The 10 largest world whisky brands

American whiskeys may be amongst the most popular in the world, but when it comes to the 10 largest world whisky brands, there are plenty of Canadian, Japanese and Irish products making a splash.

Honeyed whiskies have been driving sales of the 10 largest world whisky brands this year

Despite the US being a nation of Bourbon-lovers, there are few brands selling over one million cases, which is why we’ve merged North American whiskeys with Irish and Japanese to create our list of the 10 largest world whisky brands.

For American whiskeys, ever more inventive infusions are exciting consumers’ palates as the global trend for flavoured infusions continues to make this a growth area for the industry. The introduction of honey-flavoured blends from Campari, Wild Turkey and Jack Daniels proved a master stroke, with Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey registering 464,000 case sales in the US alone last year, up an impressive 66.3% on 2011 figures.

Jack Daniel’s fellow US company Jim Beam has seen its Lime Splash RTD imprint make an impact in recent years, and hot on its heels will be Jim Beam Hot Punch, which has already helped build the portfolio’s sales in Germany.

American whiskeys have been boosted by growth in markets around the world, including Germany, Australia and the UK, as well as performing strongly at home. However, with Irish whiskey growing at a rate of 21.6% in the US and more Irish brands set to launch in the next three years, the market for whiskey from America’s upstart rivals across the Atlantic will definitely be a handful to watch.

Not to mention the ambitious expansion plans for some of Japan’s more recognisable names, which are forging whiskies from the Asian country a place amongst the world’s best.

Click through the following pages to discover which are the 10 largest world whisky brands.

10. Canadian Mist

2012 case sales: 1.6m
2011 case sales: 1.7m
Growth in 2012: -6%

Owned by the Brown-Forman Corporation, the US firm behind spirits industry big-hitters like Jack Daniel’s and Southern Comfort, Canadian Mist was established in 1967 in Collingwood, Ontario. The product is triple-distilled and uses corn, rye and malted barley, along with freshwater from Georgian Bay on Lake Huron, in its distillation process. Sales of the brand have slowly declined from the 2m cases reported in 2006, and another slight dip in sales from 1.7m in 2011 to 1.6m last year has meant a negative growth of -6% was recorded for 2012. It too has joined the growing ranks of American whiskey brands producing flavoured infusions, offering peach, vanilla, cinnamon and ― naturally ― maple variations.

9. Black Nikka

2012 case sales: 1.8m
2011 case sales: 1.6m
Growth in 2012: 13%

Recognisable for its ‘King of Blenders’ label, which has given the brand its nickname, ‘Bearded Black,’ this Japanese whisky is owned by Asahi Breweries. One of two Japanese whiskies in our top 10, Black Nikka registered encouraging sales figures, with growth of 13% for 2012. Japanese drinkers often take the Black Nikka Special variant of the brand as a mizuwari, on the rocks with mineral water, as an accompaniment at meal times. Nikka was established in 1934 by Masataka Taketsuru. An admirer of Scotch whisky who learned the art of distillation and blending while taking a degree at Glasgow University, Taketsuru is credited with producing Japan’s very first whisky. Unusually, the firm’s Yoichi distillery continues to use coal fires to heat the pot stills; a practice that has been almost entirely abandoned in modern whisky production.

8. Canadian Club

2012 case sales: 1.9m
2011 case sales: 1.9m
Growth in 2012: 0%

Canadian Club, owned by Beam, has seen case sales plateau for the last five years around the 2m case mark. Developed under a series of labels, the Canadian Club brand known around the world today was established in 1893. It was famously enjoyed by Queen Victoria, leading original owners Hiram Walker & Sons Ltd to be given a royal warrant in 1898. The brand is also renowned for its ‘Adventure Series’ advertising campaign, showing travellers sharing a drink of Canadian Club with locals in various exotic climes, which ran for over 40 years, earning it a place in the Guinness book of records as the world’s longest-running advertising campaign. In local years it’s become an iconic brand associated with the offices of Don Draper in TV series Mad Men.

7. Black Velvet

2012 case sales: 2.1m
2011 case sales: 2.1m
Growth in 2012: 0%

Black Velvet, a Canadian whisky, is owned by the New York-based Constellation Brands, one of the world’s largest beer, wine and spirit companies. Its sales figures have remained at the same level, 2.1m, for the past three years, meriting one of several places for Canadian whiskies in our top 10 world whisky brands. Black Velvet was established by the American firm Schenley Industries in Valleyfield, Quebec, in the 1940s, and was originally known as ‘Black Label.’ Since 1969 the brand has employed a string of glamorous female stars, including Christie Brinkley, Cybill Shepherd and Kelly Emberg, as part of its ‘Black Velvet Lady’ advertising campaign. The brand has also recently joined the flavoured-whisky party, launching its Toasted Caramel imprint last year.

