A whisky world: From China to America sales soar

From China to America, sales of whiskies are taking off as old world distilling traditions adapt to new world markets.

The Scotch whisky industry said it exported 40 bottles per second in 2011 and it is now Scotland's largest international export ahead of refined petroleum (3.0 billion pounds) and business services (2.5 billion pounds).

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A cooper rolls a whisky cask along the floor before starting the process to repair it, using traditional methods and tools, at the Speyside Cooperage in Craigellachie in Speyside, Scotland.

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A cooper measures the circumference of a whisky barrel lid during repairs, using traditional methods and tools, at the Speyside Cooperage in Craigellachie in Speyside, Scotland.

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A stow of bourbon casks from the U.S. are seen at the Speyside Cooperage in Craigellachie in Speyside, Scotland.

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Visitors look at copper whisky stills during a tour of the Glenfiddich whisky distillery in Dufftown, Scotland.

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Commercial law enforcement personnel examine bottles of confiscated fake whisky before pouring it into sewage during a massive destruction campaign of fake products in Wuhan, Hubei province.

A total of 2,928 bottles of fake liquor were poured down into the sewage during the campaign, local media reported. The banner reads, "Destruction site of fake and copyright infringed products."

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Brand manager Ewan MacIntosh holds a measure of whisky in the Barrel Room of the Diageo-owned Dalwhinnie Distillery in Dalwhinnie in the Scottish Highlands.

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Venezuelan women dance and drink whisky during a Playboy magazine party in Caracas.

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Rick Wasmund, owner of Copper Fox whiskey distillery in Virginia, holds roasted malted barley at his distillery in Sperryville, Virginia.

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China's Vice Premier Li Keqiang (L) laughs as he raises a glass of whisky to Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond before attending a state dinner at Edinburgh castle in Edinburgh, Scotland on the first of his four-day visit to the United Kingdom.

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Workers walk near some of the copper stills in the Roseisle distillery in Moray, northern Scotland.

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Guests of the Baby Face night club drink a mixture of whisky and green tea next to the dance floor during a night out in Shanghai.

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A worker looks at bottles of Johnnie Walker whisky on the production line at the Diageo owned Shieldhall bottling plant in Glasgow, Scotland.

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A resident drinks whiskey from the bottle while in the sea at a beach in Boca Chica, Dominican Republic.

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An employee arranges bottles of whisky at a supermarket in Shanghai.

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A waiter pours whisky during a Venezuelan-American Chamber of Commerce party in Caracas.

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A waiter is reflected in a mirror as he pours Scotch whisky from luxury brand Royal Salute into glasses at a launch ceremony for the release of the '62 Gun Salute' series in central Beijing.

The luxury whisky is selling at 15,000 yuan ($2,260) per bottle, with the launch consisting of a 'British Royal banquet' where 62 guests will fire 62 guns.

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A woman drinks at a bar in a nightclub in Shanghai.

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A whiskey tasting station is seen at the Jack Daniel's distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee.

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A bottle of Macallan scotch distilled in 1926 is seen here during a preview for an auction of fine Spirits at Christie's Auction House in New York.

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A cleaner uses a feather duster to clean a bottle of the luxury Scotch whisky brand Royal Salute on display at a launch ceremony for the release of the '62 Gun Salute' series in central Beijing.

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An employee of Copper Fox whiskey distillery in Virginia, Sean McCaskey, fills bottles of whiskey at the distillery in Sperryville, Virginia.

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Distillers participate in the ceremonial hand bottling of the first George Washington Rye Whiskey distilled and aged for more than two years at Washington's Distillery, before the dedication ceremony in Mount Vernon, Virginia.

The distillery was authentically rebuilt using 18th century building techniques and marks the only historic site in the country capable of showing the early American distilling process from seed to barrel.

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A worker pours a glass of whisky inside the Kavalan Whisky aging warehouse and distillery in Ilan, north eastern Taiwan.

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Claire Urquhart of Gordon and Macphail poses with a bottle of their Mortlach 70-year-old single malt whisky at Edinburgh castle in Scotland.

A 70cl bottle of the whisky, which is claimed to be the world's oldest single malt, sells for 10,000 pounds ($15,012) and the 20cl bottle sells for 2,500 pounds ($3753).

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An employee of Copper Fox whiskey distillery in Virginia, Sean McCaskey, seals bottles of whiskey at the distillery in Sperryville, Virginia.

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A master distiller samples four-year-old Jim Beam bourbon whiskey direct from the barrel as the whiskey was "dumped" for storage and eventual bottling at the Beam distillery in Clermont, Kentucky.

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A woman is poured a dram of Scotch Whisky during the distillers fair in Edinburgh.

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A man looks at a glass of Single Malt Scotch during a preview for an auction of fine spirits at Christie's Auction House in New York.

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A distiller looks at the 10,000,000 millionth barrel of Jim Beam bourbon whiskey (R) in one the many warehouses at the Beam distillery in Clermont, Kentucky.