【Exclusive Interview】 Nawaf Salameh – Alexandrion Group

Alexandrion Group announced the project to produce Romania’s first ever single malt whisky back in 2017. From that point on, Carpathian Single Malt Whisky was born, combining nature, culture, heritage and the artisanal qualities of Romania within this premium product. The company counts on a legacy of over 200 years of experience in making both wines and spirits. Born in Syria, Nawaf Salameh founded the group in 1994 and expanded the business to 60 countries. With his passion for discovering the world, he aims to expand the business to 100 countries. 

This time, Dear WHISKY conducted an interview with Nawaf, who has had a unique career, which spans everything from studying medicine to becoming an entrepreneur. He shares his philosophy in expanding business abroad and the stories behind introducing Carpathian Single Malt Whisky to the world.

The Basic Information of the Alexandrion Group

Company’s Name	Alexandrion Group
Year of Establishment	1994
Owner	Nawaf Salameh
Location	19 A Nicolae Grigorescu Street 075100, Otopeni, Ilfov, Romania
Official Website	Alexandrion Group Carpathian Single Malt

About Dr. Nawaf Salameh

From a student of medicine to a businessman

Dear WHISKY：
We would like to start by asking your career. When did you move from Syria to Romania?

Nawaf：
I went to Romania to study medicine at a university. My first choices were Italy and the US, but my mother wanted me to study in a place close to our family, so I chose Romania to pursue my academic interests.

Dear WHISKY：
Why did you study medicine?

Nawaf：
My dream was to become a film director. However, my father wanted me to study to become a pharmacist. He was a businessman in the pharmaceutical sector, running a few small pharmacies with distribution. I fought with him and eventually he won and I accepted that I would not study film. However, I did not study pharmacy and chose just medicine instead.

Dear WHISKY：
When did you shift your career to the world of business?

Nawaf：
I wanted to become a plastic surgeon and help people who were injured in accidents and incidents. However, when finishing my degree in Romania, before starting the next step in medicine, somebody offered me a chance to do business. So, I turned 180 degrees and became a businessman.

Starting a chocolate distributing business in Greece

Dear WHISKY：
What was your first job?

Nawaf：
I was involved in a chocolate distributing business in Greece. This business was very interesting because I had a discussion with Jacobs, a major chocolate company later bought by Philip Morris, about exporting chocolates to the outside of Greece. We sold the chocolates all over Europe, including Siberia, Bulgaria, Ukraine and Belarus in the former USSR.

Dear WHISKY：
How did you feel about the first job?

Nawaf：
It was a sweet business, if you forgive the pun. After one year of working together with Jacobs, we managed to expand the production from three months a year to 24 operations across the whole year.

Dear WHISKY：
When did you first have your own business?

Nawaf：
I bought a small manufacturing plant in 1994 on the Greek Island of Crete. There were not many business people in the region I operated within because many countries still belonged to the USSR and were still under the influence of communist culture. This made me feel that it was time to stop working for the company distributing chocolate and start my own business. 

Dear WHISKY：
What was the name of your first business, and what was the reason for it?

Nawaf：
In 1999, I named the company the Alexandrion Group, after ‘Alexander the Great’, because I saw myself in a similar mould to him. He travelled from country to country and discovered the world. Looking at this positive side of his history, I wanted to travel and export a civilization like him. My aim has been to give some value to the culture of importers.

Make the impossible possible

Dear WHISKY：
What is the motivation behind starting a new business as an entrepreneur?

Nawaf：
What is always in my mind is to make ‘the impossible possible’. This mantra has held me in food stead, when I was looking at the world around me, I chose a few sectors and started my business. Some people have a job from 8 to 4 o’clock, my job is to do and create something new every day. It is our slogan, “Greatness every day.”

Alexandrion Wine & Spirits

Make the alcohol accessible and enjoyable for everyone

Dear WHISKY：
What made you interested in being involved in the alcoholic beverage industry?

Nawaf：
Under communism, the communist countries used to control the availability and production of alcohol and sell it even though it was of very bad quality. So, I wanted to be involved in this sector and sell the correct products privately. I wanted to make it accessible and enjoyable for everyone.

Products as storytellers

Dear WHISKY：
What distinguishes the Alexandrion Group from other companies?

Nawaf：
Any products of the Alexandrion Group exist behind a compelling story. It always represents something, such as history, ideas, and nature. For example, our cognac, Brâncoveanu, represents Constantin Brâncoveanu, a ruler of Romania dating from about 300 years ago. Also, the Carpathian Single Malt Whisky promotes the Carpathian mountains and what those mountains mean to us in every sense and for all our senses.

Dr. Nawaf & Whisky

Selecting the most difficult category: single malt

Dear WHISKY：
What was the reason for being involved in single malt?

