Ireland: There's more whiskey in the jar as drinkers turn backs on Scotch
Irish drinkers are losing their taste for Scotch and increasingly turning to the growing number of native brands.
Sales of Scotch fell 10 per cent from 62,000 cases in 2016 to 55,750 last year, continuing a steady decline that began in 2013. A total of 548,000 cases of Irish whiskey were sold last year, up 5 per cent on 520,000 in 2016.
The Irish Spirits Association (ISA), which provided the figures in its latest report, said that the export of spirits from Ireland was worth ?916 million last year, an increase of nearly 14 per cent on the ?804 million exported in 2016. It remained the world's fastest-growing spirit.
A total of 9.7 million cases of Irish whiskey were sold last year, up 10 per cent on the 8.7 million sold in 2016. Exports were set to exceed the Irish Whiskey Association (IWA) target of 12 million cases a year by 2020, the ISA said.
Jack Teeling, the founder of Teeling Whiskey, said that the report showed consumers' thirst for the growing number of Irish whiskeys.
"The plethora of new entrants over the past five years has resulted in increased innovation and experimentation from all players, little and large, resulting in a truly vibrant category with a range of different tastes and style of Irish whiskey for people to discover," he said.
At the start of the decade there were four whiskey distilleries on the island of Ireland. There are now 20 with a further 26 projects in the pipeline, according to the IWA.
Irish whiskey, Irish cream and poitín are protected by European Union geographical indications. This means that they can only be legally produced on the island of Ireland in line with approved rules. Similar conditions apply to champagne and cognac. Last year 17.2 million cases of these protected spirits were sold, up from 16 million in 2016.
American whiskey, including bourbon, overtook Scotch for the first time last year, with 56,000 cases sold.
The ISA reported that gin producers had also seen some success, with more than 250,000 cases sold in Ireland, up 47 per cent from the 171,000 cases sold in 2016. Gin accounted for 11 per cent of all spirits consumed in Ireland last year.
The United States maintained its position as Ireland's biggest export destination for spirits, followed by the UK, Canada, Germany and France.
Patricia Callan, director of the Alcohol Beverage Federation of Ireland, warned of the threats posed by Brexit and the proposed Public Health (Alcohol) Bill, which stipulates rules on labelling, advertising and minimum unit pricing.
"This bill will act as a significant trade barrier to smaller spirits producers seeking to export to Ireland and diminish choice for Irish consumers," she said.
The report was launched yesterday evening by Pat Deering, a Fine Gael TD. Mr Deering said that he had concerns about the proposed bill, particularly in the areas of advertising and labelling. He said that it would restrict growth in the drinks industry at a time when it was thriving.
Simon Harris, the health minister, said yesterday that passing the bill would be a top priority when the Dáil resumed. He said that it would save lives and change the culture around drink in Ireland.