文丨酒业家团队(ID:jiuyejia360)
Planning丨Xianchen Editor丨Yifan Editor丨Yunding
When domestic whisky ushers in a new wave of investment and more and more domestic whisky distilleries are breaking ground, Gispol once again assumes the role of the leader of national prestige and refreshes the quality expression of national prestige.
On April 8th, the new product launch conference of Gispol's "Kunquan Ten Years" whisky with the theme of "Ten Years of Truth, Oriental Taste" was held in Yantai, which attracted wide attention from the industry. It is worth noting that this is also the first 10-year whisky in Chinese mainland. The release of "Kunquan Ten Years" not only witnessed Gispol's deep cultivation in the whisky field for more than ten years, but also once again led the quality of domestic whisky to a new level, becoming another milestone in the development journey of Guowei.
It is worth noting that at this press conference, Gispol also put forward the concept of "Guowei Yantai Production Area" for the first time. In the process of localizing Chinese whisky, regionalization is undoubtedly an important part of its quality and value expression. From this perspective, Gispol also shows its leading role as a pioneer of domestic whisky.
01
Ten years of grinding a sword, "Kunquan Ten Years" was well received when it was listed
"The old vintage whisky, if you use Jin Yong's characters to describe it, I think it looks like Zhou Botong, like a martial arts master. At the press conference, Pan Jun, the lecturer of the Chinese whisky ambassador and the national first-class taster, spoke highly of the "Kunquan Ten Years".
It is reported that the new "Kunquan Ten Years" is made from the malt alcohol heart that is more than 10 years old in the Gispol craft distillery. The unique natural environment of Kunyu Mountain, the unique pot triple distillation process, the independent research and development of Oriental Whisk yeast fermentation, and the patented technology of "Oriental Eagle Castle Mengqu Barrel" aging constitute the core competitive advantage of "Kunyu Ten", which is also the reason why it has been highly praised.
Especially in the maturation process, the self-produced apple brandy is moistened in barrels for 18 months, which fully absorbs the unique flavor of Yantai apples, and at the same time, it can also give "Kunquan Ten Years" an attractive amber color without adding sugar, flavor, and caramel color, which is in line with Gispol's natural and healthy brewing concept.
▲ General Manager of Gispol Yang Hongru
"When making 'Kunquan Ten Years' whisky, we pay more attention to the harmonious integration with nature, respect the natural attributes of the raw materials, follow the natural brewing laws, we respect every malt, every drop of water, every wisp of wind, we abandon too much human intervention, and skillfully blend them together and age them in the company's self-developed Oriental Castle Mong Oak barrels. The rich aroma and deep maturation condensed over the past ten years finally present a unique oriental sandalwood flavor. Yang Hongru, general manager of Gispor, introduced.
In fact, this is also the connotation of the theme of Gispol's "Ten Years of Truth, Oriental Taste" press conference. The wine industry learned that the so-called "truth-seeking" comes from the "truth-seeking" series of cliff stone carvings in the Yanxia Cave of Kunyu Mountain. This is not only the practice of Gispol integrating into the Xiandao culture to create oriental whisky, but also a vivid expression of his ten-year continuous "truth-seeking" and pursuit of the ultimate winemaking philosophy.
▲ Yuan Yue, Secretary General of the Whisky Professional Committee of the China Liquor Industry Association
"As a consumer product with cultural attributes, Gispol's launch of 'Kunquan Ten Years' whisky has collided with the fine wines and customs that have inherited the thousand-year-old cultural heritage. Yuan Yue, secretary general of the Whisky Professional Committee of the China Liquor Industry Association, also said.
The wine industry learned at the scene that the limited sale of 2,880 bottles of "Kunquan Ten Years" not only attracted a number of dealers to sign contracts, but also took the lead in triggering a wave of small craze in the on-site sales link, and 20 bottles were sold out on the spot. It is worth mentioning that at the 2024 London Whisky Show (Whisky Live 2024) not long before this press conference, in the European whisky market, which is known for its peaty taste, "Kunquan Decade" is also widely loved by international whisky lovers.
As the first high-vintage whisky born in the mainland, "Kunquan Ten Years" can be described as a highlight when it is listed.
02
With long-term investment, Gispol has become a new business card of Guowei
Unlike beer, which has a short production cycle, whisky has strict requirements for aging time, which determines its long-term industrial attributes. On the occasion of its 13th anniversary, Gispol launched the "Kunquan Decade", which was well received, which is the epitome of his long-term commitment over the past decade.
