OPINION: ED FORREST

Can Ireland’s whiskey DNA drive premium Irish whiskey into the ranks of luxury perfume and champagne?

Ireland’s whiskey industry has an incredible brand DNA, writes Ed Forrest. We need to turn up the volume on the ultra-premium sector to help it succeed in luxury markets

Irish whiskey is a terrific category, and so much of the world doesn’t know this yet. Yes, things are tough right now, but much remains to celebrate about this thriving whiskey industry. The emergence of new distilleries has been the headline story for the past decade, but the deeper story of the status of premium Irish whiskey remains largely unknown to many in international markets.

Following Scotland’s trajectory, positioning Scotch as a world-leading category, the premium and ultra-premium sector of Ireland’s output can attain a similar status. But simply chasing scotch doesn’t feel innovative enough for Ireland. My experience working in these markets is that, instead, premium Irish whiskey could seek to attain a status similar to that of perfume and champagne in France.