Irish Spirits
Express
Indeed, Irish whiskey remains the fastestgrowing category, according to the Distilled
Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS).
Volume was up 24% to 1.7 million cases in 2011
(the last full year for which statistics are available), according to DISCUS. "2011 was a solid
year for Irish whiskey and 2012 looks to be the
same," said DISCUS President Peter Cressy
at the industry's annual briefing.
Driving much of that growth, as it has for
the past several years, is Jameson. The category leader was up 28.7% in 2011, according to
Beverage Information Group's Liquor
Handbook 2012.
Jameson sales continue to grow significantly in the U.S., increasing nearly 30%
annually in recent years; its Jameson
Select Reserve Black Barrel is a step up
from the original and has been doing
well, the company says.
Growth continues on the
fast track, and everyone's
jumping on for the ride.
By Thomas Henry Strenk
A
ll aboard. The Irish spirits segment is following many different tracks. For years, the big
story out of Ireland has been the double-digit
increases in the whiskey category. That phenomenal
growth shows no signs of slowing down, agree all the
major players. That momentum has spurred many new
developments, including a new major player, distillery
expansions, tourism, additional expressions, packaging
changes, re-launches, and even a new category of liquid.
That's the Ticket
"W
hiskey has a lot of cache right now,
whether it's American, Scotch or
Irish," says Yvonne Briese, marketing
director for Diageo North American Whisky and Irish.
Diageo's internal projections show Bushmills and the
Irish whiskey category continuing to grow at the same
high rate over the next few years. "We aren't seeing signs
that growth is slowing down; there is still a lot of upside
in this category," notes Briese.
"Jameson has been driving a lot of the growth; in
fact, in 2011, we drove about 86% of the category
growth," explains Wayne Hartunian, vice president of
Whiskies and Cognac for Pernod Ricard USA. "The
pace of growth is accelerating, and I feel there is a huge
amount of additional upside still for Irish whiskey and
Jameson in particular."
New Kid on the Block
J
oining the Irish market is Beam Inc., with its purchase
last January of the Cooley Distillery, the last independent Irish producer. That acquisition included the
Kilbeggan, Connemara, Tyrconnell and Greenore
brands, as well as aging inventory and Cooley's malt and
grain distilleries in Dundalk and Kilbeggan, Ireland. Still
to be seen is what this new major player's impact will be
upon the market.
"[Beam's entry into the category] is an encouraging
development for Irish whiskey overall, and we are looking forward to the challenge," says Ken Reilly, Category
Marketing Director who oversees Tullamore Dew for
William Grant & Sons. "I believe Beam will bring its Agame to Irish whiskey, which will force us as competitors
to think about every dollar we spend and how we differ-
Beverage Dynamics • www.beveragedynamics.com • January/February 2013 • 25