Nawaf：
A whisky expert told me to enjoy this category and go after the very difficult path to achieve my goals. This resonated with my philosophy in running a business, looking to make the impossible possible. So, I specifically chose the single malt whisky category, a spirit that needs time, dedication, and expertise. I love this kind of challenge, so I started the project 25 years ago.

Changing the drinking culture in Romania

Dear WHISKY：
What did you do first in the project of creating a brand for single malt whisky?

Nawaf：
The whisky-drinking culture in Romania was not mature at that time. Not many people drank whisky nor recognised the status of single malt whisky. Therefore, I started by teaching the consumer what it means to drink single malt to change the drinking culture in Romania. The consumption of single malt whisky in Romania now grew to become competitive against Poland, and Germany and, of course, other whisky drinking destinations.

Dear WHISKY：
What kind of spirits are preferred in Romania?

Nawaf：
People in Romania generally prefer the drink in the brown category, such as brandy, whisky, and rum. Any country with a large wine production usually follows after the second product from the wine, which is normally a kind of brown category. We are not white drinkers who drink vodka or tequila. This trend can be seen in many European countries, especially in Eastern Europe.

Dear WHISKY：
How about the traditional Romanian drinks? Are they popularly consumed by people?

Nawaf：
The Romanian traditional drinks are Țuică, Vișinată, and Afinată. They are the most popular products to drink and are usually made at home by taking the plums or fruits, fermenting them, and distilling them. It’s the same kind of idea that used to be done in Austria, Germany, and France.

Carpathian Single Malt

Nature shapes the characteristics

Dear WHISKY：
How does the rich nature of the Carpathian Mountains influence your whisky-making?

Nawaf：
Approximately 50% of the Carpathian Mountain Range exist in Romania and gives us a plentiful supply of water. In the Carpathian mountains, there are 8,000 water points that you can access, and as you would imagine, the quality is truly great, so we feel blessed to have this resource to create amazing products.

Dear WHISKY：
We heard that the barley from Romania is used for the whisky production. What is strength of the Romanian barley?

Nawaf：
The Romanian barley is more alcoholic and aromatic. If you have one tonne of barley from any country, they will give you up to 30 to 35 per cent alcohol. In contrast, Romanian barley gives us between 35 to 40 per cent, which means it is multi-vitamin, multi-aroma. This makes our whisky more aromatic.
The quality is also high-end. We can claim it as bio and organic produce, because it isn’t modified to increase capacity or anything.

Dear WHISKY：
What is the strength of sourcing the barley locally?

Nawaf：
Sourcing locally allows us to have fresh barley for production. Large producers of whisky in Europe usually import barley from China or Hong Kong, which takes around six months from harvest to arrival. However, it takes us only 8 hours. When it is delivered and prepared for fermentation, it is sometimes still hot, which can affect the quality of the products. So, we have to wait a few hours for its temperature to reduce and then start the fermentation.

Sourcing the casks from own winery

Dear WHISKY：
How do you source the casks?

Nawaf：
Our approach toward barrels is unique. We buy casks to make the best wine, and immediately after, we move them to make whisky. This is possible because we are a huge producer of wine.

Dear WHISKY：
What is the strength of the approach?

Nawaf：
Distilleries usually buy the barrels from brokers, so they have to wash or shave the barrels before putting the whisky in them to reduce the risk of contamination. However, we don’t have to wash or shave, because we can put whisky immediately inside them, after we empty the wine. This gives our whisky a great colour and flavour, like it was in the cask for five years, when actually only three months of maturation has passed.

The strategy of Carpathian Single Malt

Dear WHISKY：
What was the strategy of your whisky business? 

Nawaf：
I copied the Japanese idea about whisjy, which places the value in the taste, not the aging. Japanese whisky is sold at double the price of the Scottish variants, but people run after it because of its good taste. The Japanese approach was the best for us to compete with Scotch and Irish products, who have a long history. However, I did not want to make Romanian whisky the same as Japanese. So, I took the idea of tasty whisky and combined it with my successful experiences with wine, rum, and cognac. This makes Carpathian Single Malt different from any other whisky.

Expansion of the Business to the World

Looking at the global market

Dear WHISKY：
How many countries has the Alexandrion Group expanded its business to?

Nawaf：
We expanded the business to 60 with the inclusion of Japan.

Dear WHISKY：
How do you select countries in which to expand?

Nawaf：
Every year, we choose some countries to expand the business. First, we get involved in not only the export but also the import of products. Secondly, we look after some distributors to expand our distribution network. Sometimes, we open a liquor shop named ‘Alexander Experience’, which is a place to buy products, but also experience, sample and immerse oneself in the variety of what we sell, you could say like a kind of small academy. This teaches people the difference between categories and production processes. Using 2000 products in our brands, we explain the strength of our products compared with those in the rest of the market.

Every step has to be localized

Dear WHISKY：
What would be the next step after the trading?

Nawaf：
If we succeed in the trading, we also aim to expand our production sites. We currently have production sites in Greece, Romania, and the US.

