U.S. Whiskey Producers To Emulate Scottish Marketing, Tourism Techniques

It was a Scot, James Anderson, who persuaded George Washington, the first president of the United States, to distill whisky on his estate in Mount Vernon, Virginia.

Now more than 200 years after the first bottles of whisky went on sale on the east coast of the US, bourbon distillers are once again taking inspiration from Scotland with the launch of an American whisky trail.

Travelling through five states from New York in the north to Tennessee in the south, the trail, which visits world famous brands such as Jack Daniels, Jim Beam and Wild Turkey, aims to repeat the success of the Scotch whisky industry in developing the product as a major tourist attraction.

Frank Coleman, a director of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS), says he was inspired to launch the tour after visiting Scotland this year and hopes it will encourage a similar boom in tourist revenue across the Atlantic.

Mr Coleman said:"When we toured Scotland in May with the Scotch Whisky Association we gained an appreciation for the way the industry heritage is revered in Scotland. It gave us a sense of the possibilities.

"The largest tourist attraction in Scotland is Edinburgh Castle and what is the first thing you see when you walk down the Royal Mile? The Scotch Whisky Heritage Centre. Perhaps because of Prohibition and other difficulties, Americans do not realise how much of our nation's heritage is immersed in making whisky. We want to change that with this tour. We hope this will give bourbon fans the chance to learn about all aspects of American whisky."

The trail was unveiled at a reception in Mount Vernon last month where archaeologists are in the final stages of a four-year excavation of Washington's distillery. Next year a reproduction of the original distillery, based on historical records, will open to the public, and this will serve as a gateway to the trail.

Scotland may sneer at attempts to excavate and reproduce a distillery that is only 200 years old, but for a country that has experienced a difficult relationship with alcohol, the fact that its first president was a distiller gives the industry an opportunity to position spirits in American culture as part of a normal, healthy lifestyle.

Dennis Pogue, chief historian at Mount Vernon, described Washington's distillery as the best preserved whisky distillery that archaeologists have excavated in the US.

"It was the Scottish and Irish immigrants who first produced American whisky in the 18th century to escape taxes. Washington, Pennsylvania and Maryland were the initial whisky areas. But the iron-free limestone waters and abundance of maize in Kentucky and Tennessee attracted the whisky makers west.

"We do not have any of the original distilleries left and that is why Washington's distillery is so important. The educational materials for the distillery display will position Washington as an early proponent of moderation."

Scotland first launched its Speyside whisky trail in the mid-1970s. The tour, which takes in seven distilleries in Moray as well as the Speyside Cooperage, cleverly tapped into the baby-boom generation, who were eager to learn more about a drink that was re-inventing itself as a luxury product.

But it wasn't until the late 1980s, when Highland Distillers introduced the Classic Malt range - a selection of whiskies from each region of Scotland - that the concept of differing styles became generally understood. Latest figures show that last year more than a million people visited distilleries in Scotland, contributing more than GBP 10 million to the economy. That figure is based on gift-shop sales and visitor- centre entrance fees alone and does not take into account accommodation, transport and other purchases.