Business Week does its part

A friend alerted me to this article from Business Week, which I believe was posted on September 20th.

The article is called "Scotch Whisky For The Rest of Us."

I won't jump all over this one like I did with the recent New York Times article (even though the fact checking wasn't completely up to snuff), instead I'd like to point to the comments added by "fans." (If you go to read the article, you'll see that I've also left my comments)

By the way, one off-hand comment regarding a unique "Vanilla taste" in a particular whisky was blown way out of proportion by the readers.

Nickname: a94buff
Review: I expect this from Smirnoff and the like but I'm really disappointed to see the scotch makers doing this. What ever happened to trying to create a market for what you make rather than making what will without a doubt only be 'hip' for a short time?

Nickname: NotSoWeeLad
Review: Aye, 'tis not for us. Give me Laphroaig, Lagavulin, or a 40-year-old Talisker rather than this sissy crap.

Nickname: Iain from Scotland
Review: Ugh !!!

 

Nickname: Lagavulinsipper
Review: I agree with SPARK--since when do we want to dumb down scotch?

Nickname: Spark
Review: I'm shuddering at the thought of vanilla-flavored scotch. What ever happened to acquiring a taste or waiting for your palate to mature I'm going now to have a few fingers of Lagavulin and pretend that I never read this.

And my favorite misogynistic, he-man, tough-guy comment:

Nickname: ScotchDrinker
Review: Well well well. Leave the flavours and the fruity tastes for the ladies drinks. Market is in scotch for men.

Whatever...

Now there were some other very pertinent posts and also posts from those who took issue with the mistakes in the article - so all comments weren't from the close-minded and "protectionist."

For example, a poster who goes by "Whiskers" obviously gets it:

Nickname: whiskers
Review: I have been in retail spirits sales a long time. I could not disagree more with the other posters. As the article says: It is an introduction to scotch for people who may never have had it. And if they like it their tastes for scotch will change over time and they will explore and learn to like the Cambletown and the Ilays. Cheers

(Aside from the misspelling) we need more open-minded people like "Whiskers" and less like "ScotchDrinker."

Keep checking the article, I'm sure the list of comments both good and bad, pertinent and sad, will continue to grow.

Once again:

Exposure for Scotch whisky = Good
Misinformation = Bad

Ignoring the few flaws, [One particular egregious mistake I need to point out is referring to the Easy Drinking Whisky company's "Smooth Sweeter One" as a Scotch whisky, when in fact, the addition of Irish whisky excludes the use of the term Scotch in their labeling] I'll put this article in the "good" category...

Comments

[Matt]

I agree Kevin. Wonderful thing about America, any idiot can voice their opinion, myself included!

Have you tried any of these "newbies" yet? I remember seeing Superstition at my local store, but the label turned me off. It just seemed to be trying too hard.