BEIJING, May 17 China has found a way to blend its growing taste for Scotch whiskey with its tradition of green tea -- just mix the two.
The new cocktail of iced green tea laced with Scotch -- or maybe the other way around -- seems to have taken off as China has become one of the top 10 consumers of Scotch.
Britain's Daily Telegraph, citing industry figures, reported Thursday Scotch whiskey sales to China have risen 50 times to about $100 million in five years.
"China is now, for the first time, in our top ten," a spokesman for the Scotch Whiskey Association, told the newspaper. "Chinese consumers are looking to try quality international products that they have not had the opportunity to try before." Another interesting tidbit is that Scotch drinkers in China tend to be mostly in the 20-to-30 age group who live in cities.
China is still a long way from catching up with the United States, whose taste for the whiskey ranks at the top, accounting for about $750 million of the world market.
Copyright 2007 by UPI
