Whisky wanderlust is here.

Controversial, I know. But let’s just set adrift right now the picture-perfect image we all tend to conjure up when thinking of drinking a wee dram of whisky, cosy by a roaring fire in a leather arm chair, snow drifting at the door while you swirl a crystal tumbler.

Of course, that’s still alive and kicking – and rightly so - in the whisky category, but whisky is now ready to take you, literally, anywhere in the world you want to go. Outside the classic Scotch (and Irish) brands, world whisky offers brilliance - choice, styles, different finishes, quality and value. You can literally get anything you want and it’s been a genuine movement for the last 12 to 18 months. If you want a malt whisky finished in tequila casks, an experimental rye from Denmark, a corn whisky from Mexico, you can have it. And it’s all winning awards, because it’s genuinely excellent.

World whisky has blown the traditional demographic to smithereens, knocking on the door of all ages, genders and cultures as it targeted an ever more diverse global audience: a sweeter, more approachable drink, world whiskies are still speaking to a sophisticated audience, but they aren’t sat in a chair by the fire, they are up and at life, urban and experimental, risk-taking and switched-on, hot on the heels of difference and challenge. The younger whisky drinking generation, doesn’t take itself seriously and the new world whisky producers have clicked into this brilliantly. Year-round appeal is a given and varieties are endlessly possible, offering consumers limitless experiences.

With so many producers broadening the demographic, will there will be room for everyone? Certainly, as big brands buy up smaller producers the threat of consolidation looms. But at the moment, the European and Asian whisky distilleries, offering incredible flavour profiles and styles outside the Scotch and Irish moulds are still benefitting, as American whiskies have to retain ground lost by tariffs, able to offer a lower and more consistent price - so let’s enjoy the ride.

It’s still just the start of people opening their minds, so there’s more to be done to educate. For instance, about the incredible whiskies coming from Germany, Italy, France, England – where there are 40 active distilleries and a whole whisky movement - and the Nordics, as well Japan, and the carbon-neutral producers – different climatic conditions, soil types, raw materials, temperatures and aging processes are creating an amazing array of flavours. So, consumer education is key to bring these brands to life and get liquid on lips.

Much as I love world whiskies and anticipate more to come in the next couple of years, let’s not disrespect the matriarch in the family: Scotch brands are also working hard to broaden their demographic audience and year-round appeal. Spearhead is a great example of a whisky brand operating in a totally different way. From serves to packaging, to stories embedded in the brand – they present mixable, ‘out there’ drinks that have all the provenance you want from whisky and the delicious serve you can’t believe even is whisky. To my mind, traditional brands are not better or worse than their world whisky cousins: there’s room in the category for everyone, as each brand is offering something different, and that can only be a positive.

Both the on trade and off want points of difference. Why wouldn’t you stock something different, a talking point, an outlandish, attention-grabbing bid for your glass?

From a transition from the aged rums and tequilas, to an alternative to the traditional Scotch, it’s all possible when it comes to whisky, and it’s taking us much further than home.