million in 2005.

Last year the value of whisky imports grew 84 percent. This year China is expected to crack the top 10 of whisky-guzzling nations, according to David Williamson, public-affairs manager for the Scotch Whisky Association in Edinburgh.

While all of this is good news for Scottish distillers, it is making some Scottish tipplers a wee bit anxious. According to a recent editorial in The Scotsman newspaper, skyrocketing Chinese demand has created relative shortages of whisky and pushed up the global price.

Increasing output is one solution, but as the newspaper noted, Scotch whisky takes time, a minimum of eight years for a good-quality blended whisky and 12 to 18 years for some of the more expensive single-malt brands.

Not to panic, says Williamson: "About 18.5 million casks are currently maturing. Supply is not an immediate concern."

In China, Scotch whisky and French cognac have long been the preferred beverages of ascendant businessmen and senior government officials who subsist on a constant rotation of banquets and ribbon-cuttings.

"Western brands were offered to demonstrate that the person who was the host had money and prestige," said Martin Reimann, Asia Pacific managing director for The Edrington Group, whose brands include The Famous Grouse and The Macallan.

But a more recent phenomenon is the emergence of Scotch whisky as a status symbol among the country's growing middle class, a group equivalent to the population of the entire United States.

Yan Xi, 31, a public-relations worker in Beijing, said he first tried whisky with friends a few years ago and now considers it a regular habit. "I think whisky will get more popular in China. It's a new choice. It also represents Western culture. ... It's a way to show your status."

Distilled spirits are not new to China. The traditional favorite is baijiu. A grain alcohol starting at 112 proof and going up from there, it is available at most roadside stands to help wash down noodles or salted peanuts. Small bottles, fit for a lunch hour, sell for about 40 cents.

Scotch whisky began making inroads after China embarked on reforms in 1979. These days, Chivas Regal, the top-selling imported spirit in China, is available even in the countryside.

Martin Riley, international marketing director for London-based Chivas Brothers, points out that there are historical precedents to the Chinese experience.

He noted that Chivas Regal became an iconic brand in the U.S. in the 1950s during the postwar economic boom that greatly expanded the American middle class.

One difference that strikes some Western connoisseurs as peculiar, even slightly sacrilegious, is the Chinese habit of mixing their whisky with sweet green tea.

"Everybody drinks it this way. It tastes good, and you can drink a lot," said Li Gang, 30, a Beijing businessman who says he drinks whisky once or twice a month with friends. "If you drink pure whisky, it is too strong."