Dear WHISKY：
How do you build the production site in other countries?

Nawaf：
The key to our approach to expanding production sites is to finish all the aspects of production inside the country. For example, in Romania, all of our production processes are in Romania to produce Romanian products. It is the same in any other regions in which we will expand. We are not going to bring famous brands to other countries to save some cost. The culture of the country will not be mixed with others.

Dear WHISKY：
How do you keep the culture of the country you expand in so as not to mix with others?

Nawaf：
When we launch the new production side, we will not bring anyone or anything from outside of the country. I believe that with respect to traditional cultures, the product has to represent its culture and consumers. Therefore, everything, including ideas and marketing, the laboratory, and the R&D, must be conducted from within that country when we expand into a new country.

Difficulties in expanding a business abroad

Dear WHISKY：
What are the obstacles to starting an overseas business?

Nawaf：
The difficulty is the length of the investment and financing. In the whisky category, casks have to stay for a long time to become cash. Some countries are willing to support your post-production, but some are not. For example, if you plan to open a distillery in Scotland, you don’t have any problem with money because the banks will support you. However, some countries in Europe are not friendly. In Romania, I could not get any kind of financial help from the government. Normally, the business starts with financing. So, if you don’t have enough funds, that becomes an issue.

Expanding to the Japanese market

Dear WHISKY：
How do you plan to expand your business to Asian countries?

Nawaf：
In Asia, we aim to set up the company and distillery in Japan. I am now in contact with the JETRO, Japan External Trade Organization. We’re ready to proceed with this project.

Dear WHISKY：
What is your impression of Japan as a marketplace for whisky?

Nawaf：
I was very pleased to see the young generation embracing the concept and the status of single malt whisky. Also, Japanese people appear to be selective drinkers, not quantity drinkers. This surprised me and made me wish to invest in Japan. I think it is important that the young generation look after this category of whisky and understand that a large quantity of alcohol is not necessary to make them happy. I want to export my know-how to the country and stimulate the young generation to play a leading role in this category.

Dear WHISKY：
Why do you think the involvement of the young generation is important?

Nawaf：
I think people in the older generation often take the traditional and standard approach to this category. In contrast, young people show us a creative approach. So, I believe having the younger generation to help and teach you is very important. I always approach my two elder sons to advise me on what they drink and what they think about the category.

Future Prospects

About Alexandrion Group

Dear WHISKY：
What is the future goal for Alexandrion Group?

Nawaf：
We aim to expand the business from Europe to other parts of the world. The target of the group is to be physically present in 100 countries.

About Dr. Nawaf Salameh

Dear WHISKY：
What is your personal goal?

Nawaf：
Now, I am in a transitional period to the next generation. Over the next decade, my goal is to manage to transfer the business into the hands of my sons. This has opportunities and challenges, of course, from being able to reflect over-riding ideas and concepts of the business or indeed their willingness to adopt my way of running the business. However, I think the priority is to continue and evolve our family history of more than 700 years. Therefore, I will keep on encouraging them to continue our heritage and pass on my ideas of running a business.

Dear WHISKY：
How do you want them to continue your business?

Nawaf：
Our business is family-owned, which is both a great strength and something to cherish. It is not and will not be listed or to be sold. We often do joint ventures and participate in projects externally. However, we do not give them the status to be inside the family. I want them to continue to expand the company in this way.

Message for Dear WHISKY Readers

Dear WHISKY：
Could you give our readers a message?

Nawaf：
I think single malt is a ‘status’ product, one that transfers the knowledge, passion and expertise of its creators onto the consumer, like very few other products can. By understanding the ‘status’ makes it a very desirable product and one that people wish to learn more about, to enjoy through all their senses and to continue to purchase. If you set your target of life, to be what I describe as ‘status’, it means to strive to be knowledgeable and understand the story behind the best products, to strive to experience the most desired products on the market. This does not necessarily relate to being rich but to reach for the stars by understanding the elite category that some products fall within and by doing this you enter that elite world. So, we should all aspire, choose and continue running after ‘status’ in every category we so choose. Knowing the status makes it easy for people to go after anything in status. If you set your target of life to be status, that means you will live not as rich necessarily but as the elite. So, we should choose and continue running after the status in every category.

At Last

This article explores Nawaf Salameh, who developed the Alexandrion Group into a worldwide company in only one generation while projecting and reflecting himself against the principles and achievements of Alexander the Great. Despite having the ambition to expand the group physically to 100 countries, he never forgets to care for the local culture in which his company expanded and to take note of the younger generation. This interview also highlights the strength of Carpathian Single Malt Whisky, which is made with local ingredients and a wide variety of casks gathered from its own winery. It stands as Romania’s first ever single malt whisky, representing the respect for the Carpathian Mountains. With his philosophy of “making the impossible possible”, he will continue to push himself to discover new parts of the world, reinvigorate the younger generation, and the status of the single malt whisky category.