Impressions of Matisse

by Gavin D Smith, 09/11

Matisse is a relatively new name to most European whisky drinkers, but the Matisse Spirits Company Ltd has been established in the Far East for more than a decade, and has spent some £40 million marketing its products during that time. Matisse is one of the best-selling brands in the lucrative Taiwanese spirits sector and also performs well in China, Thailand, Singapore, Australia and the USA.

Wu, Chi-Min, UK Managing Director, explains that "Matisse, as the artistic name suggests, is about pioneering a new way to drink Scotch whisky. It was founded in 1999 in Taiwan by our Chairman Mr Yang Teng-Kuei. After spending more than 40 years building a vast media, television and entertainment empire, he decided to launch a Scotch whisky brand that would challenge convention. We believe he is the only individual to combine media and whisky in their business portfolio and it has had powerful results.

"As a result of Mr Yang's background, Matisse was the first to use celebrity endorsement, a strategy which other leading Scotch whisky brands have started to follow across Far Eastern markets. Yet, Matisse stays ahead of its competition by constantly evolving. For example, we don't focus on the shape of the stills or the distillery and its heritage. Rather we aim to create an emotional connection between the whisky and our target consumer."

Matisse's ownership has allowed the company to put celebrity endorsement at its heart and to achieve product placement across the Far East, but it is not only shrewd marketing that has ensured Matisse's continued growth. According to Matisse's Master Blender Edward Drummond, right, "A new approach to whisky in the UK is long overdue. The whisky market is hugely crowded with big name brands occupying the lion's share of both the domestic and export markets.

"To differentiate Matisse, we have combined the highest quality spirits with luxurious packaging to satisfy the tastes of the consumer both here in the UK and globally. Matisse has launched a range of expressions from its accessible and easy drinking 12-year-old blended malt to the Single Malt Series, of which Matisse Caperdonich 1972 is one example."

Drummond explains that "Because we are not tied to one distillery, we can search out the hidden gems that reside in warehouses across the many distilleries of Scotland. Some of these single malts are used for blending purposes while others lie, and have lain for many years, in the warehouses of distilleries that have fallen silent and are unlikely to reopen. Our mission is to bring these whiskies to the global stage.

"Our business model has always been about bringing new drinkers into the category rather than competing with existing whisky brands. When we launched in Taiwan, Scotch whisky import volume grew by 30 per cent during the same period as we took share from local white spirits."

Regarding its expansion into the UK and other European markets, Drummond declares that "Initially we intend to focus on independent specialists as well as exclusive listings with carefully selected multiple retailers. Choosing the right outlets for Matisse will be vital in terms of the brand's positioning going forward."

A Dark Horse: Eigashima 12yo (1997/2010) Private Bottling

Post by Stefan Van Eycken, Tokyo

A few weeks ago, after spending a fortnight exploring the 

calvados and whisky distilleries of Normandy and Bretagne 

respectively, I made a little excursion to the city of Ghent 

in Belgium to host a Japanese whisky tasting. The organizer

 – importer/retailer The Bonding Dram – wanted to offer 

a sort of panorama of Japanese whisky and the decision 

was made to limit the selection to single malts 

(but no single casks). To cater to both well-seasoned 

Japanese whisky drinkers and newcomers, there was a

selection of drams only available in Japan (brought over by 

yours truly) in addition to malts generally available in 

Europe (supplied by the organizer).

As part of an effort to try and compile a flavour map of 

Japanese whiskies – based on the model developed by 

Dave Broom for the Classic Malts – I thought it would 

be interesting to get some feedback from whisky 

enthusiasts in Europe and so it was decided to do the 

entire tasting blind, with no hints whatsoever as to what

was in the glass. Just out of curiosity, to see what the 

collective preference was, we also asked the attendees 

(32 in total) to score the whiskies.

The line up was as follows:

Miyagikyo 12 (45%abv)

Miyagikyo NAS (43%abv)

Yoichi 10 (43%abv)

Karuizawa 12yo (an original bottling from the 90s, 

40%abv)

Ichiro’s Wine Wood Reserve 

(leaf label, only available in Japan, 46%abv)

Yamazaki 18 (43%abv)

Hakushu Heavily Peated (first release, 48%abv)

Eigashima ‘Akashi’ 12yo Private Bottling (59%abv)

During the first half of the tasting I said very little, 

not wanting the influence people’s evaluation of 

the whiskies. When scores were tallied and

the top 3 drams of the evening were announced 

a shockwave went through the room: in third 

place was Ichiro’s Wine Wood Reserve; runner 

up was Yamazaki 18 and the top dram of the 

evening was… the Eigashima 12yo private bottling. 

The fact that it managed to win – and win by 

quite a large margin! – was even more surprising 

given 

the fact that this particular whisky had received 

the lowest score from a small group of 

people, indicating that those who had given it their 

highest score liked it quite a bit.