Cutty Sark on appealing to new whisky drinkers
Stephen Woodcock, master blender of Cutty Sark, spoke to us about how the blended Scotch brand is modernising its approach to recruit new whisky drinkers in the US.
Glancing over its history, Cutty Sark was created in 1923 Berry Bros & Rudd – in the Prohibition-era – where it was smuggled into the US and grew into a favourite for bartenders and speakeasies during the period’s height.
By around 1962, it was the first one-million-case-selling Scotch brand in the States and its distinctive green and yellow bottle was making appearances on the silver screen (James Bond, Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, for example).
A pioneering brand back then, Woodcock believes that now is the time to channel that spirit once again as the whisky’s audience base evolves.
“We’re really just trying to get Cutty back to where we feel it belongs,” Woodcock told The Spirits Business.
“We know it has a proud history in the US and we know it’s in a really strong position in the States [it is currently the sixth-ranked standard blended Scotch whisky in North America], but you can’t just appeal to the whisky drinkers of 1962. Everything has to evolve.
“It’s really about trying to develop some growth and get away from a drink that’s associated with those regular old men with grey beards – that type of thing – and appeal to the younger market.”
To engage with a new generation of consumers, the brand is looking to encourage more ways to enjoy whisky, branching outside of the stereotypical sipped neat and by the fire custom.
To meet this challenge, the brand has launched a ready-to-drink (RTD) canned format in the US – which is a mix of Cutty Sark whisky and ginger ale, mimicking the Highball, which has become a popular cocktail in the States. Seeing as Cutty was created as a whisky ‘born to be mixed’, the RTD is designed to showcase the brand’s mixability and versatility, as well as its approachable nature.
“It’s about being able to tap into that easy to drink position, going back to exactly how Berry Brothers designed the whisky to be,” Woodcock says. “The RTD is us trying to attract that new wave of whisky drinker and it’s also about defying perceptions of whisky where it doesn’t have to be something that sits in the back of the bar and is quite threatening.
“It doesn’t have to be strong. It can be light, mellow, drinkable, and it works really well with mixers, which we were hoping we can demonstrate through the RTDs.”
Driving usage
With premium products in favour with consumers, Cutty is tapping into this genre too with a triple-cask-matured 17-year-old expression, which will launch later in September.
Woodcock calls it a marriage of specially selected malt whiskies in handpicked Sherry and Port casks, which are blended with fine grain whisky aged in Bourbon casks.
The brand had also amped up its premium push with the release of a 33-year-old expression and a Centenary Edition for its 100th anniversary at the end of 2023.
However, even with the older age-statement releases, and the understanding that quality is often associated with age and it being an important milestone, Woodcock says that when “properly distilled, properly matured and properly looked after, you don’t need to wait for the standard maybe eight to 21 years” for a good whisky.
Cutty Sark is known for its value for money, of which Woodcock adds is “crafted with great attention to quality (uniting a selection of the finest single malt and top-quality grain whiskies) while remaining accessible”, and which makes it more appealing for the younger consumer.
“Its about allowing as many people as possible to enjoy it”, he says.
“It could be a £20 blend or could be a £100 single malt, the thing is there are so many people to whom the idea of drinking whisky is attractive, but at the same time, they just don’t particularly like the taste of it.
“There’s no shame in that and Cutty’s light, mellow profile is a great entry point. It’s getting away from the perception that drinking whisky is an exclusive thing. The snobbery can be pretty bad, and for us, it’s about having whisky how you like it. If that’s with Coca-Cola and that’s your thing, go and do it.
“It’s almost coming full circle from when the brand was first founded, in so far as we’ve got to try and break the convention that whisky is at – an older man, or older woman’s drink. It’s about trying to tap into that younger scene and help them understand that whisky is something they can have.”
Woodcock notes that Cutty Sark’s biggest challenge is a category challenge, in the sense that it is trying to attract drinkers in a segment that is experiencing a decline.
“Driving usage is the key to recruiting new whisky drinkers and by encouraging more opportunities to enjoy whisky – whether through new occasions, serves, or experiences – we can engage existing consumers and bring new drinkers into the category.
“We have to evolve. Otherwise, you just stand still and you sink.”
Related news
Johnnie Walker enters ‘new era of luxury Scotch’
