Swhisky struggles for world recognition

More than likely you may have stumbled across Swiss vodka and absinthe (the latter was invented in this country) while killing time in the duty free shop of a Swiss airport. But have you tasted Swiss whisky or even heard of it?

This year marks the 10th anniversary since a GATT (the former World Trade Organization) agreement was signed to allow Switzerland to produce all types of spirits, including those that come from cereal crops, such as barley.

The first man to produce the Swiss version of the famous liquor was a farmer named Ernst Bader, who still lives in Lauwil in canton Basel. Production began in a stable. Today, the 77-year-old still produces single malt whiskies and owns 97 barrels into which he pours the alcohol, which he distills from a single still.

Meanwhile a handful of other producers have started coming up with their own versions.

“There are five or six main producers in Switzerland, although it’s difficult to tell exactly how many there as it’s not always possible to delimit the region it comes from, as is the case in Scotland,” Anne-Marie Graticcia, co-owner of the specialist shop Whisky Time in Lausanne, told Swisster.

Whisky is made by distilling fermented grain mash, usually using barley or malted barley. The clear distillate, high in alcohol content, is then aged in oak barrels. Through a process of evaporation, the spirit loses some of its alcohol content while absorbing flavour and colour from the oak wood. The age of a whisky is the time between distillation and bottling. In Scotland it can only be called "whisky" once it has been aged for at least three years.

Alex Delanoye, owner of the Swiss single-malt whisky brand aptly named Swhisky, uses a single Alembic (similar to the pot stills used in Scotland) and therefore produces single malts. He has an annual turnover of 500,000 francs and sells 8,000 bottles per year. Swhisky is sold in duty free and specialist shops in Switzerland. It is also exported to Japan, Belgium and France. In terms of volume his whisky is the market leader and demand is high.

“It’s crazy, we could sell ten times more as there is so much demand,” said Delanoye, who also works as a physiotherapist.

Swhisky has won accolades in Switzerland at the Swiss spirits competition. Abroad it has also been rated highly in the Whisky Bible, a book by British author Jim Murray, who reviews whiskies from around the world.

But not everyone has heard of or tasted Swiss whisky. “It’s difficult to say how it compares to other whiskies, as I think I tasted it only once many years ago,” Charles MacLean, a British whisky expert told Swisster. He has been writing about the liquor for 30 years and has published numerous books on the subject.

Swiss journalist and wine critic Chandra Kurt told Swisster: “I don’t know Swiss whisky – I only drink Scotch.”

Briton Alex Bell, who lives in Switzerland, is recently retired as global marketing manager for malt whiskies at the drinks group Diageo. “I can’t remember the last time I drank the stuff,” he told Swisster, “but I remember being amazed they were able to produce something palatable so quickly,” he said. There is no reason why Switzerland should not be able to produce a “decent” whisky as it really comes down to expertise, he added.

“I think the problem is that we’ve had little time to look back,” said Delanoye. “We need a good five more years. We still don’t have a single whisky that’s ten years old." In Scotland many single malts are much older, he explained. The oldest bottle of Swhisky is now seven years old and counting.