Word: scotch
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Vijay Mallya, taking over foreign companies is routine stuff. By building and buying everything from airlines to agrochemicals, he has created a $2 billion conglomerate. But he could be forgiven for taking a little added satisfaction in the recent $1.18 billion acquisition of scotch-whisky producer Whyte & Mackay by his UB Group, based in Bangalore, India. United Breweries has come full circle since the days of empire, when the firm was founded by Scotsman Thomas Leishman in 1915. It wasn't until India gained independence from Britain in 1947 that the first Indian director was appointed--Vittal Mallya, Vijay...
...liquor arm United Spirits, the biggest whisky maker in India, and the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) have been doing a brisk trade in bitter remarks, each charging the other with unfairly blocking its exports. Hardly the spirit, given that "scotch whisky is enjoying its best growth prospects for a generation," according to Alberto Gavazzi, global brands director for Diageo, the producer of Johnnie Walker...
...Scotch exports had a record year in 2006, with almost $5 billion worth shipped--a quarter of all food and drink exports from Britain. Asia's new rich are a big market--Chinese consumers imported $115 million worth of whisky last year, up from $3 million in 2000--but it is India that's driving distillers to stack the barrels high in warehouses from Islay to the Highlands. India is the biggest consumer of whisky in the world, putting away 70 million cases last year. With an 80 million-- strong middle class and an economy growing more than...
...problem for scotch producers is, it's still only potential: 99% of the whisky sold in India is made locally. Imports of scotch have grown from 5.5 million bottles in 2000 to nearly 20 million last year, but it is still a tiny sliver, less than 1% of the overall whisky market. Scotch sales are stifled by punishing taxes and duties on imported spirits and wines--totaling anywhere from 200% to 550%. Gavin Hewitt, chief executive of the SWA, describes the charges as "discriminatory" and "pure protectionism...
...discussing only one thing: India. Rekhi opened his speech by demanding that the E.U. redefine whisky to accommodate molasses-derived brands. "There should be no definitional barriers based on geography or substrates," he says. "Whisky cannot ring-fence itself." Yes it can--and should--according to rebuttals from the scotch side. "Rules are there to protect consumers," said Mike Keiller, CEO of Morrison Bowmore. "I would have grave difficulty for something called Indian whisky made that way to sit alongside my Bowmore...