The world's second-largest wine and spirit maker, Pernod Ricard, has announced plans to produce a new brand of whiskey in China.
The company, which is known for making popular whiskey brands such as Chivas Regal, Royal Salute, Glenlivet, and Ballantines, is reportedly planning to invest around $150 million to establish its first whiskey distillery in the country.
The Paris-based winemaker revealed that it was going to be building its new whiskey distillery in the Emei Mountains in the Sichuan province.
According to the spirit maker, the Emei Mountains will be the perfect place for the facility given its climate and availability of high-quality water. The company plans to open the distillery and have it in full operation by 2021.
Apart from producing the company's Chinese-branded whiskey, the facility that will be built on a 13-hectare patch of land will have its own visitor center.
The planned Emeishan Malt Whisky Distillery is expected to attract up to 2 million visitors over the next ten years, mostly those who are interested in the craft and whiskey aficionados from all over the world.
Pernod Ricard already has a number of active operations in China, namely its vineyards that grow cabernet sauvignon and merlot grapes. The company has been selling its Helan Mountain Xiaofeng wine in China since the 1980s.
According to the company's chairman for its Asian unit, Philippe Guettat, the establishment of the new distillery is aimed at bringing the country's business in China to the next level of development. The company is planning to create a brand new iconic malt whiskey brand that will be made solely in China.
China is currently Pernod Ricard's second-largest market, just behind the United States. The company is expecting an increase in alcohol consumption in China over the next few years as its population and income growth.
Pernod bet in China follows the rising popularity of other single malt whiskey brands from competitors in Japan and Taiwan. Guettat explained that the company hopes to ride the trend of the increase in popularity of Asian-made whiskeys. As sales of these brands of whiskeys increase in the international market, Pernod had decided that it is now the perfect time to create their own Chinese whiskey brand.
Pernod Ricard plans to roll out its China-made whiskeys by 2023. The drink will be sold in the domestic market and exported internationally. The company stated that it still remains optimistic of the outcome of its plans despite the ongoing trade dispute between China and the United States.
