Whisky remains one of the least understood areas of the bar, but potentially one of the most profitable. Dominic Roskrow explains why
These days there aren't many things that a pub can offer a drinker that they can't get at home - but a good range of whisky is one of them.
Few individuals have the money to invest in a comprehensive range of whisky or to have several bottles open at once. With a bit of planning and modest investment, however, licensees can build up an exciting range of whiskies and provide customers with an unusual talking point. Not just single malts from Scotland, either, but blends, Bourbons, Irish whiskeys and even whiskies from across the world. Amazingly, though, it's still relatively rare to find a good choice of whisky in a British pub.
And that means that pubs are missing out on a lucrative area of their business, because as drinkers drink less but better and trade up to premium brands, quality whisky is in demand.
Just as with the surge in demand for wine in the early '90s, many pubs are missing out on the chance to offer a range of drinks that will potentially entice customers in to the pub because they don't really understand the category or have concluded that it's not for them.
But contrary to popular belief, an increasing number of younger drinkers and women are finding out about the more unusual and exotic areas of the whisky market, and are keen to experiment and discover more. Furthermore, despite the fact that there are hundreds of different-tasting whiskies, it's relatively easy to demystify the subject because there are a number of excellent and inexpensive books available .
If you're able to organise a tasting event then it can be an excellent way of drawing people into the pub on a quiet evening.
The Feathers in Wymondham lends out its function room free of charge for private whisky tastings, but still sees it as worthwhile.
"Some of the regulars will buy drinks before and after the event on a night when otherwise they wouldn't be in," says manager Lorna Palmer. "It creates a talking point for customers and is a lot of fun."
How to make a feature of whisky in your pub
Whisky is in fashion at the moment and there have been a number of introductory guides published, so it's not hard to find out about the different styles of whiskies and to make sense of all the different expressions.
If you have a whisky shop in your area, contact those in charge. They will be delighted to advise you and if you're planning to build a whisky offering, to help you choose a broad and appealing selection.
The easiest way to start building a following for whisky is to offer a malt of the month. Pick a bottle each month, find out about it, and make sure your staff can talk about it. You should be able to find nice malts under £30 or even £25 and — allowing 200ml of each bottle for sampling before purchasing — you should still be able to sell 20 x 25ml measures for £3 each, netting £60.
Talk to your local whisky shop about hosting a tasting or, if you feel confident enough, host one yourself.
It's becoming increasingly fashionable to link whisky with food, either through dinners or by pairing specific food and drink types, such as peated whisky with blue cheese.
Drinks giant Diageo has done a considerable amount of work in this area and you can find some of its recipes and pairings at its Classic Malts website, www.malts.com
Did you know?
Whisky can be made from any grain, and yeast and water. Single malt whisky is made using only malted barley and the word "single" refers to the fact that it comes from just one distillery. But each bottle will contain whisky from many different casks in that distillery
Scottish single malts tend to be the most talked about of whiskies, but they account for well under 10% of total whisky sales. And contrary to popular belief, there are plenty of excellent blended whiskies as well as quality whiskeys from America, Ireland and even Japan.
In the 2008 World Whiskies Awards the single-malt category and blended category were both won by Japanese whiskies.
Any questions?
If you've got a question about whisky of any sort, email it to whisky consultant Dominic Roskrow at dominic@true-spirit.co.uk and he'll be happy to provide free advice.
Case study: The Star, Lessingham
Running a pub on Norfolk's barren north coast has always been a big ask, but when the smoking ban came in, it was a serious body blow for the Star at Lessingham, a small and cosy one-room locals' pub.
So Shaun and Fiona Colby decided to do something about it, by offering customers something new and different. Eventually they turned to whisky. Shaun bought himself a few books and a few malts, and started talking to his customers about them, building a loyal following.
But the pub really turned whisky into a profit stream when Shaun decided to hold a whisky tasting on a quiet bank holiday Sunday evening — and called in some local expertise.
"We contacted The Whisky Shop in Norwich and they agreed to conduct the tasting," says Shaun. "We bought 10 bottles of whisky from them — two bottles of five different malts, and in return they hosted the evening."
Two bottles of whisky yield 56 measures and the pub sold 36 tickets for the event, leaving 20 measures of each whisky, a total of 100 shots in all. Tickets cost £15, yielding £490. The 100 measures left sold at £3 each. Total revenue was £790; the total cost of the whiskies was £250; profit was £540. The evening was a success, but more than that it raised the pub's profile.
"We've had a number of people coming in and asking about the evening," he says. "It has created a huge amount of interest. We'll definitely be doing it again and expect even greater interest than first time round."