Tullamore Dew sold one million cases of whiskey

Tullamore Dew was rated the second most popular brand of Irish whiskey according to new data supplied by the International Wine and Spirits Research (IWSR).

Recording brands by volume, Tullamore Dew sold 1.02 million cases, up 8% on last year. This was followed by by Bushmills, up 5.6% to 739,210 cases, Paddy, down 7% to 194,660, and Powers, also down 3.5% to 101,240.

The leading Irish whiskey is Jameson which recorded a 12.4% rise in volumes, from 5.2 million to 5.8 million last year.

The data showed sales of Irish whiskey continued to soar, with combined sales of nine-litre cases of Irish whiskey increasing by 11.2% from 7.8 million to 8.7 million in 2016.

This is linked to a big increase in exports to the US, the most popular destination for Irish whiskey. Overall, volumes rose 17.6 per cent stateside to 3.66 million from 3.1 million.

There was also a bounce from emerging markets such as Kenya where volumes rose 15.6 per cent, albeit from a low base of just 61,250.

Sales in Ireland, the second best country for Irish whiskey after the US, increased 3.4 per cent to 521,250 from 504,225 a year earlier.

In France, the third most popular destination, sales declined 1.9 per cent to 381,250 from 388,500.

Rounding out the top five countries for Irish whiskey currently are the UK and South Africa, where volumes rose 5.2 per cent and 12.8 per cent respectively between 2015 and 2016.

Growth was recorded in 17 of the leading destinations, with notables rises in Canada (up 13.2 per cent to 201,500 cases), Poland (up 22.5 per cent to 102,250), Slovakia (up 22.9 per cent to 76,000), and Kenya (up 19.4 per cent to 61,500).

Irish whiskey is currently sold in 135 countries and exports are expected to double to 144 million bottles by 2020.