It is reported that Gispol was officially established on March 11, 2011, and began to explore the brewing of whisky while producing apple brandy in early 2012, and established a Gispol craft distillery in 2013. In 2015, Gispol's first single malt whisky was born, and in 2022, it took the lead in launching domestic peat whisky again, becoming a pioneer in Chinese whisky. Now, it has relaunched its 10-year-old whisky, which is a testament to the pioneers of whisky in China.
In terms of brewing, it has also become the leader of the current national prestige. At present, Gispol also has an advanced and large craft beer production line, and its complex process and technology not only bring natural advantages to Gispol whisky, but also provide a solid foundation for its distillation and aging. Gispol also became the first distillery in the country to distill whisky using craft beer production equipment and processes.
"Gispol now has 8 sets of copper kettle distillation kettles that have obtained national invention patents, and the annual output of whisky distillation can reach 2,800 tons. Yang Hongru introduced.
In fact, in the past ten years, Gispol has made fruitful achievements: independently developed domestic Mongolian oak wood carved castle barrels with oriental characteristics, breaking the monopoly pattern of imported oak barrels, creatively using double yeast fermentation to produce triple distilled pot distilled whisky, forming a product series matrix with oriental charm represented by "Oriental Tea Aroma", "Oriental Sandalwood Aroma", "Oriental Peat Aroma", "Oriental Fruit Aroma" and "Oriental Coffee Aroma", and giving birth to the first Chinese whisky song "Confidant, A Cup of Whisky" It has won many awards in international competitions such as the San Francisco World Spirits Competition (SFWSC) and the CMB International Spirits Competition, and has been exported to many countries, allowing Guowei to go abroad......
"Over the past 13 years, Gispol Wines has grown over time, experienced countless challenges and trials, and innovated. Under the opportunity given by the times, he has initially realized his original dream and become an advocate and practitioner of oriental whisky. Sun Jie, chairman of Guiss Group, said.
▲Sun Jie, chairman of Guiss Group
Yue Yue also said that Gispol Liquor adheres to the concept of natural health, deeply excavates traditional Chinese culture, focuses on the concept of the core production area of Kunyu Mountain in Yantai production area, creates "Peninsula National Prestige", and successfully combines traditional Chinese culture, local culture and domestic whisky, making each of Gispol's whisky unique to the oriental charm and becoming a new business card of domestic whisky.
03
Constructing the expression of the production area, Gispol accelerates the localization process of national prestige
The past ten years of Gispol's long-term investment have also been a decade of rapid development of domestic whisky. Not long ago, the "2023 China Whisky Industry Development Research Report" released by the Whisky Professional Committee of the China Liquor Industry Association released data showing that from 2013 to 2023, the scale of the mainland whisky market increased by 4.2 times in 10 years, with a compound annual growth rate of 18.33%.
At the same time, the distillery industry has noticed that in the past two years alone, 16 medium- and large-scale whisky projects have landed in China, and domestic whisky is ushering in a new round of investment.
Under the huge market potential, localization has become the key word for the development of whisky in China. Foreign capital, led by Pernod Ricard and Diageo, has not only sought its roots in traditional Chinese culture in terms of products, but also launched a series of localized products including Zodiac wine, but also taken root in China and laid out the future Chinese whisky market in advance with the oriental terroir.
"For those working in the distillery, the individuality of whisky is just as important as the uniqueness of the flavour. In today's volatile economic situation and globally integrated market competition environment, it is imperative and key to development to do a good job in Chinese characteristic whisky products, to do a good job in local whisky development culture, to establish a Chinese whisky quality expression system, and to cultivate more whisky consumer groups. Yuan Yue pointed out.
In fact, whether it is the first layout or the launch of a unique oriental whisky, Gispol has shown a very forward-looking strategic vision in the track of entering Guowei. At the press conference, Sun Jie also put forward the view that "localization is the only way for the development of China's whisky industry".
In the process of localization of Guowei, regionalization must be an important part of it. Taking the liquor industry as an example, in recent years, characteristic production areas are becoming the expression of the quality and value of Chinese liquor, and the path of the transition and development of the liquor industry from "category" to "production area" has been very clear.
In fact, the same applies to the Chinese whisky industry, which is also a spirit. From the perspective of the current development pattern of Chinese whisky, with the formation of Chinese whisky clusters represented by Qiandao Lake, Qionglai and Emeishan, the concept of Guowei production area is about to emerge.
In the embryonic stage of China's whisky regionalization, Gispol once again showed its foresight, and proposed the concept of "Guowei Yantai Production Area" for the first time in the industry.
In the eyes of industry insiders, as a highly globalized mainstream spirits category, Guowei's regionalization still has great room for growth based on the world's major whisky producing regions. In this critical period of the development of national prestige, Gispol's first mention of the concept of Yantai production area will also help Chinese whisky to further construct the expression of the production area and accelerate the localization process of national prestige.