It’s nothing less than a phenomenon – a runaway train of a drinks trend, hurtling at speed into new and uncharted territory, showing no sign of slowing down and with no one sure where it will end up.

It’s more than five years now since Beam launched Red Stag to a sceptical marketplace. It’s 18 months since the category went up through the gears. Today it’s too hot to handle, surfing on a wave of positive sales figures and with flavours morphing from maple and honey to cinnamon and that other hip and happy drink category, cider.

We’re talking about a revolution here.

And, like every revolution, events can run so fast it’s hard to get a handle as to what is actually going on, or what the fallout may be.

As new flavoured spirits drinks flood into the market place on an almost monthly basis, it’s becoming harder to know what we even mean by ‘flavoured spirits’. And, although the producers prefer not to comment too much about blurring the definitions between whiskies, whisk(e)y categories and the world of flavoured spirits, it’s clearly happening. So isn’t there a danger our runaway train will run off the rails?

PLAYING FOOTLOOSE

If you think this is unnecessarily melodramatic, consider the fact that even the spirits industry is playing footloose and fancy free with the category. When researching this feature I was offered a contribution from Famous Ginger Grouse – an alcoholic ginger beer with an abv of 4% and normally called a ready-to-drink product. At the other extreme a public relations company offered up Southern Comfort, a long-established liqueur with a strong flavour of orange and its heart in Louisiana.

These are obviously not what we mean by flavoured spirits, and nor are we talking about flavoured gins or vodkas. We’re talking about spirits drinks based on whisky – and there’s the rub. European producers can’t call them flavoured whiskies. And that term – spelt ‘whiskies’ not ‘whiskeys’ shouldn’t exist, but it does. Just Google it. Public relations companies representing the biggest players use it all the time – even when they’re talking about American or Irish products.

Unsurprisingly, perhaps, the US producers are far less coy about their terminology and seem content to include flavoured spirits drinks at the heart of their brand ‘family.’

But even they don’t seem entirely clear what they’re actually selling. Jim Beam, for instance, calls its Jim Beam Maple a ‘maple liqueur from the makers of Jim Beam bourbon whiskey’. Its Jim Beam Honey sports similar wording but also has the phrase: ‘Bourbon infused with real honey.’ Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Fire and Tennessee Honey are also described as liqueurs.

Scotland, under the wary gaze of the Scotch Whisky Association, has been unable to resist the temptation to jump on the flavoured bandwagon – and not without controversy. Bacardi was first in with Dewar’s Highlander Honey, and stepped beyond existing European legislation by using ‘blended scotch whisky’ and not using ‘spirits drink’ in its description.

Pernod Ricard uses the words ‘Spirit Drink’ in capitals on its Ballantine’s Brasil before describing what it is and using the words ‘scotch whisky’.

Meanwhile, in Ireland, Paddy Bee Sting hedges its bets and uses ‘liqueur’ and ‘whiskey’ in the same description note.

The spirits companies might not be totally sure what they’re selling but selling they are. And they’re not too fussy who comes along for the ride, either. Southern Comfort has clearly been given a new lease of life by the trend, and isn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. The liberal use of the word ‘liqueur’ could well be pumping new life into that much maligned and oft ignored sector, too.

REMARKABLE DEVELOPMENT

This would seem to be a remarkable development, given that one would assume the flavoured spirits sector appeals to a younger drinker. But is that right? What the producers do seem to agree on is that the new drinks are appealing to people outside the whisky category.

“With whiskey traditionally viewed as a spirit for an older audience and less accessible than white spirits, the introduction of flavours and brand extensions such as Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey has successfully drawn non-whiskey drinkers into the fold and broadened the category’s appeal,” says Crispin Stephens, head of commercial, planning and activation at Brown-Forman, owner of Jack Daniel’s.

“The addition of sweeter tastes has enabled brands to leverage connections with typically non-whiskey drinkers and become relevant among a new audience, who often prefer sweeter serves and cocktails, invigorating the whiskey category and attracting non-whiskey drinkers.”

It’s still early days for clear trends to be established but Maxxium, which distributes the Beam range of flavoured spirits, has started drilling down into its market research, and while it agrees about the new drinkers, it is also noticing some more surprising results.

“Interestingly from retail shopping data in the UK we can see Jim Beam flavours are over indexed in male shoppers,” says Maxxium UK’s marketing controller for imported whiskey, Janice McIntosh.

“In the UK, we find both men and women enjoy at least one of the flavours within our portfolio.

“The Jim Beam Maple and Jim Beam Honey shopper is more affluent than the Red Stag shopper. In (supermarket) Tesco, the largest shopper group for flavoured spirits is aged 35-55, which is positive news.”

 Brown-Forman backs up its findings with another statistic, which also looks at Tesco customers. It found that well over 90% of customers who bought Tennessee Honey had not bought a bottle of Jack Daniel’s Old Number 7 in the past year, so it is not cannibalising sales.

When you consider that Tennessee Honey accounted for £55.7m worth of sales last year, and has been growing by 24.1% a year in both on and off trade, you can see the attraction.

CATEGORY CRITICS

But the category doesn’t come without its critics. Bacardi with Dewar’s and Pernod Ricard with Ballantine’s have been accused of ‘dumbing down’ the scotch blended whisky sector and denigrating long-established and world-renowned scotch brands.

There is concern that they are encouraging consumption of increasingly sweet drinks, rather than the drinks reflecting the already existing demand for sweet products, as the industry would argue.

And, although there is no hard evidence to support it, there are plenty who argue that these drinks, at 35% abv or more, are aimed at first-time alcohol drinkers in their late teens and are the logical next step for UK school leavers who have experienced alcohol through flavoured ciders.

Three recent flavoured spirits releases have been flavoured with apples, and Jack Daniel’s even did a limited-edition Winter Jack, containing cider.

It’s a fine line between providing a bridge for non-spirits drinkers on their road to bourbon and whisky, and to targeting young drinkers.

Meanwhile, the spirits industry argues that flavoured spirits are a force for good. It insists clear water exists between the new flavoured spirits drinks and established whiskies such as Dewar’s, J&B and Ballantine’s.

That may be true, but how long will it be before a flavoured spirit drink is released that is linked to a single malt? Can’t happen? Five years ago neither could whisky flavoured with limes, cherries and maple syrup.

For now though, the figures speak for themselves. Flavoured spirits remain primarily a phenomenon of the US and UK, with the biggest sales growth in urban areas. And on the back of them, imported whisky sales in the UK are outperforming spirits sales in general. Tellingly, both Jack Daniel’s and Jim Beam point to the performance of their flavoured spirits as a share of the imported whiskey category.

Who knows where it will all head next? But with no sign of the trend abating and with more flavours on the way, the big players are claiming flavoured spirits remains an exciting, distinct and innovative category.

“Flavoured bourbons are definitely considered innovative,” says Maxxium’s McIntosh. “Flavoured spirits recruit new consumers to the category and contribute to the overall growth of the category.

“Discovery is a big part of a consumer’s journey with spirits. Today, consumers are looking for new and exciting experiences. Flavours lower the barrier to entry and allow consumers who may not have chosen bourbon to trial it. Once a consumer enters the Jim Beam family they want to try additional
bourbons and often trade up as their journey continues.”

Certainly a phenomenon then. But whether flavoured spirits are a force for good or bad – the jury’s still out.

And one more thought: we have been some way down this road before. Anybody remember Bell’s Red Devil? No, thought not.

Tides can go out as fast as they come in.