We’re on the path to Christmas now so it’s a good time for retailers to revisit their whisky ranges. There has been a lot of noise about Irish whiskey and also some global options, including bourbon from the US. But will the popularity of these overshadow Scotch this festive season?

Retailers are gearing up for the crucial Christmas trading period after enduring a tough year blighted by poor weather, Brexit fears and plummeting consumer confidence. Like-for-like sales are down across most BWS categories in 2019 and Christmas represents the last bastion of hope for retailers aiming to record a strong profit.

While Scotch whisky is not necessarily featuring at the top of many conversations in the off-trade, this summer it has experienced a comeback. The growing popularity of both blends and malts over the three months of summer 2019 comes hot on the heels of two key trends: premiumisation in the off-trade and the mature, affluent shopper seeking well-known brands which are delivering high quality.

In 2007, the most expensive bottle at Majestic Wine in Notting Hill Gate was a back vintage of Château Haut-Brion. It cost around £400 and, as manager of the store, it was a source of prestige to have such a costly wine on the shelf.

Whether you’re a kid heading to school, a hapless journalist off to cover political conferences or a wine merchant attempting to juggle three tastings a day with the actual job of buying and selling wine, there’s an inevitable mania about the month of September that never goes away.

The RTD category has long been associated with sugary, candy-flavoured, neon-coloured alcoholic drinks, but today this couldn’t be further from the case.