Investing in the Irish whiskey industry is not very easy ever since Irish Distillers was taken over by Pernod Ricard in that legendary takeover battle 10 years ago. Either you put your money in Pernod as an indirect investment in Irish whiskey or you put your money into one of John Teeling's various whiskey BES companies.

That has not changed, but investors in booze might think of putting their money into Pernod, if forecasts by Morgan Stanley Dean Witter's three-pronged analyst team for the drinks industry prove correct. MSDW's Sylvain Massot, Claire Windle and Eva Quiroga believe Pernod shares are set for a run Irish whiskey, particularly Jameson, playing a leading role. Pernod shares are trading around 370 francs (£44), but MSDW believes that after a pretty dismal 1997 on its home market, Pernod is set for a big improvement this year and has set its price target at 400 francs. Anybody considering a pound on pastis (and Jameson) can do it on the Paris Bourse or through Pernod ADR's on the New York market.