Sukhinder Singh and his brother Rajbir were pioneers of online retail in the sector, starting The Whisky Exchange in 1999. The pair sold the company to Chivas Regal brand owner Pernod Ricard in 2021 and are now expanding into production — in addition to retailing — through their Elixir Distillers business. The brothers are building a distillery on Islay, the Hebridean island already famous for its whisky, and buying the Speyside Tormore brand from the French company. “More and more people are falling in love with whisky,” said Sukhinder, but it will be years before the increased capacity catches up with demand, he added, because “you can’t just turn the tap on”. Artisanal Spirits Company is the listed Scotch producer that owns the more than 35,000-member Scotch Malt Whisky Society. Managing director David Ridley said the high end of the market could be worth as much as $4.3bn.
In July, the company reported a “standout” 50 per cent rise in sales in China at its interim results. “The desirability of what we have to offer surmounts the current situation in terms of the economy,” Ridley said. Graeme Littlejohn, strategy and communications director at the SWA, said the long-term nature of the industry meant it was able to defy short-term economic volatility, noting that at the height of the financial crisis in 2008-11, exports rose by 40 per cent. While it was “not immune to the global situation, the long-term vision means some of the bumps in the road are lessened”.
