Whisky Around the World: How Different Countries Drink It

Mint, crushed ice, simple syrup and Kentucky bourbon: the Mint Julep has been the official Kentucky Derby drink since the 1930s. In Japan, whisky with water has its own name, mizuwari, and a place in the drinking culture described by Suntory.[7][9] These are two ways into a subject far richer than a list of national preferences.

Understanding whisky around the world means separating what a country imports, what goes into the glass and the customs surrounding it. For a closer look, explore whisky in India, Japanese highball culture and whisky in France. Each reveals a particular setting, rather than a rule for everyone who lives there.[2][7][9]

What export figures can tell us

In 2025, Scotch exports reached around 163 markets and equalled 1.34 billion bottles of 70 cl at 40% ABV, according to the Scotch Whisky Association. The association calls Scotch “the world's number one internationally traded spirit”. That industry body’s description captures its trading reach, rather than the drinking cultures behind those shipments.[1]

India makes the distinction vivid. It received 220 million bottles in 2025, retaining its place as Scotch’s largest export market by volume. Yet the SWA puts Scotch’s share of the Indian whisky market at just 3%. The biggest destination for Scotch has a much larger whisky world beyond it.[2][3]

All bottle figures in this table are the SWA’s equivalent bottles of 70 cl at 40% ABV.[1][2]

France ranked second by volume and the United States third, correcting the familiar assumption that the United States must be Scotch’s largest market.[2] Whether drinkers prefer it neat, diluted or mixed calls for evidence about the glass, not the shipment.

Japan: water, soda and a deliberate revival

A deliberate campaign in 2008 helped bring the Japanese highball back to prominence. Its timing matters: Whisky Magazine reports that Japanese whisky consumption peaked in 1983, then declined for about 25 years. The campaign sits at the centre of its account of the subsequent revival.[6]

That makes the highball more than a story of enduring popularity. A familiar serve can have an older background and still owe its present visibility to a recent promotional effort. Here, the revealing question is how whisky with soda became prominent again.

Story box: the highball’s return

In 2008, Suntory’s Tetsu Mizutani persuaded 500 izakaya to serve Kakubin with soda as the “KakuHi”, according to Whisky Magazine. The trade account reports market growth of 10% in 2008/09 and 20% the following year.[6]

Suntory’s own beginnings reach further back. The producer says Shinjiro Torii set out in 1899 to make Western-style liquors for Japanese palates. This is its account of the company’s beginnings, not a founding date for the highball.[4]

Sources: Suntory’s heritage account supports the company history; Mr Hi Ball supports the campaign and growth figures. Last checked: 7 November 2026.

Verdict badge: Documented.

A deliberate campaign helped revive Japanese whisky through the highball in 2008. The trade report identifies the organiser, the participating venues and the reported market growth.[6] Those figures do not isolate the campaign’s contribution from every other influence.

Source: Whisky Magazine, Mr Hi Ball, the earliest source identified in the verified record; its publication date is not established there. Last checked: 7 November 2026.

The other useful introduction is mizuwari, whisky with water. Suntory describes it as “deeply rooted in Japanese culture”: the producer’s account of the custom, rather than a universal Japanese serving preference.[7]

The highball also reaches beyond the bar. Suntory sells ready-to-drink versions, including Kaku Highball.[5] The documented izakaya campaign and the producer’s packaged range show the same broad serve in different settings, without making a packaged drink and a bar experience interchangeable.

South Korea: etiquette is part of the setting

In South Korea, how a glass changes hands is part of the documented drinking setting. The account collected by Facts and Details describes serving the eldest first, offering and receiving glasses with two hands, and younger drinkers turning their heads aside before drinking in front of an elder.[8]

For a visitor, these reported conventions are reasons to watch the host and understand the occasion, rather than a rigid performance to copy. They show how relationships can be expressed through serving a drink.

The same source describes poktanju, a whisky and beer ritual involving a shot glass inside a beer glass, followed by a rattling glass gesture.[8] Its rapid consumption element is not a practice to imitate. Understanding a custom does not require taking part, and nobody needs to match another person’s drinking.

Verdict badge: Documented.

A Korean poktanju ritual includes rattling the empty glass. The trade account describes the gesture as part of the ritual, but does not establish that everyone follows the custom.[8]

Source: Facts and Details, Drinking in Korea. The earliest source is not established; the trade account cites The New York Times, 27 August 2005. Last checked: November 2026; exact day not established.

Set beside Japan, the Korean account brings a different aspect of whisky culture into focus. The Japanese examples concern dilution and a named promotional campaign; the Korean examples concern relationships expressed through etiquette. Their value lies in those specific details, not in summarising entire countries.

Scotland: a dram and an occasion

A Burns Supper ends with a small measure, or dram, of Scotch whisky in the National Records of Scotland’s guide.[12] That gives whisky a clear place in a documented Scottish occasion, without establishing whether Scottish drinkers generally prefer it neat, with water or mixed. The supper tells us when a dram belongs, not how a nation usually fills its glass.

