Whisky Brands Top 50 2023

Since 2021, Drinks International has been annually publishing a list of the 50 most admired whisky brands in the world. It's essential to note that this is not a list of the 50 best-selling whiskies or a ranking of the most flavorful whiskies. It also doesn't focus on individual expressions (e.g., Talisker 18) but rather on brands in general (e.g., Talisker).

What matters in this list is the quality consistency across the entire range of each brand, the quality-to-price ratio, and how the brand is positioned in the market in terms of branding and marketing.

The list is compiled by a large independent panel of experts in the whisk(e)y industry, including buyers, writers, bar owners, and educators from around the world. Each panel member can nominate 10 brands, with a maximum of 5 per category, to ensure diversity in the list. The nominations are then ranked in the order of submission to create the final ranking.

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Top 10

1. Michter's
2. Yamazaki
3. Ardbeg
4. Bruichladdich
5. Compass Box
6. Springbank
7. Nikka
8. Johnnie Walker
9. Glenmorangie
10. Hibiki

You can find the complete list here.

Analysis

First and foremost, it's crucial to distinguish objective from subjective lists. Objective lists are based solely on facts, such as sales figures, while subjective lists are primarily based on opinions. Opinions are personal, and what constitutes a strong brand for one person may not be the same for another. Therefore, always take these rankings with a grain of salt. However, when a list (like this one) is compiled correctly by a broad and diverse panel of independent experts in their respective fields, they do serve a valuable purpose.

For instance, the number 1 brand on the list, Michter's, is a brand that appeals not only to whiskey enthusiasts but also to bartenders. In recent years, the brand has gained recognition among the general public through its appearances in pop culture, such as in the TV series 'Billions'.

But let's delve deeper into the list. We can use this annual ranking to identify trends. Which regions and whisky-producing countries are on the rise? Which categories and beverage companies are performing well? To explore this, I worked with the list and applied a scoring system with descending points. The brand ranked first on the list receives 50 points, the second receives 49 points, and so on, down to the 50th brand, which receives 1 point.

Regions

Firstly, we can examine the regions from which these 50 whiskies originate. In this regard, we observe that Europe accounts for (more than) three-fourths of the list, just over 75%! Europe contributes 38 listings (76%) to the list, a significant increase compared to 2022 (33 brands) and 2021 (31 brands).

This is primarily at the expense of North & Central America, which drops from 8 listings to 5 (10%). Asia (12%) surpasses North & Central America for the first time, with 6 brands in the list, the same as in 2022. Australasia contributes 1 brand (Starward) as it has in previous years. Africa disappears from the list after providing 1 brand to the list last year.

The number of brands from a particular region provides some insight, but it doesn't tell the whole story. It doesn't necessarily reflect their positions on the list. When we consider the weighted scores, we can see that Europe continues to dominate the competition with 920 points, compared to Asia (198 points) and the Americas (121 points).

When we examine the weighted average scores, we can see that Asia and Australasia are performing well, with an average of 33 and 36 points per brand, respectively. From this, we can infer that, on average, Asian brands are likely to be found in the upper half of the list, and the sole brand from Australasia reaches just within the top 15.

Countries

When we zoom in further to the country level, it's no surprise that Scotland dominates the list. As we saw in the previous charts, Europe contributes 38 brands, and 28 of them are based in Scotland. So, more than half of the list is Scottish, marking a first since the inception of the list. North & Central America accounts for 5 brands in the list, and all 5 of them are located in the United States.

Ireland has experienced a positive trend in recent years, although it has slipped one place. Still, with 7 brands in the top 50, it continues to perform well, representing 14% of the list.

Looking at the scores, we can see that the Scottish brands are not only numerous on the list but also well-represented at the top of the list. In terms of scores, Ireland has made a significant leap. This is not surprising, as it is one of the most innovative countries at the moment, with brands like Teeling daring to venture off the beaten path.

