Beverage Dynamics is the largest national business magazine devoted exclusively to the needs of off-premise beverage alcohol retailers, from single liquor stores to big box chains, through coverage of the latest trends in wine, beer and spirits.
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/446939
28 Beverage Dynamics • January/February 2015 www.beveragedynamics.com I rish whiskey is still high-proof strong after so many years of double-digit growth. More than riding on the coattails of American's infatuation with whiskey, Irish is enlarging the de- mographic, bringing new consumers into the fold with its easy drinkability and mixability and now intriguing geeks with more nuanced and complex expressions of the Irish spirit. With sales and acquisitions, premiumization, building and ex- panding distilleries and setting up educational cen- ters, the category is evolving, maturing and planning for long term. "Irish whiskey is selling so crazy over the past couple of months that we are out of some labels — can't get them anymore," says Ed- ward Mulvihill, Director of Sales and Marketing at Peco's Liquors in Wilmington, DE. He cites Jameson 12- and 18-Year-Old as examples of high consumer demand, as well as the highly allocated Jameson Black Barrel. "That's selling like crazy," he says. His customers are also excited about the return of the Paddy and Powers brands to the Delaware market. "Whiskey is contributing almost all of the value growth of the total spirits category, and Irish is also showing the biggest growth rate within the whiskey category," points out Sona Bajaria, Irish Whiskey Brand Director at Pernod Ricard. The company's Irish portfolio includes category leader Jameson, as well as Redbreast, Powers, Midleton and Paddy. New to the U.S. market are two sin- gle pot still expressions — Redbreast 21-Year-Old, the oldest variant from this label, joining Redbreast 12- and 15-year, as well as the rare, small-batch Green Spot. The company is also distributing Jameson's Select Reserve Black Barrel nationally. "Irish is moving very well in our store," says Mark Fetter, General Manager at Argonaut Wine & Liquor in Denver. Although Jameson is still the number-one seller, the high-end whiskeys such as Red- breast and Midleton are also moving well. "We don't promote Irish whiskey much, but we still sell the heck out it." FROM THE NEWSROOM Major news broke in the category in late 2014, when Diageo reached an agreement to sell Bushmills to Jose Cuervo Overseas, with a net payment of $408 million to Diageo. The deal is part of a swap with Casa Cuervo, giving Diageo full global ownership and control of Tequila Don Julio, — including early termination of Cuervo's produc- tion and distribution agreement of vodka brand Smirn- off in Mexico. Bushmills is the number-two player in the U.S. market, with 8000,000 cases sold in the year ending June 2014 and net sales of £75 million. What the ramifi cations of the change in ownership will be and how it will impact the Irish whiskey category remains to be seen. A new player with a long pedigree is Irish Mist. Campari Amer- ica's whiskey-based honey liqueur of the same name spun off a straight whiskey brand. Irish Mist Whiskey was launched in select markets in 2014, with an SRP of $28.99. The whiskey is a blend of four-year-old liquids that have been triple-distilled and aged in American oak casks. BY THOMAS HENRY STRENK After years of tumultuous growth, the Irish whiskey category is maturing and settling in. CASK CONDITIONED I