SINGAPORE: Lawrence Law, Singapore-based head of Diageo Reserve 3.0, explains how the drinks giant is tapping the global thirst for premium and luxury lifestyle products through its heritage brands and a bespoke whisky experience.

In his memoirs, Singapore’s founding father, Lee Kuan Yew, recalled that during World War II, everything was in short supply. A black market thrived on the island and among the most profitable commodities traded on it were bottles of Johnnie Walker. The coveted whisky from Scotland, which first landed on Singapore’s shores in 1885, had become a form of currency.

Johnnie Walker needs no introduction among drinkers, in Singapore or almost anywhere else. It is the world’s top-selling blended Scotch whisky and, as you read this, with every passing second, six bottles of Johnnie Walker are sold. Before the word “globalisation” peppered mainstream talk, Johnnie Walker was already an international brand, available in 120 countries back in 1920.

Within Diageo plc, the world’s leading spirits, beer and wine company, it stands tall. Diageo owns celebrated names such as Guinness stout, Smirnoff vodka and J&B whisky and has more than 100 Scotch, Irish, Canadian and American whiskies in its stable. Yet, Johnnie Walker alone accounts for about half of sales by volume for the booze behemoth.

Even for a brand with such a grip on the malt market, however, these are not times in which to stand still. Growth is easing, or even slipping, in many of the more traditional markets for spirits. At the same time, there is no lack of newcomers nipping at the heels of long-standing names and brands old and new are falling over themselves, trying to capitalise on social media and digital platforms to appeal to younger drinkers.

But the alcohol business is a lifestyle business and, across the board today, there is one tangible trend. With wealth rising faster among the global elite than the middle and lower brackets, growth is taking off in the premium and luxury segments of the drinks market. “There is an insatiable appetite to drink better,” says Lawrence Law, Singapore- based head of Diageo Reserve 3.0, a business unit within the drinks group that caters to the ultra luxury market. “It’s no longer about just drinking anything.”

To capture this growing desire for exclusivity and quality, Diageo is hoping to get consumers to look beyond the affordable crowd pleasers under its immense umbrella and at its pedigree and top-of-the-line brands, which are grouped under the Diageo Reserve portfolio.

This includes Johnnie Walker labels above US$60 ($80.90), such as the Blue Label, which is a blend of the rarest malts and can run upwards from US$200. Also in the mix is Don Julio Tequila, which currently ranks as the No 1 ultra premium tequila in the world. The tequila is made entirely from blue agave and the entire process is carried out painstakingly by hand in Mexico, from the cutting to the cooking, milling, fermentation and blending.

Another distinctive name in the Diageo Reserve line-up is Zacapa Rum, regarded among connoisseurs as one of the world’s most finely crafted rums. Made from high-grade sugar cane instead of molasses, it is blended and aged at elevated altitudes in Guatemala, where the cool temperatures slow the ageing process. This gives the rum time to develop character. And then there is Tanqueray No. TEN Gin. The award-winning brand stands out for being the first gin distilled using handpicked fresh citrus fruits and botanicals. It is also handcrafted in small batches.

Other names within this blue chip cluster are Cîroc Vodka, which is the No 2 ultra premium vodka in the US, and Ketel One Vodka. Recently, Diageo Reserve added Haig Club to the line-up. A newly created single grain whisky from the House of Haig in Scotland, it has enlisted former football star David Beckham as one of its global ambassadors.

And yet, it is not just about pushing out more top-flight bottles or getting devotees of Johnnie Walker’s beloved Black Label to trade up a rung or two, Law underscores. Diageo Reserve is rolling out its version of the more enduring strategy of selling a lifestyle experience: specifically, a bespoke experience within the world of luxury Scotch whisky. Whether it is to have a dream blend tailored specially for you, to mark a birthday or an anniversary, or a chance to tour a unique distillery and learn the craft of whisky making, followed by a round of golf at Gleneagles in Edinburgh, it can all be arranged.

Whisky embassies
To draw people deeper into the story of Johnnie Walker’s 195-yearold heritage and the craftsmanship that goes into luxury Scotch, Diageo Reserve has created Johnnie Walker House. Billed as an embassy of whisky, it is a space designed to let guests explore its premium malts, in a way that can be customised to their tastes.

At Johnnie Walker House, guests can sample whiskies at a bar or tuck into a specially crafted whisky and food pairing session. They have access to limited-edition bottles and unique collections such as the John Walker & Sons Master Blenders Collection and the Johnnie Walker Epic Dates Collection.

The ultimate customised experience available is the Signature Blend. Catering to its most serious and high-end clients, this is a by-invite-only journey to create a blend in the customer’s image, from taste to fragrance, texture, bottling style and design. The customer is flown in to one of the Johnnie Walker House locations around the globe and meets with master blender Jim Beveridge, who brings with him a selection of rare malt whiskies handpicked from the eight million casks of whiskies that he has access to.

