Ireland’s alcohol bill could ‘jeopardise’ Irish whiskey

Domestic sales of premium Irish whiskey grew by 41% to over 700,000 bottles in 2017, however its boom could be “jeopardised” by Ireland’s alcohol bill, the Irish Whiskey Association has warned.

Irish whiskey is the fastest-growing spirits category globally

Overall sales of Irish whiskey grew by 6% to 6.4 million bottles in 2017, with Jameson remaining the world’s best-selling Irish whiskey brand, with a 11.3% increase to 7m nine-litre cases, according to Brand Champions data.

Tullamore Dew also delivered impressive growth in 2017, reaching 1.2m cases – an increase of 12.4%.

Irish whiskey is the fastest-growing spirits category globally. In 2014, there were just four distilleries in Ireland, but domestic and international demand will see that number surpass 30 by 2020, the IWA has said.

There are currently 13 whiskey distillery visitor centres across the country, with plans for an additional 10 visitor centres to open in the coming years.

In 2017, visitor numbers to Irish whiskey distilleries grew to 814,000, an increase of 11% year-on-year.

William Lavelle, head of the IWA, said: “This growth comes while overall alcohol consumption in Ireland is down 25% since 2005. We are seeing a major shift away from low-price, high-volume consumption, as consumers are increasingly willing to pay for quality, innovative premium products.

“This boom in premium Irish whiskey could be jeopardised by provisions in the Public Health Alcohol Bill to cover one-third of printed material on Irish whiskey bottles with health warnings. This would seriously damage the prestige and presentation of premium brands.

“At a time when drinking trends are changing for the positive, and Irish spirits export are facing increased threats of tariffs, this regressive and disproportionate intervention is the last thing we need in the domestic market.”