"This Lunar New Year with Whiskey" Liquor Market Continues 'Home Drinking and Solo Drinking' Trend

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] As the trend of drinking at home and drinking alone takes hold, the domestic whiskey market is reviving, and liquor companies are launching whiskey gift sets for the 2022 Year of the Black Tiger Lunar New Year.

According to the industry on the 30th, Diageo Korea released limited edition Lunar New Year gift sets of Scotch whiskies such as 'Johnnie Walker,' 'Singleton,' and 'Lagavulin' targeting the holiday season. They explained that the range of choices has been expanded compared to previous years due to the diversification of consumer needs.

They also introduced the limited edition 'Johnnie Walker Blue Tiger Edition' released to celebrate the Year of the Tiger. The 'Johnnie Walker Blue Tiger Edition' features a bottle adorned with a traditional Korean landscape painting and a winged tiger, symbolizing meaning. In particular, the winged tiger represents Yeohocheomik (如虎添翼), meaning that like a tiger with wings, it soars to the sky to achieve greater things. This limited edition is part of the 12 zodiac series sold only during the Lunar New Year period every year since 2018, making it highly collectible.

Pernod Ricard 'Royal Salute 21-Year Celebration Package'

Pernod Ricard Korea also released blended whiskey gift sets including 'Royal Salute,' 'Ballantine's,' and 'Chivas Regal,' as well as single malt whiskey gift sets such as 'The Glenlivet.'

Royal Salute is offering the 'Royal Salute 21 Year Celebration Package' as a limited edition. This edition celebrates the joyous moment of welcoming the new year 2022 and the signature flavor of Royal Salute, beautifully designed by contemporary artist 'Fei Fei Luan.'

Ballantine's prepared a total of 10 Lunar New Year gift sets, ranging from the modern-sensibility Ballantine's Masters to 12, 17, and 21 years, and Ballantine's Single Malt Glenburgie 18 years. Notably, the 17-year gift set includes the 'Ballantine's 17 Year Artist Edition 2,' created in collaboration with world-renowned artist William Lachance, along with two exclusive glasses. The Ballantine's 17 Year Artist Edition 2 was released only in Korea among all countries worldwide.

The Glenlivet gift sets come in three lineups: 15 years, 12 years, and Founder's Reserve. Packaged in stylish colors with exclusive glasses, they allow consumers to fully enjoy The Glenlivet's unique original flavor and perfect smoothness.

Golden Blue also introduced two holiday packages. The packages launched for the Lunar New Year are the 'The Golden Blue Sapphire Ice Ball Set' and the 'The Golden Blue Diamond Swirling Glass Set.' The planned packages, first introduced in September last year, received great response, leading to additional production for this Lunar New Year holiday.

Recently, the whiskey market has shown rapid growth. According to the Korea Customs Service, the total import value of whiskey types including Scotch, Bourbon, and Rye from January to November last year was $154.34 million, a 37.4% increase compared to the same period the previous year. This is the first increase in whiskey import value in three years since 2018.

In particular, high-priced whiskies have shown steeper growth compared to low-priced ones. According to Emart, whiskey sales from the 1st to the 17th of this month increased by 53.8% compared to the same period last year. During the same period, Lotte Mart and Homeplus also saw whiskey sales rise by 101.4% and 88%, respectively. At Emart, sales of whiskies priced between 10,000 and 50,000 KRW rose by 29%, 50,000 to 100,000 KRW by 62%, 100,000 to 200,000 KRW by 241%, and over 200,000 KRW by 63%. Homeplus also saw growth of 28% for 10,000 to 50,000 KRW, 176% for 50,000 to 100,000 KRW, 535% for 100,000 to 150,000 KRW, 240% for 150,000 to 200,000 KRW, and 72% for over 200,000 KRW.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.