Japan experienced a slight decline in scores last year, but it now reclaims 15% of all possible points within the list.

Categories

Categorizing whisky can be done in various ways. You could separate bourbon and rye, single malts and blended whisky, among others. However, because this list focuses on brands, the categorization is not primarily based on individual products but on the overall offerings of the brands. For example, the number 1 brand, Michter's, produces both rye and bourbon.

Therefore, we categorize this list mainly by geography. This approach leads to several similarities with previous charts. Still, it's interesting to observe how "(new) world whisky" compares to more traditional markets.

Japanese whisky is sometimes categorized as "world whisky," but I have excluded it here because it has become a very significant market in its own right. It's essential to understand that we are not looking at the product level. Some brands, like Nikka, produce whiskies that fully comply with the regulations to be labeled as "Japanese whisky," but they also produce some products that may not meet these labeling requirements.

In the historical graphic of the number of listings in the list, we can observe a decline in American Whisky, which is not surprising given the information from the previous charts. However, it is somewhat unexpected to see a slight decline in World Whisky.

When looking at the number of listings, we can see that world whiskies are as well-represented as Japanese ones. However, in terms of scores, Japanese whisky brands perform significantly better. This implies that Japanese brands are ranked higher in the list compared to world whiskies, which encompasses everything that doesn't fall under Scotch, American, Irish, or Japanese whisky categories.

Conglomerates / owners

Many brands on the list are part of large beverage conglomerates with extensive portfolios of drinks. Geographical origin is not the sole determining factor here.

For example, the British company Diageo also includes American whiskey brands (e.g., George Dickel) in its portfolio. As a result, these charts show more fluctuations than in previous ones.

Diageo accounts for 5 brands (10%) on this year's list, matching the number from 2021.

Beam-Suntory is a subsidiary of Suntory. Mind you, it's not vice versa. At the parent company, Suntory, they make a clear distinction in their business. The Japanese brands, such as Yamazaki, Hibiki, and Hakushu, fall under the Suntory umbrella, while the international brands (including Jim Beam, Maker's Mark, Laphroaig, Bowmore, Auchentoshan) are grouped under Beam-Suntory. If we were to combine these, (Beam-)Suntory, alongside Diageo, leads with 5 brands in the top 50.

Irish Distillers contributes 4 brands to the list. For those not immediately familiar with Irish Distillers as a company, it is a subsidiary of Pernod-Ricard. The parent company provides two other brands as well. When we add those to the 4 brands from Irish Distillers, Pernod-Ricard becomes the primary contributor.

In the list, we find 33 different owners, which is good news, as it means there is room for smaller players alongside the giant multinational corporations like Diageo, Suntory, and Bacardi.

For the graphical charts, we will focus on the top 15 in terms of rankings and scores for better readability. Companies with scores lower than the class median are excluded from the charts.

In the scores, we can see that LVMH, which stands for Louis Vuitton Mo?t Hennessy, achieves a high score for supplying "only" 2 brands. This indicates that these brands rank high on the list. LVMH is also the most valuable company on the list when considering market capitalization. With a market capitalization of over $340 billion, the French company is almost 5 times larger than Diageo in terms of market value!

In the scores, Bacardi is not among the top 15 this year. This is not surprising because Bacardi's focus is much less on whisky than other beverage giants like Diageo or Beam-Suntory. In recent months, the Bacardi group has been reemphasizing whisky, so perhaps we will see them back in the top 15 of scores next year.

It's important to note that if a brand or company has made the list, "performing poorly" is very relative. There are thousands of whisky brands worldwide, and merely being present in this list of 50 brands is always a significant achievement.

Brands

Finally, let's zoom in to the level of the brands themselves. Here, we can examine the history of the brands on the list and how they've performed since the list's inception in 2021.

