The Whiskey Reviewer A World of Whiskey, Poured Every Weekday
By Richard Thomas
The latest hard figures show that the Irish Whisky resurgence has a lot of gas left to burn, led by sales to the U.S., the world’s most lucrative whiskey market. According to data published by International Wine and Spirits Research, sales of Irish Whiskey grew in the U.S. by 19% in 2015.
This figure makes Irish Whiskey the fastest growing spirit of its type in the key American market. By comparison, Canadian Whisky grew by 9.8% and bourbon whiskey by 4.6%. However, both Canadian Whisky and bourbon whiskey already command huge shares on the market. At 21.6 million and 14.8 million 9-liter cases respectively, the two categories dwarf the 3 million cases shipped by Ireland to the U.S.
A better point of comparison is Scotch Whisky, which has stagnated in the American market. Scotch grew by a mere 0.3% in the U.S., basically holding their 8.2 million case position. If Irish Whiskey continues to grow at its current lightning rate, the industry will catch up with Scotch in a decade.
Jameson leads the Irish Whisky surge, commanding 78.3% of its market share in the U.S.
