A GLOOMY OUTLOOK FOR WHISKY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2359, 11 May 1899, Page 61

A GLOOMY OUTLOOK FOR WHISKY.

At a luncheon recently held in connection, with the Brewers' Exhibition in London, Mr T. R. Dewar (of Messrs John Dewar and Sons, distillers, Perth), in proposing the toast of success to the undertaking, gave a verygloomy outlook for " the poor distiller," as he called him, though distillers, as a rule, are amazingly rich. He said : "As an indication of the strides made -in the whisky industry in which many of u& here are interested, v ihe Irishmen present will not, I am sure, regard it as another injustice in being reminded that they made in the year 1888, 11,063,245 gallone of their oxcellent^whisky, and in the year ending March, 1898; they distilled 14,54-7,708 gallons, an increase of something like three and a half million gallons as compared with 10 years ago ; and their brethren in Scotland, in the year 1888, distilled 18,159,651 gallons, and this year in Scotland there were distilled 33,744,503 gallons, an increase, as you will perceive, of fifteen and a half million gallons— a growth in trade which I ventxire to say is "unequalled in the history of commerce. At the present moment the reserve stock in bond in Scotland is over 89,000,000 gallons, whereas two yeaTs a?o the reserve wa? only forty-three million gallons. There is being made' in the Fame country every year twelve and a half million gallons more than is being consumed, or 50 per cent, over production, equal to, 18 months' supply. After realising these facts, gentlemen, I venture'to believe that you will not be nervous of this popular beverage, but will sympathise at the gloomy outlook whic» the poor distiller has."