Slainte, Tovarisch

Scotch whisky is the fastest growing premium spirit in Russia, outstripping both Cognac and Vodka.

The trend in demand for traditional economy spirits is dropping in Russia, and imported products, such as Scotch whisky, is seeing a significant increase as the spirits gain in popularity among affluent urban consumers.

• Growth in premium* Vodka - 133%
• Growth in premium* Cognac - 131%
• Growth in premium* Whisky - 136%
• Increase in all Cognac - 97%
• Increase in Single Malt - 126%

Source: RussianState Customs Committee
*Please note that the Premium sector for Cognac and Whisky starts at 55 Euros and up, while Premium Vodka is anything costing 6 Euros and up. Yes, you read that right 55 vs 6. Also note that Premium whisky includes luxury blends as well as single malt.

Remember, these figures are looking at comparative year-to-year growth, not total volume (those figures are below).

As Russia becomes increasingly capitalistic, they are increasingly turning to Single Malt & Blended whiskies as the luxury adult beverages of choice. Khorosho!**

Russia is not turning is back on cheapo vodka – it is more that they are trading up to premium spirits as affluence grows – this growth in consumption is led by the Russian nouveau riche - Oligarchs and the new wealthy entrepreneurs. Vodka continues to be the beverage of choice among your average Russian. And demand for premium local and imported vodka brands is also in evidence.

2004 consumption

• Premium Vodka: 13,528,000 liters
• Premium Cognac: 87,088 liters
• Single Malt: 84,979 liters
• All Cognac: 1,795,930 liters
• All Whisky: 3,706,366 liters

Obviously, the shear volume of Premium Vodka (keep in mind that this figure only includes Vodka which costs 6 Euros & up, and does not include all other Vodka) dwarfs the whisky volumes, but the beverage is making some significant headway into the market.

So what Single Malts are they drinking?

Glenfiddich is the biggest selling single malt, followed by Macallan and Glenmorangie. Surprisingly, the fourth biggest selling single malt comes from one of the smallest distillers of Scotch whisky, Bruichladdich Distillery.

But how does a tiny privately held distiller with no marketing budget to speak of, manage to beat out multinational groups like Pernod, Suntory, Fortune and Diageo and the millions they spend in promotion? CEO Mark Reynier:

We are as astonished as the next man. For a small independent distiller such as ourselves to be the  fourth largest seller in Russia is a real David and Goliath story.

After decades of distrust of Russian and Capitalist disinformation, perhaps there is a yearning for some truth. Bruichladdich fulfils that expectation with the purest whisky - with out the propaganda. We let the whisky do the talking not fancy, expensive marketing.

How do you say "The Scotch Blog" in Russian?

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** "Good"

Comments

[Misha Bergal]

1. I don't think that the multinationals spend much (if anything) to promote whisky in Russia. At least it was not the case when I was there in December. All marketing is done by enthusiasts (http://www.whisky.ru/default.htm, http://www.whisky.ru/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=7), or small distributors w/o huge marketing budget. So a small but dedicated distributor and several well done tasting events in 2-3 major cities could easily advance any brand position.

2. The literal translation would be just "Scotch blog" ("Скотч блог").