Irish Whiskey Marketers Aiming To Rebuild U.S. Momentum

Despite declining in the U.S. over the past two years, Irish whiskies remain in positive territory over the longer haul, with volume up marginally to about 4.9 million cases since 2019. As recently as 10 years ago, Irish whiskey was at less than 3 million cases in the U.S., according to Impact Databank. That was before the category enjoyed an unprecedented upswing largely fueled by Pernod Ricard-owned Jameson, and extended by a wave of smaller players who rejuvenated Ireland’s distilling scene in the ensuing years.

Irish whiskey remains a lucrative sector for the spirits industry, as its average price tag is exceeded only by Cognac, Scotch whisky, and Tequila. Jameson accounts for 77% of the category in the U.S. and nearly 70% globally, with its U.S. depletions registering 3.8 million cases last year.

“On the Jameson momentum that we’re rebuilding, we have a number of very clear actions that we’ve put in place,” Pernod Ricard North America chairman and CEO Conor McQuaid said recently. “The first of which is bringing the awareness and consideration to the forefront of our thinking, investing as we are on the ‘Must be a Jameson’ platform, but also extending it to brands like Black Barrel.” Jameson debuted a new Triple Triple variant ($29) late last year, and the overall brand has outperformed Irish whiskey as a whole so far this year, with volume slipping 1% in control states through July.

McQuaid also sees opportunity to continue building higher-end Irish whiskies like Redbreast and the Spot range in the U.S. “We have the largest stock of aged pot still Irish whiskies and a category opportunity to really take the premiumization challenge on Irish whiskey to the next level,” he said. Redbreast’s Missouri Oak expression ($200) ranked among Whisky Advocate’s Top 20 last year.

So too did Bushmills 10-year-old Private Reserve Bordeaux Cask, retailing at $60. Bushmills is part of the Proximo Spirits range, along with the Proper No. Twelve brand. In May, Proximo introduced a 13-year-old Proper No. Twelve single malt ($60). “The release of our 13-Year-Old Single Malt marks a major milestone in Proper No. Twelve’s journey, as the brand launches its first aged single malt whiskey,” said Lander Otegui, Proximo’s EVP marketing and innovation, who will be among the speakers at this fall’s 49th Annual Impact Marketing Seminar.

Among other key brands, William Grant & Sons’ Tullamore Dew was one of the few leading Irish whiskey labels to post positive depletions growth in the U.S. last year, rising 3% to 326,000 cases. This year, like the rest of the category, it’s faced a tougher road, with volume dipping in control states.

Two exceptions to that trend are Pernod’s Spot whiskies and Sazerac’s Paddy label. Bacardi’s Teeling has also held up relatively well so far this year. For the second year running, Teeling is launching a Teeling x Notre Dame Small Batch limited edition offering, retailing at $35, as part of its multi-year partnership with Notre Dame Athletics.

In addition to Paddy, Sazerac also recently unveiled a new Irish whiskey entry, Garavogue 20-year-old Irish single malt ($199), from its Hawk’s Rock distillery in County Sligo, northwest Ireland.

Tagged : Bacardi, Bushmills, Jameson, Paddy, Pernod Ricard, Proximo, Redbreast, Sazerac, Teeling, the Spots, Tullamore DEW, William Grant & Sons

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