Christos Koulizakis- Wines & Spirits Consultant

Christos Koulizakis is an experienced Wines & Spirits Consultant with international career. He talks to us about his love about whisk(e)y and its developments.

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H.A: Having 20 years of experience with whisky what is it that made you deal with it professionally and what inspires you to this day? 

C.K: My career in the field of Wines and Spirits was completely coincidental (and a great story that involves a car accident and a terrorist act) but I can say honestly say that I am very lucky because 20 years later I feel exactly the same excitement and love as I felt when I was managing Oddbins in Edinburgh where I literally fell in love with Scotland and its magic distillate.

 Oddbins

A historic UK Wine and Spirits sales company. In the early 2000 was the largest company of its kind.

H.A: You are a Co-founder of the Hellenic Malt Whisky Society, a Members Whisky Club created in 2010 and since 2018 a founding member of the Greek Whisky Association. What are the common points and what are the differences in discussions about the cource of whisky in our country?

C.K: A primary common element is the love for Whisk(e)y but also the good company that helps to enjoy it, so it is no coincidence that both organizations have many common members and founding executives.  The differences are mainly in the mission statement and the ways each organisation is promoting whisk(e)y in our country.

HMWS is a private Members Club whose main purpose is to promote whisk(e)y through the online platform www.whiskyforum.gr.

A real treasure trove of knowledge about whisk(e)y in Greek.

While GWA is an open association with members in almost all parts of Greece, which promotes the same message through private bottlings, tastings etc for its members.

H.A: Why, in your opinion, Greece does not have its own whisky?

C.K: The reasons I would say were purely historical/traditional since Greece was for many years a wine country. 

Βut also later when whisky began to gain great popularity, the combination of bureaucracy and denial by alcohol producers to embrace a new product made Greece a unique country phenomenon where while whisky was so popular there was no local production.

Fortunately, in recent years the conditions have finally appeared where very soon I hope the first Greek whisky will appear on the market.

H.A: What is your relationship with wine and what are your next business plans?

C.K: My first love was wine both on personal and professional level so it always has a special interest for me. 

Especially the years I worked for Berry Brothers & Rudd were a great school on fine wine but also about consumer education in Wine and Spirits. 

As for future plans, the expression “when mortals make plans, the gods laugh” fits here, since my immediate plans have been overturned by the pandemic so back to the drawing board. 

H.A: Brexit & Business. Having been an executive of large companies in matters of education and consultant of personnel training and tasting, what are the steps that a company must follow in order to adapt to the new data?

C.K: I think that in the current situation, patience and perseverance are the two basic principles that one must follow.

Despite the signing of an agreement between the United Kingdom and the European Union there are so many gaps and gray areas that unfortunately do not help with clear planning.

There are many, who wait in the coming months for the landscape to clear in the post- Brexit but of course in the post- Covid-19 era. 

In the meantime the cultivation of contacts is paramount for the future.

H.A: In recent years, Japan has been in the spotlight about whisky. For what reasons has it managed to differentiate itself from its competitors?

C.K: This is not a differentiation or some genius marketing it might sound boring but it is just a “perfect storm”. 

For many years Japanese export whiskies have had tremendous success in global competitions and consequent journalistic interest. Yet consumers’ interest in both West and Japan has been relatively small. 

That changed in the first decade of 2000 and almost simultaneously we have the entry of the Chinese market in the game.

This was unexpected and led to an increase in demand that supply could not meet something which of course pushed prices through the roof. 

This rarity and high price in turn created a “Halo Effect” in cheaper Japanese whiskys as well. Fortunately, soon we will see a normalization in prices that have already begun to decrease.

What you don’t know about Christos Koulizakis

H.A: What advice would you give to someone, who wishes to pursue a career in whisky?

C.K: It depends on what field he wishes to work in. If we talk about production studying abroad is the only way. 

If we talk about the production studying abroad is the only way. Οf course, I would recommend Scotland not only for the quality of the universities but also for the unique opportunity to immerse yourself in Scotland’s culture and Scotch Whisky. 

If on the other hand we talk about sales, one could start with attending WSPC in Greece (WSET branch) specialized in spirits seminars or the full Wines & Spirits program. 

In both cases there should be interest in whisky, so I would also suggest one to be invlolved with one of the Whisky Clubs.

Αpart from the two that I have the honor of being a founding member of there is also “Kastoria Whiskey Club” as well as “ The Tasters Club” ,which often organizes tasting evenings.

H.A: What whisky category would you compare a Greek, a Swede, an Englishman, a Frenchman and a German with?

C.K: I do not like to generalize, but our European friends are definitely in the Single Malt Whisky category.

We, on the other hand, I think that as people we are a little behind, between Blended Scotch Whisky and Blended Malt Whisky. We have taken several steps forward and I hope we will reach them soon.

Especially in recent years, I would say there is a very positive development with the creation of new Whisky Clubs.

Even in small provincial towns such as Kastoria, but mainly with the existence of several Bars that offer a very good range of whisky and trained staff to guide the customer.