Sweet n' Sticky

Scotch whisky liqueurs are having a moment, with Drambuie back on the box, and back in growth for three years. Having embraced iced espressos and launched spiced variants, it's time for the category to take on a certain Irish brand reckons Tom Bruce-Gardyne …   

It was cooked up in an office kitchen from a bottle of Jameson's Irish whiskey, a tub of single cream and some Cadbury's drinking chocolate. This unlikely prototype, named after a local bistro in London's Soho, grew into a massive, world-beating brand with sales of 8.2 million cases last year.  

Baileys Irish Cream, which has just turned fifty, earnt its two inventors a mere £3,000 as revealed in David Gluckman's 'That sh*t will never sell'. Although, after such a success, he and his co-creator were never short of work as their baby soared past Drambuie and others to dominate the entire liqueur category.

Scotch whisky liqueurs form a relatively small sub-set, but one that's showing definite signs of life with Drambuie, which William Grant's bought in 2014 for an estimated £100m, launching its first global campaign since 2012. Back in the day, the brand was a big spender on TV. In one ad from the 1980s, the actor Robert Powell needs ice for his Venetian dinner party. Instead of rootling around the freezer, he picks up a massive mobile phone and orders up a chunk of Alpine glacier for his Drambuie.

That was during the golden age of booze commercials when people tuned in just to see what hilarious shenanigans Leonard Rossiter and Joan Collins would get up to with Cinzano. In its latest advert, Drambuie is back on the ice, this time delivered ding-dong at the doorbell in a great block for a dinner party, shot in black & white.

"Dramb-OOO-uie!" coo the guests when offered a Drambuie iced espresso. "You can't say Drambuie without a little 'ooo' in the middle," explained Myles Manyonda of the creative agency responsible. The coffee connection is right on trend given the craze for espresso martinis, and for the target audience – 45-plus 'sociable hosts' – having to craft this simple cocktail for their guests no doubt appeals.

Freddie May, Drambuie's global brand ambassador, admits there's a nod to the past in all this, and says: "It's a really interesting brand to work with, as it comes with a couple of hundred years of history." He believes it's still made for a dinner party, albeit the modern, relaxed, get-together version, not its black-tied predecessor.

Drambuie is "essentially Scotch whisky with an incredible amount of viscosity and extra flavour," he says, calling it a treat rather than an indulgence. It seems Baileys effectively owns the 'i-word' for all its products. Baileys Chocolate drools about its "velvety-smooth pour, lusciously rich texture and deliciously indulgent taste" – the verbal equivalent of eating a dozen Cadbury's cream eggs.

Whisky liqueurs tend to be more sophisticated and premium. Alcohol and tax play a part with full-strength Drambuie paying £8.86 in duty compared to just £3.39 for Baileys at 17% abv. Whyte & Mackay's Glayva which dates from 1947 comes in at 35%abv, and describes itself as 'a tangerine honey-spiced whisky liqueur'.

"We have chosen to focus on our three-core principle which are phonics, feelings and flavours," says its UK brand controller, Kirsty Chaplin. "We want people to know how to say it, showcase the occasions where Glayva can play, and give them confidence on how it's going to taste."

She feels these drinks can be a stepping stone to Scotch, and says: "The potential to bring more women into whisky via a more accessible route is exciting and opens the category up to even more drinkers looking for quality, flavour-led products." Like all whisky liqueurs, sales are skewed to winter nights, though there are brave efforts to break out of Santa's grotto. According to Kirsty: "Glayva makes an excellent whisky BBQ punch."

Others brands have come and gone including Colomba Cream from the Isle of Mull and a Johnnie Walker Liqueur that was once sold in America. Among more recent entrants are Bruadar owned by Morrison Scotch Whisky Distillers and based at its Aberargie distillery in Perthshire that opened in 2017. Bruadar's recipe dates back twenty years, but the brand was relaunched in 2021 with a clean, modern design and a strong emphasis on provenance.

"We're using honey from our hives on site at Aberargie, and local sloe berries as well as Highland single malt," explains brand ambassador, Thomas Cuthbert. Like Kirsty, he believes there is a real versatility about the drink, and says: "It's certainly not perceived to be as sacred as single malt whisky, so you can have a bit more fun with it."      

Bruadar "has done summer spritzes, and iced-teas, so it's not all about toddies at Christmas," he says. "And we've just launched Bruadar Spiced. We wouldn't have done that if we didn't think the category had potential for growth, and it's already growing."

Euan Mitchell, MD of Isle of Arran Distillers, admits his Arran Gold liqueur is not a big focus, and sells mainly through the company's two distillery visitor centres and its on-line shop, but like all the brands mentioned, Gold has a loyal fan base. "Over the years, some distillers have tried to cash in on whisky liqueurs using their single malt brands," he says. "Macallan and Glenfiddich tried it, but it didn't seem to work. Malt whisky purists don't quite buy it."

As for launching a 'McBaileys' to take out the market leader, he shakes his head. "I don't think there's scope in the cream liqueur category – Bailey's kind of has a monopoly on that." With whisky liqueurs, "it would have to be very much a focal point of your business plan," he says. "It couldn't be a sideshow." Over to you Dramb-OOO-uie.