Latest news with #ChivasRegal
Forbes
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
The World's Best Blended Scotch Whisky—According To The 2025 ASCOT Awards
The American Spirits Council of Tasters--or ASCOTs, for short--has just released its big winners for 2025. Well, sorta. As has became standard practice for competitions these days, the intel is meted out in drips and drams so that consumers can be kept on their toes throughout the year, as opposed to having it all over and done with in one succinct announcement. In the case of the ASCOTs, we now have the first round of medalists as designated by its prestigious panel of judges, consisting of 54 talented individuals from every corner of the industry; journalists, bartenders, educators, and assorted media personalities. According to its website, the council promises to reveal Best in Category winners, followed by Whiskey and Non-Whiskey of the Year in the weeks ahead--all leading up to the big reveal: 2025 Best In Show. You can trust that there'll be ample buzz generated around those bottles (last year's Bourbon of the Year was virtually unknown at the time and was ripped from shelves almost immediately thereafter). In the meantime, we can share with you the grand winner in one broad category of brown booze, at least. And it's one that hardly could be considered unknown to any self-respecting sipper. The top prize for Blended Scotch Whisky of the Year goes to Chivas Regal 12 Year Old. One of the best-selling scotches on the market today, the Pernod Ricard-owned label is both easy-drinking and complex. It carries a custardy, slightly banana-laden nose, evolving into spiced barley and candied walnuts atop the palate. Subtle pepper spice tickles the tongue before the 80-proof spirit fades from memory. Its enviable performance at this year's ASCOTs can hardly be seen as an outlier. This particular expression has been hauling home the hardware on the competition circuit in recent years. F. Paul Pacult, respected founder of the Ultimate Spirits Challenge, recently referred to Chivas 12 as 'the blend for grownups.' He wasn't suggesting that underaged drinkers are drawn to all those other blends, of course. Merely that the overarching category of blended scotch more generally appeals to the masses. After all, it does definitionally carry a large component of lighter grain spirit in its mix. And so it can lack the deep complexities aimed at the elevated palates of single malt connoisseurs (effete sarcasm intended). Those stereotypes are unfounded because, yes, blended scotch, can be both complex and widely-appealing at the same time. And Chivas Regal 12 underscores the point. Best of all, it does so at a price point of roughly $20 per bottle. Try finding a worthwhile single malt for that! The ASCOT judges, for their part, will certainly try. They will conduct a taste-off between three peated and three non-peated expressions of single malt scotch in the upcoming weeks. I'll be sure to weigh in with my commentary on the ultimate winner. So keep it parked here to stay informed. Meanwhile, just remember that great whisky arrives in all different price-tags and categories.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why UK-India trade deal won't save whisky and car industries from Trump's tariffs
Sir Keir Starmer has hailed as a 'landmark' an agreement to strike Britain's biggest post-Brexit trade deal with India. Ministers say the move which will see tariffs reduced on UK whisky, gin, cars and cosmetics, will boost trade by £25.5bn and add £4.8bn a year to the UK economy, as well as boosting wages by £2.2bn annually. It comes as the prime minister hopes to secure a trade deal with the US, in a bid to offset some of Donald Trump's tariffs, which have triggered global economic chaos. What will it mean for the whisky industry? India is the biggest consumer of whisky worldwide by volume and UK sales to the country were worth more than £200 million a year in 2022. Under the new deal, tariffs on whiskies will initially be cut from 150 per cent to 75 per cent. But after ten years they are due to fall again to 40 per cent. India is already among the largest export markets for Chivas Brothers', which includes brands such as Chivas Regal and Glenlivet, while Diageo, whose brands include Johnnie Walker, already has 50 manufacturing facilities across India. The UK has struck a trade deal with India (Alamy/PA) How has the whisky industry responded? Very well. Jean-Etienne Gourgues, the chairman and CEO of Chivas Brothers has called the agreement a 'welcome boost' for his company 'during an uncertain global economic environment'. He also said that greater access to the Indian market would be a 'game changer for the export of our Scotch whisky brands, such as Chivas Regal and Ballantine's'. The deal will support investment and jobs in our distilleries and bottling plants in Scotland, he added. Diageo chief executive Debra Crew described the deal as a 'huge achievement' and said it would be 'transformational for Scotch and Scotland, while powering jobs and investment in