My Haig Club Single Grain Scotch Whisky review & thoughts: the Diageo / David Beckham whisky
let’s begin
I literally could not be more excited when I read the news about David Beckham, a global sporting, fashion, media and cultural icon known by millions worldwide and a very shrewd businessman putting his name to Haig Club single grain whisky.
In the same vein, I literally could not wait to sit down and write this Haig Club review – alongside some Haig Club musings and thoughts.
This, for me, was Diageo signalling the moment where whisky joined vodka in mega-celebrity design and endorsement in order to attract new female and young consumers in new markets. However, it turns out I’ve ended up writing my Haig Club review with great sadness.
In the run up to the release of the revived Haig Club single grain whisky, I was surprisingly excited, and, after getting my head around the liquid’s proposition, I think they have smashed it out the park.
There are very few times in my whisky writing and brand consulting career that I have been truly impressed with something to the point of actually feeling like the ‘crazy idea’ in a workshop somewhere with Post-Its and flip charts has been pulled off perfectly, but this is, without doubt, one such occasion.
My Haig Club review & thoughts
First we had David Beckham’s involvement in the whisky itself, a major coup for Diageo. Then there was the back story of the brand and whisky itself being iconic, recognisable and inherently valuable as a symbol of whisky tradition.
Then the design, which is a beautiful aspect of this whisky, something that tells me Diageo are talking only to style of substance and doing so very deliberately, and are speaking directly to the inner needs of Millennial gin and vodka consumers – not whisky drinkers, which is definitely an interesting way to go for the brand and portfolio’s recruitment drive.
The bottle is gorgeous, there is no taking that away from them.
The deep blue glass has great shelf stand out and evokes images of aftershave bottles of yesteryear as well as the copper finished stopper which, with some weight to it, is iconic in its own right.
Product details being embossed in the glass is a nice touch and shows a confidence in the whisky to deliver. I love the rounded square nature of it, the weight of the overall bottle and the look of it both on the shelf and in my hand.
My thoughts on other Haig Club reviews
But it really bugs me that other Haig Club reviews have taken to beating up this well thought out whisky so consistently and so often.
It stands for exploration, not for whisky drinkers, collectors, or connoisseurs, but for an up and coming, Millennial, and mostly Asian consumer who is on a journey of flavour exploration like never before, and has more disposable cash than ever before… and are likely to be bored with Vodka & Coke, Vodka Orange etc. – aren’t we all?
This is a sound proposition.
This is a great brand reborn.
This is a modern icon.
This is a global drinks behemoth, Diageo, acknowledging that they cannot just be about stunning single malts and their blended Scotch brilliance, they needed to break ground in other areas of the world and kick start a new sub-category in Scotch.
Just who is Haig Club - the so-called 'David Beckham whisky' - for?
Beginners? Definitely. Those potentially afraid of the traditional whisky codes and cues that stand as a barrier more than an enabler for most? Absolutely. As I’ve already said, this is a whisky for vodka drinkers and gin drinkers, not whisky drinkers.
I do see it as an interesting opportunity for Haig to tempt gin and vodka drinkers to the category. Especially with its use in cocktails, and you never know, it might just encourage exploration through to other products or brands within whisky alongside others in the category such as Douglas Laing’s Single Grain drive towards the end of 2016, and Girvan that has produced a gorgeously branded and packaged product that delivers through the experience too.
My personal opinion is that the design, considered and lovely, is a bold and solid move for a liquid that is at this end of the spectrum. The marketing spend to get David Beckham involved, Gordon Ramsey to cook the launch meal and a host of others on film enjoying it was a smart use of cash. Definitely one for Beckham, Diageo and the Haig Club single grain whisky brand to hang their hats on.
And here’s the thing; I prefer not to mix my whisky, that’s just a personal choice, and if you open your minds and take a few moments and sit with Haig Club and Haig Club Clubman as I have, both with Ewan Gunn and David Beckham himself, you’ll discover that it does stand up on its own, it does deliver a flavour experience – albeit lighter than traditional maltheads would probably be looking for – and when mixed in cocktails delivers something very interesting (although I definitely prefer it neat).