Compared to the previous year, 15 names dropped out of the list, and 15 new ones have entered. This means that more than a quarter of the list has been refreshed. Among these 15 brands, there are 4 re-entries, brands that were in the list in 2021, dropped out last year, and are now back in: Compass Box, Kilchoman, Hakushu, and Glen Scotia.

Some notable increases: the Irish brand Method & Madness moved up 26 places from 38th to 12th in the list. It follows Jameson, another Irish whiskey, as the biggest significant climber in the list. Among the 6 biggest climbers in 2023, you'll find 4 Irish brands. In addition to Method & Madness, Teeling, Bushmills, and Midleton have made remarkable gains. Irish Whiskey is clearly on the rise!

In 2022, we saw impressive growth for relatively small brands like Starward (Australia) and Kyr? (Finland), and they continue to rise a few spots this year.

The most noteworthy omission from the list for me is Kavalan, a brand from Taiwan. The brand's disappearance is likely due to the country's geopolitical tensions, which are never good for a brand. Or perhaps it's the high price tag of the bottles that is gradually working against the brand?

The highest newcomer is Nc’Nean, which enters at number 21. This is also noteworthy because Nc’Nean is a small independent brand. The brand strongly emphasizes sustainability, which is a hot topic these days.

Compass Box is the highest re-entry. The Scottish brand fell out of the list last year and re-enters at number 5!

Total scores since the list's inception

The number 1 brand on the list, Michter's, performed exceptionally well last year, securing the 2nd position, and in 2021, it was ranked 4th. However, that's not enough to claim the title of the best-performing brand overall. This honor goes to Yamazaki for the third year in a row.

It's remarkable to note that there's only one Scottish brand in the top 3, and last year, there were none in the top 3! However, in the top 15, we do find 9 Scotch whiskies. Notably, Islay is the best-represented region in the top 15, with Bruichladdich, Ardbeg, Lagavulin in the top 10, and Laphroaig also in the top 15.

In the top 10 of the combined scores from the past 3 years, we also have 3 Japanese brands (Yamazaki, Nikka, and Hibiki).

Too long, didn't read? Here are a few key take-aways for you:

• 38 of the brands on the list are European, which is more than half of the list. Among these, 28 are Scottish, accounting for over half of the list.
• There are 6 brands from Asia, of which 5 are Japanese brands.
• 5 brands on the list come from North & Central America, all of which are from the United States.
• Ireland has 7 brands on the list, one less than last year, but they perform well, indicating the increasing popularity of Irish whiskey.
• Kyr? was the only brand from mainland Europe last year but is joined by the Danish Stauning (partially owned by Diageo) this year. The other 36 European brands come from the British Isles.
• The list features 33 different owners, showing that there is room alongside the major multinationals. The exact number depends on whether you consider subsidiaries as separate companies.
• Number 5 on the list, Compass Box, does not have its own distillery. It's an independent bottler, although there are plans to start their own distillery.
• On average, Chatham Importers is the highest-ranked owner on the list, but they have only 1 brand (Number 1, Michter's).
• LVMH (Louis Vuitton Mo?t Hennessy) is the most financially valuable parent company on the list, with a market value of over $340 billion!
• The list has been in existence since 2021. If you add the rankings from both years, Yamazaki remains the top-ranked brand, just like last year.
• Method & Madness is the biggest climber on the list, moving from 38th to 12th. While the brand may not be well-known in some regions, it is highly popular in the United States. As an Irish whiskey, the brand rides the wave of increasing popularity in that category.
• The small brand Nc’Nean is the highest newcomer. Their strong focus on sustainability has paid off.

Whisky or whiskey? In some countries (like Scotland and Japan), they prefer the spelling "whisky," while in others (like Ireland and the United States), they opt for "whiskey." Therefore, when referring to Scotch whisky, I use the spelling without an "e." When referring to Irish whiskey, I use the spelling with an "e." When discussing whisky in general, without specifying its origin, I opted for whisky without an e.

Text & Graphs: Yannick Van Dyck - Data: Drinks International

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