Tetris (USA revisited)

The opening up of the USA is remarkable. A year ago we met Henry and by July we were shipping to him and America has taken to our Silkies.

Even Barry Chandler of Irish Whiskey Fans of America who has been incredibly supportive has taken a shine to peated whiskey and while perhaps not a peataphobe we still turned his head to our smoky ulster style.

When we were building the commercials with Henry we set out to really challenge ourselves to be commercially aggressive and it seems to be working. Unable to work the market from the USA Dave, our Head of Sales for the Americas, has set about chasing down distribution and networking through zoom with a zeal that takes some believing. Ally that to Henry’s nose for business and increasing existing footprint and we are making great strides. We have coverage in 21 states and would have more but we have now had to take on a couple of new team mates to help with the bottling load.

We remained space constrained in Carrick and wont be able to do a finish for Silkie this year which given the positive response to Red Silkie is a real frustration. The space constraints are getting worse. The impact of the pandemic means that we are now having to buy everything in larger quantities – bottles, labels, shipper cases, corks, capsules and just fitting everything in is an issue. We have had to step up the bottling programme to cope with the increasing scale and complexity which is challenging everyone, and means that pallets are constantly moving and being rearranged.

Who would have thought Wrest Park 12 hour tetris marathons would come in so useful.