The continuing popularity of bitter cocktails has seen a number of speciality spirits brands take the spotlight – but which brands led the growth of the category last year?

These were the best-selling speciality spirits brands in 2016

Speciality spirits are making waves as cocktail drinkers and beyond are embracing the category. The Negroni continues to rise in popularity, riding on the seemingly unstoppable wave that is the bitter drinks trend, which in turn has established Campari as a classic cocktail staple.

A large number of bitters producers reported steady single-digit growth in the year, with the exception of Martini Vermouth and Amaro Ramazzotti.

In particular Gruppo Campari’s Aperol continued its success streak, boosted by the US market and extensive promotion of its signature Aperol Spritz serve – prompting us to name the brand Speciality Spirits Brand Champion 2017.

Following our recently published Brand Champions 2017 – 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 speciality spirits brands on the market today.

Click through the following pages to discover the best-selling speciality spirits brands, listed in order of their nine-litre case sales.

6. Amaro Ramazotti

2016: 1.22m

2015: 1.25m

% change: -2.40%

Place last year: 7

The smallest million-case seller within the speciality spirits sector, Amaro Ramazzotti bagged our Specialities Brand Champion title in 2015. The success of the brand is evidence of the ongoing bitter flavour trend that has provoked patrons to up their orders of drinks including the Negroni and the classic gin and tonic.

5. Campari

2016: 3.28m

2015: 3.15m

% change: 4.13%

Place last year: 5

Maintaining its fifth place spot on the leaderboard is Campari, with reported volumes up 4.13% to 3.28m cases. It’s growth can also be attributed to its continued marketing push with the Campari Red Diaries, hiring British actor Clive Owen to front the 2016 campaign. In addition, the brand has successfully tapped into the at-home drinking trend in the UK, with the launch of Campari Negroni, its new “readily-crafted” cocktail in November last year.

4. Aperol

2016: 3.40m

2015: 2.95m

% change: 15.25%

Place last year: 6

Campari’s stablemate Aperol has witnessed constant growth annually with volumes up by a whopping 15.25% to 3.40m cases, prompting us to name the brand our Speciality Spirits Brand Champion 2017. The brand “continued to outperform” in the first quarter of 2017, delivering high single digit growth in its core markets of Italy, Germany and Austria, and “very strong” double digit results in new markets such as the US. The brand’s success can also be tied to the Aperol Spritz serve, which was the second most popular cocktail for “high-end” consumers in London last summer.

3. Ricard

2016: 4.77m

2015: 4.62m

% change: 3.25%

Place last year: 4

Moving up one place from last year is Ricard, who witnessed a 3.25% increase to 4.77m cases – the same volume it once witnessed in 2014. In 2013, the anise-based brand reported a huge 23% leap sales leap after recovering from an excise hike in France – where it is the best-selling spirit brand. Despite its promising growth, it seems it will be a while before the brand can reach its 2011 volumes of more than 6m cases.

2. Jägermeister

2016: 7.10m

2015: 6.90m

% change: 2.90%

Place last year: 2

Maintaining its second place spot in our best-selling list is German herbal spirit brand Jägermeister, who reported an 2.90% increase last year. Jägermeister’s success is likely to continue with the reveal of a new brand identity and campaign in May, marking the first major rebrand in its 80-year history. The brand has ramped up its marketing efforts in 2017 alone with the relaunch of its Craft the Moment campaign, as well as the introduction of its first super-premium line extension, Manifest.

1. Martini Vermouth

2016: 8.88m
2015: 9.37m

% change: -5.23%

Place last year: 1

Bacardi-owned Martini has been gradually losing momentum annually but has still retained its title of best-selling speciality spirit. Earlier this month, the brand increased its focus on marketing with a new global advert to capitalise on the “aperitivo moment” this summer, featuring key TV and film influences. It will be interesting to see if Bacardi can continue to hold the title next year.