Issue #7: Teeing Off With a Legendary Scotch Brand
Golf and Scotch are a pairing made in Scottish heritage heaven
We teased a Scotch and golf interview a few weeks ago, and this week, that’s what you’ll get.
Dewar’s sponsored the 124th US Open, including a “highball for golfers” called The Lemon Wedge, which is basically whisky, lemonade, club soda and a lemon wedge.
Well, this week I caught up with Dewar’s North American Brand Ambassador Gabe Cardarella.
Scotch and Golf: Could there be a better power couple?
I’ve gotten big into golf this year… and also took a trip to Scotland where I fell further in love with Scotch. So this is a fun piece for me today.
Scotch seems to have a real love-hate relationship with people, or rather, people seem to have a love-hate relationship with Scotch. It never did anything wrong. There’s a misconception that Scotch is this real, heavy smoky sipping drink.
On the contrary! Only some Scotches carry those traits. Some are quite light and delicate and easy for even a novice whisky drinker to quaff. If you enjoy bourbon or other whiskies, go ahead and ask your friendly neighborhood beverage store attendant for some guidance and you’re sure to find something in your taste.
“There are a whole range of options that whisky offers drinkers, with a variety of expressions and ages to suit every palate,” Cardarella said. “While it has been traditionally enjoyed neat or on the rocks, the best way to enjoy whisky is however you want, whether that’s neat or in all kinds of cocktails. Whisky adds depth and dimension to cocktails which is why we find more and more bartenders using it in all sorts of creative ways.”
Anyway, back to the Scotch and golf. They’re both Scottish! And they’re both relatively old at this point! And they’re both going through a bit of a resurgence at the moment, with Scotch latching on to the big bourbon wave and golf booming thanks to, at least in part, being a pandemic-friendly outing. Now, both are growing with Millennials and Gen Z.
Golf reportedly began in 15th-century Scotland, with the modern 18-hole round created in 1764 at the St. Andrews. (Though while the first mention of golf in Scotland appears around 1457 in a Scottish Parliament Act, apparently there was a golf-like game in the Netherlands since the 1200s… but let’s ignore that.)
Scotch whiskey, meanwhile was first mentioned in 1494, though commercial operators didn’t start pumping out the good juice until the 18th century.
"Whisky and golf are the ultimate Scottish power couple, sharing a common ethos: bringing people together for shared, memorable occasions,” Cardarella said. “With over a quarter of US Open attendees identifying as Scotch drinkers, whisky has woven a bond with the sport. Both whisky and golf have shed their stodgy stereotypes and are now celebrated for their versatility and skill to be truly great. Whether you're celebrating a perfect swing or consoling a missed round, a good whisky is always the perfect post-round companion.”
When coming up with a cocktail recipe to accompany golf, it can’t be too difficult. So often golfers turn to beer, a ready-to-drink cocktail or a big foam cup full of a spirit and mixer. And that’s why Dewar’s US Open cocktail resonated with me. It’s essentially an Arnold Palmer, sub-whiskey for tea.
It’s refreshing and simple, just what a golfer might need at the turn.
Cardarella brought up that new consumers in the beverage world want a story or tradition behind their drinks. That’s something we briefly touched on when detailing Frey Ranch. While it’s not steeped in 100-plus years of whiskey making, the 150 years of Nevada ranching funneling straight into a bottle is a very compelling story.
Well, most Scotch brands also have some incredible history and stories behind them. And Cardarella thinks golf is starting to feel that as well.
“Both whisky and golf are enjoying a renaissance amongst younger generations and are shedding their older image,” he said. “Young people love the story behind a good whisky and appreciate all the hard work that goes into making something delicious. Kind of like how they appreciate a solid round of golf.”
For the first time, Single Malt Scotch whisky exports reached $2.5 billion in 2023, according to the Scotch Whisky Association. Overall Scotch exports, including blended, reached $7.1 billion. And the US is the largest market, accounting for $1.2 billion of Scotch consumption.
It should be noted that 39% of whiskey drinkers (not just Scotch) are between 21 and 35, with just 17% over 55, so brands are starting to alter how they think about their audience.
Similarly, golf brands are also starting to have to pivot. In 2023, 26.6 million people played on-course golf, according to the National Golf Foundation. That was up from 24.2 million in 2018. That helped drop the average age of golfers from 44.6 to 43.5 (and women golfers went from 23% to 26%).
If you account for things like Top Golf and other simulators, golf participation in 2023 went up to 33 million.
“Golf has become a fun, social thing to do with friends,” Cardarella said. “You get out on the course, have some laughs, maybe hit a few great shots, and then cap it off with a great drink. It’s about making memories and having a good time then commemorating it. And, honestly, who doesn’t want to feel like a classy, cool kid while doing that? So, yeah, whisky and golf are in. Plus, let’s be honest, celebrating a round of golf with a great whisky in hand is just plain cool.”
Literary Libations: Just What The Doctor Ordered
Hello gentle readers and drinkers! Can you tell I’ve just finished the new season of Bridgerton? This is Alyssa here bringing you a new Literary Libations, your go-to spot for book and drink pairings.
If you’ve read the last few issues, you know I’m deep into beach read season. For me, a beach read is a book that hits the following marks: quick, easy to pick up and put down, kind of predictable, romantic (not necessarily smut!), and fast-paced. This week’s book hit the mark.
“Yours Truly” by Abby Jimenez was my first book by the author, and I can now see why she’s so popular in the romance genre. The story featured two flawed main characters, lots of one-dimensional side characters, soooo many tropes (enemies to lovers! fake dating! one bed! slow burn!), and had a perfectly predictable ending. It’s exactly what I want to read while sitting outside on the water drinking a summer cocktail. The two main characters are very hot doctors, and since there are no real mentions of drinking in this book, we are going the medical route and accompanying it with a Penicillin cocktail! Also, what are the chances I happened to pick a Scotch drink this issue?! Marriage osmosis works again.
Lieutenant Dan’s Penicillin
2 oz blended Scotch
¾ oz lemon juice
¾ oz honey ginger syrup
¼ oz Islay Scotch
Method: Add blended Scotch, lemon juice, and honey ginger syrup to a shaker with ice. Shake until it’s too cold to hold the shaker. Strain into a rocks glass with ice. Top with Islay Scotch and a lemon peel. Read and enjoy!
This week, we shared our first paid-subscriber post with a guest column by Ed Barnes. Ed dives into how the seemingly simple act of making toast reflects the larger orchestration of a professional kitchen.
A trip to Europe without leaving the US?
Natural Light is pumping out a helluva U.S. vacation: American EuroTrip.
The trip is a 10-night, five-city marathon that includes stops at cities sharing names with top European destinations, including Holland, Michigan, a short 30-minute drive from my Grand Rapids.
“Vacationing to Europe might impress your Instagram followers, but it’s definitely going to empty your wallet and leave you questioning your choices once you realize there’s no Natty over there,” said Krystyn Stowe, head of marketing at Busch Family and Natural Family at Anheuser-Busch. “So this 4th of July, Natural Light is going all in on a Natty-inspired American adventure for our fans who would prefer crossing state lines to crossing the pond.”
Other destinations include:
Paris, Texas
Dublin, Ohio
Athens, Georgia
Venice, Florida
Hopeful contestants can enter by commenting #NattyEuroTrip and #sweepstakes on Natural Light’s Instagram, X and Facebook post. Just do it before July 5. (This isn’t sponsored but hit us up, Busch).