both India and the UK'. What does it mean for the car industry? British high-end cars will see their tariffs fall by a whopping 90 per cent under the plans. The added tax placed on them as they enter the country will plummet from more than 100 per cent to just 10 per cent under a quota. Under the plans, the reform will start with cars with internal combustion engines but then move to electric and hybrid vehicles, 'to reflect how manufacturing in the UK is evolving'. Will the deal undercut British workers? Ministers have denied the agreement undercuts British workers, after opposition politicians criticised part of the deal that exempts some temporary Indian workers from national insurance payments for three years. On Wednesday, Jonathan Reynolds described the claim as 'completely false', telling the BBC: 'There is no situation where I would ever tolerate British workers being undercut through any trade agreement we would sign. That is not part of the deal.' The move is under what is known as the 'double contribution convention', which is designed to stop workers and employers paying twice, once in each country. It is also reciprocal, meaning any UK workers who work temporarily in India would pay no further taxes there and there are similiar agreements in place with other countries. Will it offset the impact of Trump's tariffs? In a word – no. The US remains the largest key market for whisky by value, at an estimated £971 milliona year. Sir Keir Starmer hopes to secure a trade deal with the US soon - with officials suggesting it could happen this week - which would lessen the impact of Trump's tariffs, following weeks of talks. This deal could include quotas that would exempt a certain number of UK exports from the full impact of 25 per cent tariffs on the British car and steel industry. But no matter the carve out for individual UK sectors or Britain in general, the UK will still be forced to weather the havoc the US tariffs wreak on the global economy.
Reuters
05-02-2025
- Automotive
- Reuters
Foreign companies embroiled in tax disputes with India
NEW DELHI, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Foreign companies have often struggled in India due to high tax demands related to duty evasion on imports or levies payable on big M&A transactions, leading to prolonged litigation at times. Here are some of the key past and current tax disputes involving foreign companies: KIA South Korea's Kia has been accused of dodging $155 million in taxes by misclassifying some car component imports, but the company is contesting the charge privately with officials, Reuters reported on Wednesday. At the heart of the dispute lie Kia's imports of parts of a car in separate shipments to assemble the vehicles in India, paying a lower tax applicable, circumventing the higher tax outgo when parts come together as a CKD, or a completely knocked down unit, of a car. VOLKSWAGEN In a similar case as Kia, Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE), opens new tab has sued Indian authorities in a Mumbai court after being slapped with a $1.4 billion tax notice for importing parts related to its 14 models, including some Audi ones, instead of classifying them as CKD. The German automaker's court challenge states that India's "impossibly enormous" tax demand will hit its investment in the country, and foreign investor sentiment. VODAFONE In one of the most controversial cases, Vodafone (VOD.L), opens new tab was slapped with a $2 billion tax demand when it purchased Indian assets of Hutchison Whampoa in an $11 billion deal in 2007. The dispute saw years-long litigation including a ruling in company's favour by India's top court, followed by a change of law which reimposed the demand and an international arbitration between the two sides. Vodafone won the arbitration case in 2020. CAIRN ENERGY Britain's Cairn Energy faced a more than $1.4 billion tax demand over the transfer of shares during an internal reorganization in 2007. In 2011, Cairn Energy sold its majority stake in Cairn India to Vedanta Ltd, reducing its share in the Indian company to about 10%. The Indian administration and Cairn India finally settled the years-long dispute in 2021 by offering to refund the tax amount. PERNOD RICARD French liquor giant Pernod Ricard ( opens new tab has been accused by Indian authorities of undervaluing certain imports for more than a decade to avoid full payment of duties. India is demanding roughly $250 million in back taxes but the maker of Chivas Regal and Absolut vodka has contested the findings. The dispute is pending. In 2022, Pernod warned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration that its long-running tax disputes with authorities on valuing liquor imports has inhibited fresh investment and its current business. BYD Chinese automaker BYD has been accused by Indian authorities of underpaying $8.37 million on parts for cars it assembles and sells in India. BYD later deposited the demand but the probe is still ongoing and could lead to additional tax charges and penalties, Reuters has previously reported.