So, whisky bloggers, vloggers and commentators – as we come to the end of my Haig Club review (/rant), I’m really interested to hear what your thoughts are on Haig Club and what I’ve said here… leave a comment below and we can discuss.
Greg
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8 thoughts on “My Haig Club Single Grain Scotch Whisky review & thoughts: the Diageo / David Beckham whisky”
I echo your thoughts on this. I popped it in a blind line up against other grains and single malts recently and while it didn’t perform brilliantly, it proved to be enjoyable on it’s own. I tasted it at a blind tasting with Ervin from Diageo (@SctochBoy) and not one of the malt fans spotted is as Haig, many were forced to realign their thoughts and regret their boos when they spotted the blue bottle at first. I’m continually encouraged by your open mind and rational approach on this site, you’re a good man for the Scotch scene Greg. Cheers.
Thank you for your very kind words, brought a smile during a relentless day of presentation writing and research! I think its a great product, and really does bug me when folk go very public on hating it *just* because a footballer is involved, or they perceive it as poor quality… that’s not really Diageo’s style, and certainly not how they have built so many top tier whisky brands.
This is the worst whisky/scotch that I have ever tasted. I kept drinking it until it was half gone out of respect for the person who gave it to me. I kept drinking hoping that my opinion of it would improve as I became intoxicated. My opinion did not change. Smells like paint thinner. Tastes like paint thinner.
It is labeled as “single grain” and not “single malt”. I’m not sure what that means, but in hindsight I think its a bad sign. It says it is “aged in toasted oak casks” but doesn’t say for how long. Another bad sign.
The bottle is ugly too.
Hi Simpson,
Thanks for your comment, although I have to disagree with you on the flavour and the look of the bottle, both – in my opinion – are great and have achieved so much to gain attention and consumer engagement that they cannot be seen as anything other than a success.
Not liking it is one thing, and I totally respect that as we all experience whisky differently and prefer different tastes, but I have to ask… when and why were you drinking paint thinner as a comparison? That sounds quite dangerous…
Single grain is a great style of whisky that is soft, buttery and has a more accessible flavour than single malt – check out the links below that should help you:
and we even have our own single grain release that I’m sure you’ll love (most people who have tried it have…) –
As for age statements, a significant amount of whiskies on the market now do not carry age statements and they are largely great whiskies so don’t always opt for a number over something interesting… otherwise you’d be comparing a 10 Year Old Ardbeg with a Glenfiddich 12 Year Old and picking the Glenfiddich just on age when they are fundamentally different products… see what I mean? Age means something, but is not everything.
Cheers!
Greg
I can only assume Greg is a paid advertiser for Haig Club.
The bottle is very nice. In fact, that’s why I noticed it on the shelf and Googled it, to find that David Beckham endorsed it. I’m an unabashed David Beckham fanboy, so I was expecting great things. I judged the book by its cover, and the cover was indeed compelling. It does look like a cologne bottle, but what’s wrong with that?
My first dram was quite acceptable. It wasn’t anything to write home about, but there wasn’t anything terrible either. I’ll happily drink an unobjectionable liquor as long as it isn’t expensive. Alas, I have learned from long experience that the first date doesn’t make the relationship. On a second night, I tried it on the rocks. There was definitely the distinct taste of heads and tails esters. Ever since, even neat, this stuff has the air of mediocre moonshine about it. The mild oak flavoring isn’t enough to overcome the lackadaisical distilling process (whatever it may have been) used to produce this liquor. I’m about 2/3 of the way through this bottle, and I’m confident the remainder will be used to mix drinks instead of enjoying neat as is my preference.
Thanks for your viewpoint, to confirm – I am not paid by any brand to be an advertiser, I genuinely think the Haig Club brand is very good and has done very good things to recruit new whisky drinkers around the world. It is not for everyone, but that doe snot mean it is not doing good.
So having resisted for so long, was given a bottle and as you say, my gin loving girlfriend loves it. I’m more impressed than I expected.
Question is that 5+ years since it launched has it had the success you anticipated? Had it brought new whisk(e)y drinkers into the fold? I can’t help but think it hasn’t quite made the inroads anticipated – so far.