The world’s best-selling Cognac and brandy brands

In spite of varied and plentiful challenges, Cognac and brandy brands have come out fighting in an effort to drive the global rebound of the industry – with admirable results.

These are the world’s best-selling Cognac and brandy brands, according to our recent Brand Champions 2016 report

Looking at our Brand Champions 2016 results, a new era is set to unfold for Cognac; a welcome break from the category’s long-running downward trend – though it’s worth noting that this table provides a somewhat limited overview, as LVMH declined to disclose Hennessy’s volume sales once again.

Regardless, one brand in particular has led the way with its bold strategy and vision, prompting The Spirits Business to crown it with our Supreme Brand Champion 2016 title.

Meanwhile, brandy has stepped out from the shadow of its “sophisticated” cousin Cognac, revealing many strong and/or stable sales performances across the board due to a wave of premiumisation.

However, as the following pages reveal, some local brandy players struggled against the growing success of Indian whisky, reporting severe losses.

Following our recently published Brand Champions 2016 – our pick of those brands selling more than one million cases annually that are performing exceptionally within their category – we run through the world’s best-selling Cognac and brandy brands on the market today.

Click through the following pages to discover the top 10 best-selling Cognac and brandy brands, listed in order of their nine-litre case sales.

10. Old Kenigsberg

2015: 1.39m

2014: 1.39m

% change: 0.00%

Place last year: –

Due to a 3.70% decline in volume, Courvoisier knocked itself off 10th place in the leader board to be replaced by newcomer, Old Kenigsberg. Popular in Russia, the Alliance 1892 Brandy Company-owned brand stood fast at 1.39m cases.

9. Paul Masson Grande Amber

2015: 1.85m

2014: 1.60m

% change: +15.81%

Place last year: 9

While Paul Masson’s strong double-digit growth – for the second year in a row, no less – is nothing short of impressive, its volume size in comparison to other brandies saw the brand retain 9th place on our leader board. Formerly Brandy Brand Champion 2015, the brand’s boost was undoubtably bolstered by the launch of red berry-flavoured bottling Paul Masson Grande Amber Red Berry Brandy in June 2015 – the second flavoured variant released by owner Constellation Brands, following a peach offering in 2014.

8. Rémy Martin

2015: 1.90m

2014: 1.65m

% change: +15.15%

Place last year: 8

As our Cognac Brand Champion 2016 and Supreme Brand Champion 2016, Rémy Martin recorded the fastest growth of any million case-selling Cognac brand last year, and was a key driver in the resurrection of the category in the face of a deluge of difficulties. The brand benefited from its recent One Life/Live Them campaign, a “celebration of the multifaceted personalities and Slash generation lifestyle”, which assisted the brand in reversing the steep declines posted the two years previous.

7. Men’s Club Brandy

2015: 2.06m

2014: 3.28m

% change: -37.20%

Place last year: 6

How the mighty have fallen. While United Spirits’ Men’s Club Brandy earned the title of Cognac & Brandy Brand Champion 2014 for an astonishing +1,300% growth, and continued an upward trajectory in 2015 – albeit by a slightly less impressive +15% – this year the Indian brand suffered the greatest decline of any Cognac and brandy label in 2015, catapulting it backwards to the 7th best-selling spot on our leader board.

6. Martell

2015: 2.20m

2014: 1.93m

% change: +13.99%

Place last year: 7

Pernod Ricard-owned Martell rose to 6th place on our leader board this year, and with good reason. Throughout 2015 the Cognac house embarked on a series of initiatives in celebration of its 300^th anniversary, appointing German actress Diane Kruger to lead its France300 campaign. Ranging from packaging redesigns and glow-in-the-dark bottles to collaborations with fashion designers and multi-sensory pop-ups; the brand marked its landmark year with flair, boosting sales by a remarkable +13.99%.

5. Old Admiral Brandy

2015: 3.30m

2014: 3.50m

% change: -5.71%

Place last year: 4

Owned by Indian drinks producer Radico Khaitan, Old Admiral Brandy also witnessed a slump in sales in 2015, dropping to 3.30m cases. Possibly due to its lack of international availability – the brand is only sold in its home market – Old Admiral continued to struggle against the powerful and fiercely competitive Indian whisky sector, which made waves last year.

4. Dreher

2015: 3.35m

2014: 3.35m

% change: 0.00%

Place last year: 5

Despite failing to grow its sales in 2015, Gruppo Campari’s Brazilian brandy brand Dreher has climbed to 4th place on our leader board in the event of Old Admiral’s sales slip. It may currently be one of the group’s more placid brands – Gruppo Campari reported otherwise shining 2015 H1 results – but Dreher has done well to remain stable in what has been a tumultuous period for the brandy category.

3. Honey Bee

2015: 4.06m

2014: 3.77m

% change: +7.69%

Place last year: 3

United Spirits’ Honey Bee brandy reported a solid +7.6% growth in 2015, securing its 3rd place spot once again; no mean feat for an Indian brandy brand. Since suffering an almighty 32% drop in volume back in 2013, year-on-year the brand is creeping further towards the 5m cases it peaked at back in 2012.  

2. McDowell’s No. 1

2015: 8.55m

2014: 7.62m

% change: +12.20%

Place last year: 1

United Spirits’ McDowell’s No.1 brandy has started clawing back growth against an ongoing trend of consistent decline which began in 2013. Although it has some way to go to reinstate the 10.30m case sales of its heyday in 2012, its double-digit rise of +12.20% shows the brand is on the right track. By contrast, McDowell’s No.1 VSOP, which was measured individually, had a tough time keeping sales afloat; declining by a damaging 32.6%.

1. Emperador

2015: 30.50m

2014: 33.00m

% change: -7.58%

Place last year: –

Popular in Asia, primarily in the Philippines and the Middle East, brandy behemoth Emperador secured the top spot this year after making its sales figures available to The Spirits Business for the first time. In 2010 Emperador Light was introduced, bolstered by a hugely successful “Gawin mong Light” campaign the following year. After aquiring Bodega San Bruno in Jerez – the brandy capital of the world – the brand’s portfolio was once again strengthened with the release of Emperador Deluxe in 2013. In spite of a -7.58% sales blip in 2015, the brand maintained its volume above 30m cases, which it has held since 2012.