Beverage Dynamics July-August 2019 | Page 25

Imported Whisky

“ Matching supply to that demand is a huge undertaking , but we do have a lot of young distilleries now coming online .”

Just look at the math . Canadian whiskey currently totals around 16 million cases annually in the U . S . That ’ s about four times the 4.7 million cases of Irish whiskey sold last year .

“ I think there ’ s still a lot of room for growth ,” says Liguori of Glendalough . “ When you look at Irish whiskey in the U . S ., it ’ s still a relatively small category . There ’ s still tremendous room for growth from a volume standpoint .”

“ I don ’ t think the double digit-growth tide will ebb anytime soon ,” he adds . “ I anticipate more growth along that trajectory .”

Not everybody is convinced of this rosy outlook , however . Mike Ryan , director of bars for Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants , believes that the current growth track of Irish whiskey is unsustainable .

“ I think a lot of brands are looking at the growth of Jameson and some smaller brands and thinking they can grab that momentum themselves ,” Ryan says . “ But unless there ’ s a driving market force brand , like Connor McGregor ’ s Proper No . Twelve , that can transcend everything , I don ’ t think the market can sustain that level of growth , and we will see a pull back in the next five years .”

To Ryan ’ s point , the category ’ s 10 % growth in 2018 follows greater gains in 2017 and 2016 , of 12.2 % and 15.9 %, respectively .

JAPANESE WHISKY : ELUSIVE , HOT Japanese whisky has become so trendy in America that its ’ often difficult to track down these bottles .

“ To put it in perspective , Japanese whisky is up over 40 % in volume in 2017 alone , a figure which does not even begin to represent the true unconstrained demand for the whisky in the market today ,” says Rashidi Hodari , VP of marketing for House of Suntory .

The brand did help broaden the availability of Japanese whisky with the launch of Suntory Whisky Toki in 2016 . At a suggested retail price of $ 40 per 750-ml . bottle , this expression was “ created to be the ideal Japanese whisky for the Japanese whisky highball and to be used in cocktails ,” ex-

LEADING BRANDS OF SCOTCH WHISKY , 2017-2018

Source : The Beverage and Information Insights Group

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