Entry points: the Americas and Oceania

Kentucky’s Mint Julep offers an unusually tangible introduction: Kentucky bourbon, simple syrup and mint over crushed ice. Churchill Downs dates its status as the official Kentucky Derby drink to the 1930s, and records its first order of souvenir julep cups in 1937.[9] Here, a named drink, an event and a recognisable vessel come together.

The scale of that association is striking. Churchill Downs says more than 125,000 Mint Juleps are served across Kentucky Oaks and Derby weekend each year.[9] The figure gives the Julep’s Derby role substance; it describes that event, not everyday American whiskey drinking.

Verdict badge: Documented.

Churchill Downs first ordered souvenir julep cups in 1937. The organiser dates its first order to that year, but the account identifies an order, not the first use of julep cups.[9]

Source: Kentucky Derby, Mint Julep. The earliest source is not established in the supplied record. Last checked: November 2026; exact day not established.

San Francisco offers a distinct point of entry through Irish coffee. The Buena Vista says it serves up to 2,000 Irish coffees a day.[11] That is the venue’s own statement about one establishment. It makes the Buena Vista a useful cultural reference without making it representative of a whole country.

For Oceania, begin with the same concrete questions: which place, whisky, serve or occasion does an account describe? In Australia, New Zealand or another destination, ask what the serve is called locally and whether the evidence concerns current practice or remembered history. Then distinguish a venue’s practice, a producer’s suggested serve, an event tradition and a wider drinking pattern.

These are research questions, not claims that the Kentucky, Japanese or Scottish examples have local equivalents. Their purpose is to let the evidence define the setting, rather than borrowing assumptions from elsewhere.

The same discipline helps across the Americas. A Scotch export ranking describes trade; an American whiskey tradition describes a particular cultural setting; a venue serving Irish coffee describes its own activity. Read together, they offer several perspectives, rather than competing answers to one question about national taste.

Common mistakes when reading whisky culture

Mistaking Scotch exports for all whisky drinking. India led Scotch export volume, yet Scotch held just 3% of its whisky market. Keep both figures in view.[2][3]

Treating an event drink as an everyday habit. The Mint Julep’s Derby association establishes an event tradition, not the usual American serve.[9]

Assuming a familiar custom has an unbroken history. The Japanese highball revival followed a long decline in whisky consumption. Its recent history matters.[6]

Turning etiquette into an obligation. A description of how glasses are exchanged helps explain a setting. It is not a requirement to drink, finish a glass or participate in rapid consumption.

Where to go next

• Whisky in India: Culture, Rules and the Molasses Question: look beyond Scotch’s small share of a much larger whisky market.
• Whisky in Japan: Highball Culture: follow the highball beyond this introductory account.
• Whisky in France: Apéritif Culture and Scotch: explore the country that ranked second for Scotch export volume in 2025.

Sources

[1] Scotch Whisky Association. Scotch Whisky: An Internationally Traded Spirit. Web edition, 2025 figures, checked November 2026. https://www.scotch-whisky.org.uk/industry-insights/international-trade/

[2] Scotch Whisky Association. Scotch Whisky exports to United States down 15% since tariffs implemented. 2025 export figures, checked November 2026. https://scotch-whisky.org.uk/newsroom/2025-export-figures

[3] Scotch Whisky Association. UK-India trade talks. Web edition, checked November 2026. https://www.scotch-whisky.org.uk/industry-insights/international-trade/uk-india-trade-talks

[4] Suntory. Heritage. Producer’s account, web edition, checked November 2026. https://www.suntory.com/about-us/heritage.html

[5] Suntory. The Innovation and Evolution of Highball Culture at Suntory. Producer’s account, web edition, checked November 2026. https://www.suntory.com/stories/the-innovation-and-evolution-of-highball-culture.html

[6] Whisky Magazine. Mr Hi Ball. Trade account, web edition, publication date not established in the supplied record, checked November 2026. https://whiskymag.com/articles/mr-hi-ball/

[7] The House of Suntory. How to drink Japanese Whisky. Producer’s account, web edition, checked November 2026. https://house.suntory.com/cocktails/serves

[8] Facts and Details. Drinking in Korea: Customs, Bombs, Pojangmachas. Web compilation, edition date not established in the supplied record, checked November 2026. https://factsanddetails.com/korea/South_Korea/Life_2/entry-7256.html

[9] Kentucky Derby, Churchill Downs. Mint Julep. Organiser’s account, web edition, checked November 2026. https://www.kentuckyderby.com/living-traditions/mint-julep

[11] The Buena Vista. Irish Coffee Story. Venue’s account, web edition, checked November 2026. https://www.thebuenavista.com/home/irishcoffee.html

[12] National Records of Scotland, Open Book blog. The NRS guide to the perfect Burns Supper. 22 January 2025. https://blog.nrscotland.gov.uk/2025/01/22/the-nrs-guide-to-the-perfect-burns-supper/

This article is desk research based exclusively on the supplied verified fact sheet, distinguishing industry statistics, producer accounts, trade reporting and institutional descriptions.

Last checked: November 2026