"But like solid gold speaker cables, people will buy based on brand and branding"
I am not so sure. I recently tried a high quality Belgian whiskey. It was smooth like a good single malt, but just didn't taste right. There were a lot of flavors, but they were not in harmony like a good Scotch. But the Belgians haven't been doing it for long. (Maybe the fact I am Scottish biases me somewhat).
A lot of the newer distilleries have not found their balance yet (including, imh and controversial o, Kavalan and Amrut, whose extraordinary ratings I do not quite understand) and part of the reason I keep coming back to Scotland is to find that balance.
I didn't mean to imply that there aren't regional differences between different distilleries etc. For some reason (taste among the makers, climate, soil whatever) does vary quite consistently.
I recall there were some people out in Normandie that made a pretty good, smoked single malt, not entirely unlike a decent Islay whisky.
I meant more branding in terms of "Distilerry X, N years old".
Just as good champagne really is quite different from most others sparkling wines (although, I have a hard time accepting the idea that soil etc is as important for distilled spirits as it is for wine...).
I am not so sure. I recently tried a high quality Belgian whiskey. It was smooth like a good single malt, but just didn't taste right. There were a lot of flavors, but they were not in harmony like a good Scotch. But the Belgians haven't been doing it for long. (Maybe the fact I am Scottish biases me somewhat).