Beveridge, who has been a master blender with Johnnie Walker for more than 20 years, will assemble a picture of the customer by chatting with him about his hobbies, culinary tastes and so on. For connoisseurs, meeting with Beveridge is a draw on its own. Trained as a chemist, he started his career at Johnnie Walker researching and developing whisky flavours. Today, he is hailed as an expert in the science of making whisky and his nose has been described as the most valuable in the business.

He is also an artist, notes Law, and looks at flavours as colours, lending a different dimension to the blending process. “It’s a great experience for our high-networth clients,” says Law, who is also global general manager for Johnnie Walker House. He recounts the story of a Singapore client who wanted to create three unique blends: one for himself, one for his wife and one for his daughter. Beveridge created a whisky that radiated strength for him, elegance for his wife and vibrancy for his daughter. Signature Blends start at £80,000 ($166,172) for a minimum of 20 bottles.

Two new initiatives are being added to the bespoke offerings from Diageo Reserve. In January, it unveiled Casks of Distinction, which offers customers a chance to own very rare ultra premium malts. Only 16 casks are available. Handpicked by Johnnie Walker’s team of master distillers, these casks come from raved-about distilleries such as Talisker Single Malt Whisky from Scotland’s Isle of Skye, whose casks are tinged with the salt of the sea.

Other notable names are Port Ellen, which closed in 1983 and is extremely hard to get hold of, and Lagavulin, a cult distillery known for its smoky, peaty taste. Lagavulin, incidentally, is the whisky of choice for Law, who has a collection of more than 500 bottles of single malts and blends at home. Casks can range from £150,000 to £1.5 million and customers can elect when they want the whisky bottled within five years of purchasing the cask. They also have the option of touring the distillery and meeting with the master distiller.

In June, Diageo Reserve launched its Distillery Director experience to a select group of clients. This is essentially an opportunity to be an armchair director of a distillery for a day and should resonate with lovers of Scotch who have always hankered to learn more about the art and science of whisky making.

Asian ambitions
So far, the roll-out of Johnnie Walker House has been predominantly in Asia, where appreciation for exclusive brands is swelling. In the world of whisky, auctions of rare and prized malts in cities such as Hong Kong in the last couple of years have surprised on the upside.

The first-ever Johnnie Walker House was established in Shanghai in 2011 and was launched by Law during his time as director for brand engagement and relationship marketing for Johnnie Walker in China. Since then, others have opened in Beijing, Seoul and Chengdu, as well as in the airports of Taipei and Mumbai. Each is marked by locally curated art and events.

On May 18, the seventh Johnnie Walker House opened at Changi Airport’s Terminal 3, making it the first in Southeast Asia. Exclusively available here is a limited edition of Johnnie Walker Blue Label. The ivory-coloured bottle features the landscape of Scotland and the skyline of Singapore in the brand’s hallmark Willow design. The collectible was illustrated by local artist Dawn Ng, known for her intricate artwork.

The results, in moving drinkers up the ladder, have been encouraging. “I’ve seen people who used to drink only Black [Label] walk out with £4,000 worth of products,” says Law. More significantly, Johnnie Walker House has doubled as a springboard for introducing whisky culture to markets such as China, where the local liquor baijiu and brandy reign supreme.

China is a potentially massive market, as imported spirits make up 3% of the entire pie, Law points out. Courting the Chinese has called for some innovation and departure from convention. For Johnnie Walker House, that has meant bringing food and whisky together in China. Whisky has long been a solo drink, savoured mostly after dinner. Indeed, many aficionados would balk at the thought of whisky with a meal. However, with food being so central to Chinese culture, Johnnie Walker House has leveraged on its culinary academy to see how best to pair various types of foods with the flavours of its Scotch.

Over the last three years to 2014, Diageo’s super premium Scotch brands in China have grown more than 30% a year on a compounded basis. Yet, 40-yearold Law, who joined Diageo in Sept 2008, believes that “China is still the tip of the iceberg for us”. Law, who has a bachelor’s in business administration from the National University of Singapore, spent the earlier part of his career primarily in marketing and advertising agencies, including Young & Rubicam in Taiwan and Wunderman in Thailand.

Today, around a quarter of Diageo’s net sales in Asia-Pacific come from super premium brands, compared with just over 15% three years ago. “You need to evolve with the consumer,” says Law. Diageo, through its Reserve portfolio and its innovative boost of heritage brand Johnnie Walker, appears to be doing just that.

Sunita Sue Leng, formerly an associate editor at The Edge Singapore, usually finds inspiration after a glass of wine.

This article appeared in the Options of Issue 681 (June 15) of The Edge Singapore.