Retailers Weigh In On The Irish Whiskey Category

While Irish whiskey volumes have been pulled lower along with most other spirits categories this year—the top seven brands are down a combined 4.6% in control states through September—marketers continue to see opportunity ahead, especially at the premium end of the category. Nearly 90% of Irish whiskey brands in the U.S. are priced at least $25 a 750-ml. bottle at retail, and the sector’s average price tag is exceeded by only three other spirits—Cognac, Scotch whisky, and Tequila—according to Impact Databank.

Nick Pascale, manager at Pascale’s Liquors in Liverpool, New York, a suburb of Syracuse, notes a significant increase in Irish whiskey sales in his store over the past few years. “Prior to Covid it was really just Jameson that drove the category. But as people have shown interest in small boutique brands we’ve widened our offering to almost double what it used to be. As the more desirable Bourbons have become impossible to get and Scotch prices have drastically increased, people seem more likely to experiment with Irish whiskey.”

At Hazel’s Beverage World in Boulder, Colorado, liquor department manager Max Girardin notes that Jameson is still king. “Of the entire Irish category, the Pernod Ricard-owned Midleton brands account for 64% of sales, with Jameson SKUs alone accounting for 44%,” he says. “The next highest brand family in revenue is Bushmills at just 9% of the category.” In addition to Jameson ($25 a 750-ml.), Redbreast 12-year-old ($70), and Bushmills ($30 a 1.75-liter), Slane ($20 a 750-ml.), Tullamore D.E.W. ($22), and Teeling ($30) round out the top-selling Irish whiskey labels at the store.

“Midleton, being the only producer for some period of time, has made its brands well known,” notes Chad Montrose of Illinois-based Garfield’s Beverage Warehouse. “Labels like Jameson and Redbreast seem to be dominating the market along with Tullamore D.E.W., but we also do very well with many smaller Irish distilleries like Glendalough and Knappogue Castle.”

On the innovation front, Girardin notes that Jameson Orange has been selling well in recent months. “It’s definitely the most innovative thing I’ve seen from Irish whiskey in the last decade,” he adds. Proximo’s Proper No. Twelve introduced its Irish Apple variant ($25 a 750-ml.) last year and Lander Otegui, senior vice president of marketing for Proximo Spirits, says it was “the largest Irish whiskey released in 2023” and a big factor in the overall success of the brand, which surpassed 300,000 cases last year.

Also on the flavor front, earlier this year, William Grant & Sons debuted Tullamore D.E.W. Honey, a blend of Irish whiskey and Bohemian honey ($24 a 750-ml.). The company said the flavor extension has seen strong sales out of the gate and could account for as much as 10% of the business by the end of the year.

Retailers are optimistic about Irish whiskey’s future, but they have concerns about recent price hikes. “Irish whiskey as a category is going through a fair bit of shrink in our store, but with Pernod Ricard taking huge price increases in our market it follows that and translates to less bottles out the door for the category as a whole,” notes Girardin of Hazel’s. “Bang for your buck is trending for sure—Slane’s growth in our store is meteoric over the last couple of years at a very attractive $20 a 750-ml.”

But he adds that Redbreast 12-year-old remains a top-seller, accounting for 10% of Irish whiskey sales, even at an all-time high price of $70. “We’re seeing a lot of people opt out of the middle-tier pricings to either buy into premium or pick a cheaper bottle,” he says.—Sally Kral

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