Whisky sales surge 11% in Australia

Whisky sales surged in Australia in 2016, up 11.7% to £100.3million.

The result - released by WhiskyInvestDirect - makes Australia the ninth biggest export market by value for Scotch.

Whisky became the nation’s top-selling spirit last year, overtaking bourbon as the No 1 spirit category.

The biggest success story for Scotland was single malt Scotch whisky, which has recovered from its 2014-15 slump, topping £1billion worth of exports for the first time in 2016.

The boom has been attributed to single malt whisky's appeal to luxury export markets, which are bouncing back from challenges such as the Chinese government's austerity drive and economic difficulties in emerging markets in South America.

Single malt whisky has to be made at one distillery, from malted barley, and matured for at least three years in traditional casks. The total value of single malt exports reached £1.02billon, up from £914million in 2015.

While more than 90% of Scotch whisky exports are blended, distillers earn more than 25% of their overseas revenues from single malt.

The broader Scotch whiskey category recorded £3.999billion in overseas sales, a rise from £3.845billion in 2015. Sales peaked in 2012 at £4.283billion.

Exports accounting for around 93% of production.

The United States was the biggest market for the value of sales, rising from £749million to £854million.

France was the biggest importer of Scotch by volume, with 189 million bottles.

India is the largest consumer of whisky in the world, but the market has been traditionally dominated by domestically-produced brands due to high trade barriers. In 2016, sales were up almost 14% from £85million to £96million.

Sales in the south-east Asian distribution hub of Singapore were £224million, up from £210million in 2015.

A growing taste for Scotch whisky exports to Japan reach record levels, increasing by 18% to £75.8million, making it Scotland's 14th largest market for whisky.