Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard this morning (1 September) released its latest results which showed more positive news for its Jameson whiskey brand.
The company stated that Jameson is the number one Irish whiskey in the world, with sales of 5.7m cases and double- and triple-digit growth in over 60 markets, adding that volume growth was 12% for the year, with value growth of 16%.
Commenting on the performance of Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard for the FY 15/16, Jean-Christophe Coutures, Chairman and CEO said: "We have seen the global Irish whiskey renaissance continue with gusto, led by the category defining Jameson which is seeing double- and triple-digit growth in over 60 markets across the world. We aim to continue this growth with our new series of premium whiskeys such as The Whiskey Makers Series and our Deconstructed Series which have the original Jameson Irish Whiskey at their core. Our prestige brands continue to grow very impressively and are now exported to 22 markets.
"Here at home we’re proud to see our Irish whiskey sales growing due to a combination of increased tourism and also a growth in the cocktail market."
Coutures pointed to Ireland's emerging appreciation for cocktails has one of the reasons behind Jameson's solid showing here.
"We are also looking forward to bringing something new to our Bow Street home with the €11 million investment in our Old Jameson Distillery, which closes for renovation works today following a particularly impressive year with almost 300,000 visitors. When combined with the Jameson Experience Midleton, we welcomed over 420,000 visitors to our brand homes," he added.
However, despite the overall global success of our brands, Coutures said the domestic market continues to pose challenges.
"Ireland has the third highest excise rates on spirits in Europe. It is damaging to our reputation that an American tourist can buy a bottle of Jameson in the US for almost half the price of the same bottle in Ireland, the home of Irish whiskey," he said.
