Good Thing I Have A Supply Laid In

The news appears to be disturbing…

Whisky-loving Maritimers face a crisis of the spirit
High global demand for single-malt Scotch puts Nova Scotia at risk of running out of key brands, draining the rest of the East Coast dry

HALIFAX — The province may be named for Scotland, but that’s not enough to bump Nova Scotia up the queue as demand outstrips supply of the world’s most popular single-malt whiskies.

And aficionados won’t be able to dodge a looming provincial shortage with a quick road trip. Hugely popular single malts could soon be unavailable across the Atlantic provinces, a trend retailers blame on booming demand for premium spirits in Russia and China.

Hm… I have more Scotch laid in than I will drink, at my current rate, in about a decade, but somehow this news unsettles me. It’s not that I think I will need it, but rather it’s the notion that if I wanted it I couldn’t buy any.

“If you love your Lagavulin, break out your credit card and go get it,” warned Rick Perkins, spokesman for the NSLC, who said they had fewer than 50 bottles of the 16-year-old product in the province.

Hm… While I have many complex statements about my “favourite” Scotch, it’s certainly true that the two I drink the most commonly are Laphraoig and Lagavulin. I wonder if I should get another bottle. Maybe I’ll just avoid the whole problem and grab something special while I’m in Boston.

I wonder why Atlantic Canada in particular is getting hit?

The explanation in the article seems to be pan-Canadian, and not Maritime specific:

Liquor corporation officials in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick believe they are suffering from Diageo’s desire to divert stock to more lucrative markets overseas.

The company makes no bones about its unhappiness with profit levels in Canada.

“In Canada, the taxation levels and markup structure in place, render the profitability of scotch (and all spirits) to be significantly lower than the majority of other countries around the world,” according to information provided to one of the Maritime liquor corporations.

Maybe it’s a good thing I haven’t been in the market for a bottle of Macallan 25 for quite a few years now…

On the other hand, I do detect the tell-tale brimstone odour of marketing–it wouldn’t surprise me at all to find out that there’s some OPEC-style action going on here.