Sweden's faithful consumer of whisky producer

The "scotch" has changed radically in Sweden. They left drawings of animals, which usually appear on labels of Scotch whisky, and was just the brand name in sans serif letters, with the blue and yellow logo of bottler: Svenska Eldvatten, an independent company specialized in bottle whiskey and other distilled beverages imported for the Swedish market. Although the content is Scottish, the shape of the bottle is unmistakably Scandinavian. The company is part of the growing whisky industry of the country, which quietly began to produce their own "single malts".
The Swedes are among the biggest consumers of whiskey in the world. According to the Scotch Whisky Association, annual exports of Scotch whisky to Sweden rose from 10 million pounds sterling (US $ 15.71 million) in 2003, to 36.4 million pounds, in 2013.
"The Swedes love whiskey then fried the ' single malts whiskeys ', like Laphroaig, Lagavulin and Ardbeg the are very popular here," says Peter Sjögren, one of the owners of the Svenska Eldvatten. "We also like Swedes, exploring new territories, like Japanese whiskey."
In November, the annual manual "Jim Murray Whisky Bible" caused a commotion when indicated the Sherry Cask Single Malt Distillery, Yamazaki Japanese 2013, with their number one drink.
In recent years, the world market for whisky production changed drastically and the position of Scotland as the largest beverage producer is no longer safe. In many parts of the world, from Tanzania to Taiwan, distilleries are being built to cater to local tastes.
The Sweden now has been dedicating to produce whiskey-ten new distilleries started making whiskey in the country from 2013.
The Distillery was opened in 2010 and has been producing popular drinks, although on a small scale.
In June this year, a batch of 700 bottles were sold in one day. The distillery Hven produces various whiskeys "single malt" and won several awards at International Wine Competition (IWSC) & Spirit from 2013.
The largest distillery in Sweden is the Mackmyra, with production capacity of 1.2 million gallons per year. The company was created when eight friends at the Royal Institute of technology met in 1998. Each brought a bottle of malt whiskey and it wasn't long before some of them wonder why the Swedes not produced whiskey. Having detected the opportunity the following year, the Group began to create the first Swedish single malt whisky.
"The Sweden produces one of the oxen for best flavour-some Scottish distilleries to matter to us. So, we wanted to create a whisky which showed the natural and Sweden offer reflects the tastes of the country, "says Lisa Collins, export manager of Mackmyra.
After experimenting with 170 different recipes, the company stayed true to two of them in 2001. Converted into a distillery plant abandoned in the city Gävle and began producing its "single malt" in kegs of 30 liters of Swedish oak.
The result was the personalized service of Mackmyra, barrels in which customers can create their own "single malt" and are invited to tastings throughout the aging process of three years.
"Our customers come first," says Collins. "We listened very carefully what they want".
In 2008, launched the first bottle of regular production, "The First Edition". Since then, the company has grown to become an international brand of whiskey.
Two years ago was chosen the European producer of spirits of the year at the IWSC The First Edition won the Gold Prize. The company is also a financial success, with sales of 7 million pounds (or $ 11.0 million) last year.
Mackmyra was well received in countries near and in 2013 tried to expand into North America. In last year's annual report, Chief Executive Magnus Dandanell said the expansion was too fast and that the company had spread too much resources and "lost focus on neighboring markets."
The company now returned to his original strategy of focus on local customer base, though it has not finished with their ambitions to export.
"The Sweden is our main market," says Collins. "But we also had growth of 100% in both Belgium and the United Kingdom, in the last 12 months. From 2015, let's get direct focus to our markets outside of the continent. "
There is debate over what will be the future of Swedish industry of whiskey. "I have the impression that the Swedes are primarily interested in domestic and shape the style of their whiskies to please the palate Swedish," says Gavin Smith, a writer specializing in Scotch that recently visited the 13 Swedish distilleries.
The Managing Director of Eldvatten, Tommy Andersen, has a more international perspective. "The Swedish whisky has great potential to become one of the [main] exports from Sweden. Even with the whiskeys of the leading distilleries, Box, Smögen and Hven, having only four to seven years of aging, they are well aligned with the best ' ' Japanese single malts or Scots with regard to quality. "