SB meets… Lasse Öznek, Copenhagen Distillery
The master distiller is discovering a keen audience for Danish whisky in Asia. He tells us how Copenhagen Distillery plans to expand across this exciting region.
Scandinavian spirits maker Copenhagen Distillery is building a loyal following in Asia with its unique whiskies, aquavits and gins. By catering to an audience seeking new flavour profiles and taking a hands-on approach to create meaningful connections with consumers, the distillery is poised to tap into this lucrative region.
During a recent visit to Copenhagen Distillery, master distiller Lasse Öznek told Melita Kiely more about the demand he’s seeing for his carefully crafted whiskies in Asia, what sets Copenhagen Distillery apart, and plans to expand across the region.
What demand are you seeing in Asia for your whiskeys , and other spirits?
There’s a lot of interest in new whiskies. Consumers in Asia are very open to trying something new, and they’re actively looking for it. We’ve been out to several countries for fairs and festivals, and the interest is increasing.
They’re very knowledgeable; they really want to understand the processes, why the whisky is different. They don’t just want to have a standard bottle; they really want to have something unique – and that’s what we are. We’re giving them a new story, and different flavours.
Tell us about different markets you’ve been to, and the trends and flavours you’re seeing demand for there.
We’ve been to South Korea, Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, and Singapore. We have some great agents in South China with our products. Liquid to lips is very important. We always introduce the brand by letting people try our Raw whisky, it’s the easiest one for them to understand the story about craftsmanship, the organic raw materials, lactic acid, bacteria, long fermentation, and the oak trees. Once they try this full-bodied whisky, with a high-ABV that really doesn’t burn, and new flavours, the reaction is always ‘wow’. Then we start to talk…
In South Korea or Singapore, and Japan, you see people drink whisky every day. They drink it with dinner or evenings after work, and its enjoyed by both men and women – they have a different drinking culture. They’re much more used to whisky on a daily basis, which I find slightly different compared to what we see. In Denmark, we will enjoy it with friends or in whisky clubs, at weekends, perhaps for special occasions.
But, if you go to South Korea, it’s on the menu card. And when you have your food, you bring whisky with it. It’s very normal. And if you look at the demographics, it’s not just old men; men and women, of all ages are enjoying whisky. And that’s really great.
Why did you decide Asia was the market you wanted to focus on?
To be honest, we were contacted by our importer in Hong Kong first, and she was very interested in Nordic products. Through her, we went to Hong Kong and attended the first fairs and festivals. The interest was just enormous and I didn’t expect that because you have all the great brands over there. I thought, ‘OK, let’s see what will happen’.
But the interest was mind-blowing and people were just queuing up at our stand; they kept coming, and they were buying bottles. I never hear anyone from Asia say it’s an expensive bottle, they don’t ask about price. If they like the quality, they buy the bottle, and it’s completely different compared to what we see in Europe. If they can see and feel the quality, they go for it, and I think we’ve built quite a loyal fan base there. I see in Hong Kong, for example, people returning to fairs and festivals, bringing friends with them. The masterclasses I have are always full. If you drink whisky every single day, at a certain point, I imagine you would like to try something new.
Besides quality, what other reasons keep consumers coming back to Copenhagen Distillery whiskies?
I think meeting the maker makes a big difference compared to having a brand ambassador. When I do the masterclasses, people come, bring other people, and say, ‘Have you met this guy [Lasse Öznek]?’ It’s not always about the brand and, it’s completely crazy. And then they want me to sign the bottles. I’ve never signed so many bottles in my life as I do in Asia. In Denmark, it would never happen. No one would ask me to sign the bottle or to have a selfie with me after every single masterclass.
What’s the plan and strategy in Asia over the next couple of years?
Expand in the key markets, and the key markets for us right now are Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, South Korea and Japan. We are a rather small company, so we’re starting with strategic cities, strategic places, strategic bars and I think one of the things we do differently is we represent ourselves in the market, as the normal route to market through an importer/distributor is very tough for a small company like ours.
First of all, we find key players we can work with, ambassadors, of course, then we try to work with influences on the markets. We’re not in a position like The Macallan where we can do big commercials and have all the big buildings. Instead, we can do liquid to lips, be out there, do a lot of tastings, go to whisky clubs, members’ clubs, and reach thousands of people. Some of these clubs have WhatsApp groups with whisky lovers that can reach 5,000 people in one whisky community. We know we can’t do it all ourselves, but we also want to engage with people – and the right people.
You also produce white spirits. What’s the reception to these products like in Asia?
It’s pretty fun. For two years in a row, we actually had an aquavit competition in Hong Kong with bartenders competing with Asian and traditional Scandinavian products. We sell more aquavit in Asia than we do in Scandinavia, so again, that really tells you that they like to try new flavours. They’re so open minded. Our Coffee Spirit, for example, they’ve never seen anything like this. In the bar scene, it’s very well received because no-one else is making it.
In terms of volume and supply, are you confident you can scale up as and when you need to?
We’re actually scaling up on, for example, the Refined whisky, it has a huge demand. It’s more difficult to make, but we see a country like Singapore, for example, could take all of our Refined whiskies in one market; so, we have to allocate and we can deliver. I know for big distilleries, it’s not a lot, but a specialty whisky distillery like ours, to sell 100,000 bottles a year is quite a lot. I don’t think we’ll get close to that yet; 60,000 bottles would be great for us, and we can keep it high and small; don’t dilute the whisky down, and just make sure we keep making our whiskies at that high quality.
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