6. Seagram’s 7 Crown

2012 case sales: 2.4m
2011 case sales: 2.4m
Growth in 2012: 0%

Controlled by industry heavyweights Diageo, American brand Seagram’s 7 Crown saw sales remain stagnant in 2012. It has been one of the many brands to launch a honey-infused whiskey, with its Seagram’s Dark Honey expression competing with numerous other variations on this sweet-toothed theme that has crowded the market in recent years. The brand has gained particular popularity as a mixer, and the combination of Seagram’s 7 Crown mixed with the soft drink 7 Up has become known as a ‘7 and 7.’

5. Kakubin

2012 case sales: 2.8m
2011 case sales: 2.6m
Growth in 2012: 8%

The second Japanese whisky in our top 10 world whisky brands, Kakubin has seen its sales increase from 2.6m in 2011 to 2.8m in 2012, which has translated to an 8% growth in 2012. The brand, owned by the Osaka-based Suntory, launched a premium version earlier this year, which reflected the growing taste amongst Japanese consumers for richer whiskies. Kakubin’s packaging is particularly striking, with its square, turtle shell-patterned bottle instantly recognisable ─ ‘kaku-bin’ actually means ‘square bottle’ in Japanese. The popularity of the ‘highball’ (Kakubin whisky mixed with soda water and lemon), a cocktail promoted by Suntory as a marketing tool, is thought to have helped revive the sales of whisky in Japan in recent years.

4. Jameson

2012 case sales: 4.1m
2011 case sales: 3.8m
Growth in 2012: 8%

Jameson is currently the only Irish whisky selling over a million cases, but it faces competition in the coming years from more brands entering the market and Beam’s development of Kilbeggan whiskey in the US. With Irish whiskey growing at a rate of 21.6% in the US, American brands might be looking over their shoulders at Jameson, which was our 2012 Irish whiskey Brand Champion. Another jewel in the Pernod Ricard crown, Jameson was established in Dublin 1780 by the Scottish businessman, John Jameson. The product, made using malted and unmalted barley and other grains, is now distilled in Cork, with the original distillery in Dublin now a museum dedicated to the brand. One of Jameson’s more unusual advertising enterprises in recent years was a web sitcom to promote the brand to the Russian market; such was its success, it was bought for mainstream television in Russia.

3. Crown Royal

2012 case sales: 5.2m
2011 case sales: 5m
Growth in 2012: 4%

The Diageo-owned Crown Royal is the highest placed Canadian whiskey in our top 10; with an increase in sales from 5m in 2011 to 5.2m in 2012 and a growth of 4% for 2012, it’s easy to see why. Named in honour of George IV’s royal visit to Canada in 1939, Crown Royal was only available in Canada until 1964. Crown Royal is known for the signature purple bags that hold each bottle, and the company has used this element of its packaging as a successful marketing tool, releasing bags in different colours to match different products, and even releasing a Christmas stocking-shaped version. Another unusual marketing scheme allows customers who join the firm’s ‘Society of the Crown’ to order personalised bags and bottles emblazoned with their name.

2. Jim Beam

2012 case sales: 6.3m
2011 case sales: 5.9m
Growth in 2012: 7%

Having seen its sales increase from 5.9m in 2011 to 6.3m last year, American brand Jim Beam registered a healthy 7% growth for 2012. Parent company, the Chicago-based Beam Inc, is branching out into the super-premium end of the Bourbon market, which is growing by 12.4% year-on-year, with two new releases later this year. Distilled in Clermont, Kentucky, Jim Beam is a Bourbon made from a grain mix where the predominant grain used is corn. The brand was one of the first to market flavoured infusions, such as Red Stag, and its own take on the honey-flavoured craze, Jim Beam Honey. It will aim to continue tickling whiskey drinkers’ taste buds with the further development of its Lime Splash and Hot Punch RTD impressions.

1. Jack Daniels

2012 case sales: 10.7m
2011 case sales: 10.6m
Growth in 2012: 1%

Our number one whiskey is the American super-brand Jack Daniel’s, which has achieved a 100,000 case growth in 2012. As reported by The Spirits Business earlier this month, the entire Jack Daniel’s stable of brands grew its net sales by 11%, which helped the firm register an overall turnover of US$3.78bn for the year ending 30 April 2013. Owner Brown-Forman reported the firm’s premium and super-premium whiskies grew group sales by 20% during the last year, and creative additions to the portfolio such as its Tennessee Honey imprint accounted for approximately 25% of the firm’s net sales growth for the year. Jack Daniel’s continues to lead the way with inventive marketing and high profile product launches, such as its Sinatra Select expression. Marking the run-up to the centenary of Frank Sinatra’s birth in 2015, the firm launched the brand in 2012 as a tribute to the singer, who died in 1998 ─ he was buried with a bottle of Jack Daniel’s Old Number 7.